Fifth Quarter (Daw Book Collectors) [Paperback]

Tanya Huff (Author)

Book Description

Series: Daw Book Collectors | Publication Date: August 1, 1995

Planning to assassinate the evil Gyhard, siblings Bannon and Vree of the Havalkeen army face a terrible choice when Gyhard steals Bannon's body and forces the pair to coexist in Vree's body. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: DAW; later printing edition (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886776511
• ISBN-13: 978-0886776510
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,331,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surpasses the original book in the series..., March 15, 2000

By 

Sarah Calkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifth Quarter (Daw Book Collectors) (Paperback)

Very few second books in a fantasy series manage to live up to the promise of the first book. This one takes the already-interesting world of "Sing the Four Quarters" and vastly improves on it. It's not really a direct sequel in that the main focus of the book is not on the same characters, and even that in itself was a great choice. Huff has a talent for writing deeply flawed characters that are still very interesting and sympathetic, and this book is probably the best example of that. The characters are fascinating, the plot is suspenseful, and the mythology of the world (one of the most interesting aspects of the first book) is greatly expanded on. This book and the third installment, "No Quarter," are definitely two of the best and most original examples of the multi-volume fantasy genre.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Brother & Sister Assassins versus the Grim Reaper, October 21, 2000

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fifth Quarter (Daw Book Collectors) (Paperback)

A 'noir' fantasy. "Fifth Quarter" reminded me of one of those old German woodcuts of the Grim Reaper stalking through a medieval village, bishops, commoners, and knights falling dead in his path. The grim reaper in this tale is a pathetic old man with a Song that can seal the souls of the dead back inside their decaying bodies.

Tanya Huff sets "Fifth Quarter" in the same world as "Sing the Four Quarters". There are Bards who can Sing to the 'kigh', the elemental spirits of earth, air, fire, and water. The Empire and its armies are major elements in the plot. However, "Fifth Quarter" is not a continuation of the earlier book. It is the story of brother and sister assassins, who end up inhabiting the same body (the sister's) when they attempt to kill a man who has discovered the secret of eternal life. How the brother gets his body back is one of the book's dominant plot lines, along with the hunt for the grim reaper, who has abducted the Emperor's son.

I didn't enjoy "Fifth Quarter" as much as Huff's earlier book. It dwells too much on incest and decaying bodies. However, it is a strong, well-plotted novel with likeable, interesting characters (the only exception is the narcissistic brother-assassin). Huff does her usual good job with the minor characters, too. I grew especially fond of the city guard who is one of the first to encounter the walking dead. She survives the encounter, only to be demoted because no one believes her. Next, she barely escapes death at the hand of the sister-assassin. Finally, she stumbles across the assassin who has sworn to kill the brother-sister team because they deserted the Army..

I've already bought the sequel, "No Quarter" to see what happens to Vree and her new live-in companion. Huff is always worth reading, especially for her carefully developed characters.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beneath the surface, July 6, 2000

By 

"riot_xl" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifth Quarter (Daw Book Collectors) (Paperback)

This book brought back fond memories of The Firestone...my first encounter with Huff...managed to create a tapestry of words, revealing all the many things going on just beneath the surface. The simplistic yet complexity of each character reminds me of people in 'real life' The petty bickering of sibling rivalry mixed with very serious issues of FAMILY blend well with the other aspects bubbling away within the pages. Even though i felt more kinship with Vree (there is nothing i would not suffer for my brother) Bannon managed to find a special place in the circle of my thoughts...Despite his self-centered rediculous behavior...Shallow, vain, beautiful, mysterious but most of all silly. I read this in one day...now i'm just slightly vexed because that's it...the end! well of course there was the Quartered Sea... and to think...I kept frowning and leaving this book on the store shelf for so long!