Customer Reviews

Five Odd Honors

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If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, you will undoubtably enjoy this one as well. The book rotates points of view between Brenda, Pearl Bright and Loyal Wind (the original horse exile). In the beginning, this constant switching felt jarring and interrupted the flow of the story. Once I had read more and remembered exactly who Loyal Wind was things seemed to move more smoothly.

While, Lindskold's writing style is very detailed and the ideas are interesting, I would prefer more action and less talking. The characters talk about what they're going to do extensively. Then talk about when the right time is to do it. Then they talk about what preparations need to be made and who will do it. At one point in the book, I was completely bored with one of the storylines which amounted to a lot of waiting around, talking, and using mah jong tiles to try and figure out who is causing problems for Pearl Bright.

Reaching The Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice seemed somewhat anticlimactic. Nothing much happens there until well into the book, but it's worth the wait. My favorite parts of the book are the ones centered on Brenda and her learning more about her maternal heritage and what comes along with it. I hope the next installment progresses her relationship with Flying Claw one way or the other.

Note for Kindle buyers: There are many occurrences of words/names being broken in two, or multiple words being combined into one. This tends to disrupt the reading experience, and will hopefully be fixed soon.

Five Odd Honors (2010) is the third Fantasy novel in the Breaking the Wall series, following Nine Gates. The initial work in this series is Thirteen Orphans.

In the previous volume, Brenda had visions of a sidhe woman with green eyes and red-gold hair. The Orphans built a gate and sent a scouting party into the Guardian Domains. Brenda and Flying Claw were trapped by a returning sun. Later, Brenda turned into a rat for an underwater swim with a dragon.

In this novel, Albert Yu is the Cat among the Thirteen Orphans. He is the descendant of the Imperial heir who fled the Lands of Smoke and Sacrifice into the home universe.

Pearl Bright is the Tiger among the Thirteen Orphans. She had been a child actor in her younger days. Now she is a rich woman.

Desperate Lee is the current Rooster. Des lived in Santa Fe before the current troubles began.

Gaheris Morris is the current Rat. He owns an advertising novelties business. He lives in South Carolina with his wife and two sons.

Shen Kung is the current Dragon. He lives in New York.

Deborah Van Bergenstein is the current Pig. She lives in Michigan.

Charles Adolphus is the current Dog. Riprap looks Afro-American rather than Chinese. He has some experience in the Army in special ops. Now he is a trainee in magic.

Nissa Nita is the current Rabbit. She is a healer and also a magic trainee. She has a toddler named Noelani, but no one else knows who is the father of Lani.

Brenda is Gaheris's daughter and heir to the Rat title. She attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia for a year before moving to California. There she began her training in the magical traditions of the Lands. Since she is only the heir of the Rat, Brenda differs from the other trainees.

Righteous Drum is a Dragon from the Lands Born of Smoke and Sacrifice. He is the father of Honey Dream, but has other children back in the Lands.

Waking Lizard was a Monkey from the Lands. He had only recently arrived in the home universe, but died in a fight with later arrivals.

Flying Claw is a Tiger from the Lands. He had been Foster before recovering his memories, but now is a different man.

Honey Dream is a Snake from the Lands. She is the daughter of Righteous Drum.

Twentyseven-Ten, Thorn and Shackles are the survivors of the last attack on the Orphans. Twentyseven-Ten is the de facto leader since he is the more powerful magician.

Loyal Wind, Nine Ducks, Gentle Smoke, Copper Gong and Bent Bamboo are ghosts of former Orphans. They were the original Horse, Ox, Snake, Ram, and Monkey advisors and are being asked to help open the final gate into the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice.

In this story, Brenda is missing her family and friends at home, but she is learning much and is contributing to the Orphan's mission. Shen and Deborah are also homesick. But Brenda stays when the other two leave for their homes.

Loyal Wind and Nine Ducks report that the ghost of Thundering Heaven -- Pearl's father -- has betrayed the Orphans. He had been the Tiger before his death and he wants to hold the title again. He has subverted and sequestered Bent Bamboo to put pressure on Pearl.

Pearl asks the two ghosts to clarify Thundering Heaven's intentions. So Loyal Wind and Nine Ducks return to the cave where the former Tiger is holding Bent Monkey. Thundering Heaven attacks Loyal Wind and kills his mount. Only the intervention of Nine Ducks saves Loyal Wind from the tiger.

After Loyal Wind reports back to Shen, the living Orphans and their allies discuss ways of retrieving Bent Bamboo. They decide that the best way is for Pearl to challenge her father. So Albert issues the formal challenge through Nine Ducks.

Pearl sends her tiger spirit into the underworld to fight for the title. Thundering Heaven's tiger is larger than Pearl's spirit form, but Pearl is faster and more nimble. Thundering Heaven is more vicious than Pearl remembers.

The other Orphans observe the fight from Santa Jose. Brenda notices the form of a female ghost behind Thundering Heaven. After Pearl returns, Brenda asks about the woman.

After the fight, Loyal Wind and Nine Ducks talk to Gentle Smoke, Copper Gong and Bent Bamboo about the Nine Gates project. All agree to join in the effort. Now they have to get permission from the Judges of the underworld to return to life.

This tale takes a scouting party through the gates to the Lands. They find the Lands blocked by Water and Fire. The party returns to report these difficulties and the Orphans start looking for ways to pass these barriers.

Gaheris refuses to let Brenda join in the attempt and sends her home to return to USC. There she meets a young man from Ireland. Parnell is more than he seems.

This seems to be the concluding volume in the series. But many threads are left dangling. Hopefully a sequel will be forthcoming.

Highly recommended for Lindskold fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures, magical quests, and young romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Only recently did college student Brenda Morris learn that The Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice existed based on what she thought were Chinese myths and that her ancestors crossed over from this alternate earth place (see Thirteen Orphans and Nine Gates). Although she has also learned she possesses the powers of the Zodiac Rat, her dad pleads with her to ignore her magical prowess and the encouragement of her Aunt Pearl the Dragon in order to return to school. He wants her to live a normal life anchored on this earth.

However, the Orphans-Exiles seize an opportunity to open a gate into the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice in order to return with five of their dead so they can honor their late compatriots. However, once they open the ninth gate, the Thirteen Orphans are stunned as the Center is impenetrable and soon several are captured. On earth an assault of Pearl Bright the Tiger concerns Brenda who cannot get back into textbooks and lectures. When she learns what occurred in The Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, her first thought is that of betrayal; her second rumination is that of mounting a rescue though her third consideration is what superior being could have achieved what has occurred in the Lands.

The third Chinese zodiac urban fantasy is a superb thriller in which much of the violence is off page as the heroine and others discuss what happened and how to react. Thus the story line is character driven with much of the action passively discussed not actively performed. This approach provides reflective insight into Brenda, her family, and the Orphans while also enabling the reader to better comprehend the Chinese zodiac although the minute detail can turn overwhelming.

Harriet Klausner

Excellent book! Lindskold did an excellent job on this ones. Though I personally think there are a few loose ends, I hope that means there will be more books to come in the Breaking the Wall series.

I just finished reading "Five Odd Honors" and am delighted with the book. I've read every novel Dr. Lindskold has written or co-authored - first in the order I could acquire them and am currently re-reading them in the order they were published - so I have a reasonable perspective of how she has developed as an author. The first two books in this series, "Thirteen Orphans" and "Nine Gates", at first seemed a step backward in style; then I saw a pattern that appears to be meddling by the publisher. I believe she was being pushed to limit the length of the book; literally making a rich, long story short. With "Five Odd Honors" she has demonstrated her prowess as an author by crafting an exceptionally satisfying story that fits within an arbitrary length restriction. I heartily recommend "Five Odd Honors", and hope that you will join me in reading her other works. Her first-published novel "Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls" has recently been re-released. There are authors who would give anything to be able to create such mental images as are in that novel! Other works with similar themes to this series, and unfettered story development, include "Child of a Rainless Year" and "The Buried Pyramid". Check her web site for a comprehensive list and synopsis of each novel. Many of her out-of-print works are available there. Start collecting! Your mind will thank you!

I greatly enjoy this book. Five Odd Honors is the 3rd book in the Land of Smoke and Sacrifice series that started with 13 Orphans and 9 Gates. The story is rich with Chinese mythology and a different view of the Sidhe. Both of which are very refreshing and a good change from the norms of fantasy. The magic in the book is based on mathematics and Mah-Jong, I think it should be read in sequence for maximum enjoyment but there is enough back story to make it comprehensible as a stand alone novel. The story is fast moving but detailed, action based but intelligence, humorous without being funny, romantic without being explicit and it completes the the story arc in a logical fashion but leaves enough unanswered question that another book would not feel forced

$14.99 for the Kindle edition of this book is flat out greed. Why are they charging so much? For WHAT?? No, I didn't read this book, nor will I, but I WILL delete this review should the price come down.