Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This has everything that made the first book so good, March 1, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Fortress of Owls (Hardcover)
So much fantasy is big on action, like a megabudget summer movie, and on allegory (Dark vs. Light, Good vs. Evil) but lacking in characters who engage the heart and don't simply perform a role. I fell in love with the first book in the series, Fortress in the Eye of Time, quite unexpectedly, because I'd always thought C.J. Cherryh's fantasy novels somewhat lacking in life compared to her science fiction. In this series, however, is every strength of her sf--sympathetic and individualized characters, a world imagined down to its least detail but tossed away as mere background, and themes of people finding a place to call home in an alien world, the interplay between nature and nurture, between what we are and what we aspire to be, and whether history, in the form of an individual, does, or can, repeat itself. The second book, Fortress of Eagles, seemed a bit skeletal compared to the first and a few inconsistencies crept in, as if the author had not had time to flesh it out fully and as if the editing had been hasty as well. Fortress of Owls is back to the high standards of the first book, where there is as much pleasure in a re-reading as in the first reading, and, in fact, you catch important details that you missed the first time. I can only wonder at the Kirkus reviewer's finding the detail tedious--I treasure it, along with the characters, and, although I eagerly await the fourth and final book, I shall be sorry to say good-bye to it all.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The elves return -- the revival of magic in a mundane world, February 6, 2000
This review is from: Fortress of Owls (Hardcover)
I find the Fortress series to be thought-provoking and intriguing. In these stories a kingdom exists in which mankind has gone to great lengths to purge itself of the very magic it needs to survive. Will humanity accept the hand Mauryl extends to them through Tristen, or will he ultimately be rejected? Fortress of Owls gives us a delictable hint as to the final answer. I am waiting impatiently for the next book. I am fascinated by the themes Cherryh presents in this book. At first I found the sections about Ceffwyn boring, but I came to realize that Cherryh is using them to point out just what makes Tristen different from mankind, and how different a world governed by a true Sidhe would be. I love the way Cherryh uses Tristen's friend/enemy, Owl, and Tristen's beloved pigeons to highlight the truth concerning Tristen's nature. In many ways Tristen is just like his "silly" birds, but he is rapidly becoming more and more like Owl, despite his protests to the contrary. Tristen's relationships with these birds provide illumination into his relationship with mankind -- Men are just like the pigeons, squabbling and fearful, needing protection from Tristen because they are too silly to recognize danger until it is too late. And Tristen? Tristen is Owl, a frightening Shadow to Man who must always remain apart due to the potentially destructive power that resides within his very nature. However, just as in Owl, Tristen is not evil, it is simply that he must live according to his nature, just as the pigeons must live according to theirs. Fortress of Owls does an excellent job of revealing Tristen's true nature, and allows glimpses of the mature Sidhe into which he is developing. And just as owls and pigeons have a larger environment into which they fit, so too does Tristen. For the first time, we can see how Tristen fits into a much greater picture, a tapestry in which good and evil, Sidhe and man all form their part. I truly enjoyed Fortress of Owls. It gets a little slow at times, and some of the scenes appear disjointed (e.g. Where in the world did the twins come from? Their arrival came as a most unwelcome intrustion), but this book is definitely better than Fortress of Eagles, and leaves me breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Fortress of Dragons. Tristen has the potential to become something truly grand. I just hope that Cherryh doesn't hold back in her Shaping and prevent him from achieving his full potential. I look forward to meeting the Sidhe Mauryl met a thousand years earlier, and finding him far greater than his legend.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superior Fantasy, November 7, 2000
This review is from: Fortress of Owls (Hardcover)
This book has everything a devoted reader of fantasy could desire. The characterisation of the main protagonists and world-building are masterful, the plot is intricate and spellbinding, and Cherryh's writing is bedazzling. For some readers this novel might contain too little physical action (there are hardly, if any, sword-fights, battles etc.), but the intrigues and thrilling, involving story-line should more than compensate for that. (For those who like flashing swords etc., I strongly recommend novels by David Gemmell and Michael Moorcock, two excellent writers of heroic fantasy). All in all, this book should keep a host of fantasy-readers busy for a few pleasant days, and beyond.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
