The God Stalker Chronicles [Hardcover]

P.C. Hodgell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2009

Jame is a Kencyrath, the chosen people of the Three-Faced God, who fight the demonic being called Perimal Darkling. At the same time, she fights an internal battle for their honor because 3,000 years ago the leader of the Kencyrath betrayed his people to the Darkness for his own immortality.

 

She also must find her ten-year older brother Tori and return to him the sword and ring of their father. If that is not enough she has to stand before the rathorns, wear the cloak of living snakes, kill one god, and resurrect another. All in a day’s work for Jame.

 

“Hodgell has crafted an excellent and intricate fantasy with humor and tragedy, and a capable and charming female hero. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

 

Publisher’s Note: The God Stalker Chronicles has been previously published as two separate novels, God Stalk and its sequel Dark of the Moon.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pat Hodgell can't remember a time when she wasn't passionately interested in science fiction and fantasy. She's sold stories to such anthologies as Berkley Showcase, Elsewhere III, and Imaginary Lands and has also published four novels.  God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, the novels included in The God Stalker Chronicles, begin her critically praised fantasy saga which is concerned not! only with high adventure, but also with questions of personal identity, religion, politics, honor, and arboreal drift. She earned her doctorate at the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and is a graduate of both the Clarion and the Milford Writers Workshops. Recently retired, she was a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in modern British literature and composition, and teaches an audio-cassette-based course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. Pat lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house, which has been in her family for generations. In addition to writing and teaching, she attends science fiction conventions, collects yarn, knits, embroiders, raises cats, and makes her own Christmas cards.  

Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Baen (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416555765
• ISBN-13: 978-1416555766
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,805,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat Hodgell can't remember a time when she wasn't passionately interested in science fiction and fantasy. She's sold stories to such anthologies as Berkley Showcase, Elsewhere III, and Imaginary Lands and has also published four novels. God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, the novels included in The God Stalker Chronicles, begin her critically praised fantasy saga which is concerned not! only with high adventure, but also with questions of personal identity, religion, politics, honor, and arboreal drift. She earned her doctorate at the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and is a graduate of both Clarion and the Milford Writers Workshop. Recently retired, she was a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in modern literature and composition, and teaches an audio-cassette-based course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. Par lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house, which has been in her family for generations. In addition to writing and teaching, she attends science fiction conventions, collects yarn, knits, embroiders, raises cats, and makes her own Christmas cards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome reissue!, January 3, 2009

By 

Matthew Jude Brown (Anaheim, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The God Stalker Chronicles (Hardcover)

This is a reissue of the first two books in P.C. Hodgell's classic fantasy series. I'm glad for this, because it means that books I'd like to recommend are once again easily available. I understand Baen plan to re-release the other two novels, and fifth book is nearing completion as I write this (January 2009).

Overall, the series is in the epic or high fantasy mold, but with a more personal focus. The protagonist is the cat-like Jame, who is that rare breed: a female anti-hero. Jame arrives in the city of Tai-tastigon, pursued by haunts, with little memory of her past, only that she must deliver her father's sword and ring to her twin brother.

First, she must find herself, and in the city she discovers it, piece by piece, as she apprentices in the Thieves' Guild, wins the freedom of the Cloud Kingdom, binds minds with a blind hunting cat, fights for honor and friends, and tries to understand the myriad gods of the holy city as a monotheist outsider.

Secondly, she must find her brother, and this is the focus of the second book collected here, as she leaves Tai-tastigon and searches for her brother and people as he fights to save that people from destruction. In that search she trips over much more of her and her people's dark history and discovers that the stakes are much higher than she could have imagined.

What captivates more than anything, though, is the humor of Hodgell's writing, which is pitch-perfect; she captures the ridiculousness and insanity of life so well, and this saves the reader from the dreariness of much of the epic fantasy genre, where the great causes and hopeless odds sometimes weigh down much too heavily.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hodgell's unique and fascinating saga available again!, February 27, 2009

By 

T. Doehne - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The God Stalker Chronicles (Hardcover)

The God Stalker Chronicles reissues the first two books in P.C. Hodgell's tale of Jame; God Stalk and Dark of the Moon. The world of God Stalk is unique, and the story full of mystery. The writing is excellent, the characters intriguing. This is high fantasy along the lines of George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" series. I have followed this series with eagerness since it began three decades ago; it is the only one from my early adulthood that has stood repeated reading, other than masters like Tolkien.

How unique? If you are familiar with RPGs, it is the equivalent of Jorune or Empire of the Petal Throne. Like few others, it stands alone, drawing neither on European folktales nor warmed-over Tolkien. The series tells a story of good against evil, honor and duty, and the moral uncertainty of its supernaturally gifted heroine. Jame may be a bit of a Mary Sue, but what a Mary Sue! She is my favorite hero/ine from half a lifetime of reading fantasy; unpredictable, conflicted, and amusing.

Beware, some of the other reviews have spoilers. Part of of the joy and beauty of this series is learning, along with Jame, the dark secrets of her past and those of her people and family. Another part is exploring the wonder of this amazing, surprising (if somewhat grim) world with Jame. Pick this book up without reading any details of Jame's story; let P.C. Hodgell serve you the full version, in all its richness.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love seeing Hodgell's books with a major publisher!, January 5, 2009

By 

Jason Freedman "tokyorush" (CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The God Stalker Chronicles (Hardcover)

If you haven't heard of Pat Hodgell, give her work a try! Pat has had an unbelievable amount of misfortune at the hands of various publishers, but seems to have finally landed with a strong company. I hope her work finally gets the distribution it deserves.

As others have mentioned, this book is a republishing of her first two novels about Jame and the world of the Kencyrath. I won't repeat the plot except to say that it does not follow a typical swords and sorcery fantasy direction, focusing more on the stories of the people in the world and taking you on a sort of scavenger hunt of learning about the world and about Jame as she learns about herself.

Looking forward to the next installment!