Customer Reviews

The God Stalker Chronicles

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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.

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.

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!

This long-time favorite of mine is really the very best of what the fantasy genre has to offer. Incredibly intricate, addictively engaging, the world of Jame sucked me in and continues to do so some 20-odd years later. Hodgell has created an amazing world of characters who burrowed into my consciousness and have, over the years, continued to stay with - and challenge - me.

The main protagonist, Jame, grapples with her place in a society that does not much welcome her, except as a pawn in their games. Honor is everything to her people - but "honor" has many subtle definitions and paradoxes, and navigating the razor's edge of what it means to be a member of the race of the Kencyrath brings Jame to a lively series of (mis)adventures. The opening books tell the story of her search for her people, and of the long-lost brother she seeks. As a feisty female with her own ideas of her destiny and a past that sets her apart from even the most accepting of her kind, Jame's struggle and stubbornness make for a non-stop action story. With wry humor and touching friendships made along the way, and an amazingly intricate back-story, Jame's tale is the kind of epic that only improves with each re-reading.

The themes throughout the series are made of heady stuff: self-determination, family obligations, the price of honor, finding one's own voice, carving one's identity, chaos as agent of change, loyalty, stretching boundaries.

This compilation of Hodgell's first two novels precedes the release of her sixth book later this year, and is a must-read for anyone who loves meaty, detailed fantasy and a strong female lead. I've recently given the series as a gift to my 13 year old niece, and she's as enthralled as I was upon my first reading!

I first read "God Stalk" (the first half of this two volume binding) in 1984. I perused the first few pages in the bookstore and realized how refreshing it was (even back then). This book (and its sequel "Dark Of The Moon") became my perennial touchstone for Fantasy novels (and I've read hundreds of them since). In "God Stalk" Pat shows us a uniquely mundane, yet alien world. Very subtly, the author pulls us (in the character of Jame) through the 'rabbit hole' of Tai-Tastigon, as she desperately tries to make sense of a city teeming with alchemical chaos. I will ALWAYS recommend this series to anyone who reads sci-fi/fantasy.

This book contains the first two novels in an as-yet-unfinished fantasy series. The 3rd and 4th novels are available in another Baen book, Seeker's Bane. Baen will publish the 5th in (I hope) 2010, and Dr. Hodgell has started writing the 7th, with more to come.

The series is an "instant classic": something so good that it is obvious at first reading that it will one day be universally recognized as a masterpiece. One of the things that makes it stand out is that Hodgell's world uses very little from other fantasy authors, not even Tolkien. Another is the depth of mystery the main character is faced with. As a result, many fantasy readers will have extra difficulty in understanding these books, as can be seen from some of the other reviews here.

Be warned that the two books in this series differ sharply in tone. Godstalker is funny (hilariously so in places) with dark undertones; Dark of the Moon is dark, often very dark, with flashes of humor. But at the center of both is a young women painfully discovering how the4 mysteries in her family history put her at the center of conflicts with a bewildering assortment of enemies, mostly deadly.

Patrica Hodgell is my favorite author, one of the most creative, inspired writers today. With her tales of the Kencyrath, Pat has created a darkly brilliant, sensuously intriguing, heart-poundingly exciting, amazingly original worldscape, with deeply fascinating, utterly human yet definitely NOT human characters who have the most entertaining flaws, as well as the most captivating strengths.

Jame, Hodgell's female protagonist, is THE anti-hero, her people's feared yet anticipated avatar of divine destruction, and yet one who strives with the rigid honor of her people to undo what havoc her mere presence unfailing creates. A darkling, a thief, a dancer, a Senethar fighter, a Shanir gifted (or cursed) with some of her race's most feared psychic abilities, Jame is everything a Highborn girl should NOT be, and yet she is, amazingly and unrepentantly so. Disarmingly self-deprecating, surprisingly down-to-earth (for someone of the purest blood), and frighteningly capable, Jame is the hub and her people's destiny revolves around her, wheeling all of creation toward a fate that no one, not even Jame or her twin brother Tori can imagine.

I wait impatiently patient for each new installment in Jame's story because it's absolutely worth it. I read Hodgell's books every year because they remind me, again and again, what criteria I should follow for the seeking out the best in literary fantasy.

You won't go wrong doing to same.

I've been waiting for this book, and the others in P.C. Hodgell's series to come out so I can have back up copies from my old originals.

The Kencyrath is a marvelous, chaotic and entertaining. Jame is a highly original heroine, sardonically aware of her circumstances and determined to do her best in spite of humans, demons and gods - her own Three-Faced God included.

This series has spent so much time in limbo and I am so glad to see that Ms. Hodgell is writing again (her fifth novel is in process and will be printed by Bain). I highly recommend the entire Kencyrath.

"God Stalk". The Three-Faced God created the Kencyrath triple people to end the spread of the Perimal Darkling. However as the evil extended its hold, The Three-Faced God abandoned its people to their dangerous fate especially after the Kencyrath leader betrayed his people. The stunned Kencyrath reacted by disavowing anything godly. A few thousands of years later, young Jame with her God marked silver eyes is exiled into the eerie wilderness to die. However, Jame survives and a decade later with little memory of before the deportation, searches for her missing twin brother Torisen. She fails at her quest, but ends up in mystical Tai-Taistigon where gods and demons co-exist. She becomes an apprentice to the Guild Master Thief Penari and meets Loogan and his god Gorgo, who she kills and brings back to life.

"Dark of the Moon". Jame eventually leaves Tai-Taistigon to continue her quest to find her sibling, but also wants to discover who she is. Meanwhile Tori is ten years older than his twin and currently is chieftain of the Kencyrath. However his sister will soon rock his comfortable vainglorious world as she obsesses over giving him their father's sword and ring while preparing for the coming of the Darkness

Combining these two related 1980s published superb fantasies into one collection leads to a comparative analysis of the support cast in each tale with the results being they are night and day; just like the twins. That brings freshness to both adventures even as each shares the overarching theme of coming of age escapades of a young woman seeking to understand who she is in a realm in which self seems murky at best. Readers will immensely relish the first two chronicles of Jame (the next saga is SEEKER'S MASK, not read by me) as she navigates a world she does not comprehend although P.C. Hodgell obviously does as this weird world makes for an excellent read.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this series, and used to re-read the original novels at least once a year. I was not a big fantasy reader when I first read Godstalk. I really preferred hard core science fiction. I still tend to lean in that direction, but Godstalk opened my mind to other options.. It is a well written, entertaining, funny, yet dark and intricate tale. I am so grateful that the story will be continued with new books! I have not read the original two books in a couple of years now because I misplaced my original copies, so I am thrilled that they have re-released the original two novels as one book. (I must say though that I cannot stand the artwork!!! It is so far off from accurate. In the first book, Jame is a flat-chested pre-teen. The new cover art makes her look like some buxom 25 or 30 year old!) Be that as it may, re-releasing the stories will hopefully give these books a chance to be read by many new readers, adn give old fans a chance to re-read the tale if they have lost their old copies. I will always LOVE this series, and recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi/fantasy. I agree with other reviewers, though: Read them in order if you want to really understand the intricacies of this story, and have a strong grasp of the journey that Jame and her people are on.