Customer Reviews

The Golden Shrine: A Tale of War at the Dawn of Time (Opening of the World)

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I've not enjoyed every Turtledove novel I've ever read, but I'd never seen one that was so badly written and falsely advertised that I felt I'd been conned out of the money I spent on it. The Grapple came closest, but I got that for free by winning a contest. (The one time I win a contest, and the prize is The Grapple.) But no, I'd never felt conned out of money by Turtledove.

I can't say that anymore.

The Grapple was bad in comparison with other TL-191 and Turtledove novels. The Golden Shrine, however, was so hackneyed that far, far worse authors, like David Hagberg or Robert Conroy, would be ashamed to put their name to it. And unlike The Grapple, TGS is the finale of the series, so the shadow of its failure falls heavily across its two prequels.

The book pretty much chucks the established themes of the first two novels and reveals that the story has always been driven by a prophecy that everyone's forgotten to mention till now. Marcovefa appears to be the prophet, but the Rulers know the prophecy too, and it's why they keep sending assassins after Hamnet. (Which they'd been doing since before Marcovefa was introduced.) The prophecy is that Hamnet will prove to be the Rulers' most dangerous enemy. Details are added in, but they're wildly inconsistent, changing as the plot requires them to. I have to think Turtledove used them to foreshadow scenes he'd thought of but hadn't written yet. When he wrote them he realized they didn't work as he'd planned and changed things around, but didn't bother going back to fix the prophecies. This could all be explained as the characters having an imperfect understanding of the prophecy, but instead no one seems to notice it keeps changing.

Probably because they too change as the plot requires them to. The most interesting characters from the first two books, who need the least character development, get bogged down with non sequitir new character traits. The flat characters stay static as ever, including Hamnet--except now he's a whiny, juvenile thrower of hissy-fits, too.

And all the characters contradict their established actions and personalities, sometimes several times on one page.

Back to the prophecy, though. It hints that each of the main characters will play a vital role in defeating the Rulers and finding the Shrine (or rather, finding the Shrine and defeating the Rulers) but in the end most of them were just along for the ride. Only Marcovefa and Hamnet live up to their prophesied roles: Marcovefa by casting the spell that destroys the Rulers and uncovers the Shrine, Hamnet by enabling her to do so by--I can't believe I have to say this--having sex with her while she's in a Ruler-magic-induced coma to wake her up. THAT'S what makes him so special!

The Shrine didn't feature in the defeat of the Rulers. (Neither does Hamnet's plan to release a female Ruler prisoner to go back to Rulerland and touch off a feminist rebellion against the misogynistic men; apparently she first decided to research what happened to bit players who led rebellions in Turtledove novels, and died of old age waiting for something to come of the many rebellions in the Settling Accounts novels.) Our heroes do find the Shrine right after--it's too busy being hokey to answer questions--and a high priestess says she's been with them, guiding their fates unnoticed, all along, like the Borg Queen saying she was at Wolf 359 after the fact. She gives Hamnet a message for Sigvat. It leads to his downfall in a way that's supposed to be awe-inspiring but is just confusing. At least he gets his just desserts. Gudrid may or may not get her comeuppance but at least what she gets shuts her up for the last few chapters. The rest of the characters go off on their own and try to forget the whole story ever happened.

I'm going to try very hard to do the same.

Not one of Harry Turtledove's best ventures. I have read over 20 of his works, and this one, is a disapointment. It starts off well, and seems to be building momentum; but then begins to fall apart, and starts to be very predictable. The manner of finding of the "golden shrine" is a major disapointment, a riddle which is best left unsolved. The reference to the 5th chapter of Daniel makes very little sense, leading to the ending and a potential sequel which would be best unwritten. Mr Turtledove seemed to lose interest in the story, and needed a way out.

The 'Rulers' have broken through a gap in the glaciers that long separated them from the Raumsdalian Empire and pillage and conquer virtually unchecked. Led by its incompetent emperor, Raumsdalia can do little. Indeed, its only hope, and that of the barbarian Bizigot tribes to its north, seems to be a battered band of defeated adventurers led (mostly) by Count Hamnet Thyssen. Hamnet has one key weapon against the Rulers--his lover, shaman Marcovefa. Although the Rulers have magic far more potent than anything the Raumsdalian Empire or the Bizigots can deliver, Marcovefa is more powerful still. Of course, she is just one woman and the Rulers have hundreds of shamans. Hamnet will have to come up with something clever if he doesn't want to be just one more victim to the Ruler hordes.

Although Marcovefa finds it easy to defeat the rulers at first, with each victory, the Rulers learn more about her powers and come up with new ways to defeat her. Although Hamnet's band seems like a trivial threat compared to the huge armies of defeated but not vanquished Raumsdalia, the Rulers are willing to put most of their efforts into his defeat. When they finally manage to put Marcovefa to sleep, defeat seems certain.

Hamnet, with his inability to give up his obsession for the other women of his life (his ex-wife and his ex-lover, both of whom eventually connect to his band), makes an interesting, if sometimes frustrating character. I would also have liked to see a better reason to include the ex-wife in the party, and some explanation of exactly why she was so angry at him. I thought Turtledove did a great job setting up the climactic battle and hinting at the resolution without giving the secret away.

Author Harry Turtledove doesn't position THE GOLDEN SHRINE as alternate history (his specialty), but the links to history seem obvious. The Raumsdalian Empire is Rome, the Bizigots the Germans (Visigoths?), and the Rulers the Huns who nearly destroyed both Rome and the German tribes. THE GOLDEN SHRINE is the third and final book in a series describing the events that followed from the gradual retreat of huge barrier glaciers that separated the two hemispheres (North America and Europe?).

THE GOLDEN SHRINE is an enjoyable, light read.

I have enjoyed all the books this author has writen.
The book came to me in a timely fashion and in the condition promised.

What had been a great series, with very interesting characters and wonderful interactions, gets ruined by an ending that defies reason. It's like Turtledove got bored writing the series and just wrapped it up any old way. He dropped major characters from the plot with no resolution and worst changed Hamlet's main driving force. Throughout the books he was fighting not for the emperor, but for the empire. Then when the empire is on the brink of civil war, he decides to go home and see how fast he can lose another woman. Hamlet literally turns his back on the empire as it sinks into strife. What happens to Liv and Auden? We don't know, neither do we find out about Gudrid or Eyvind Torfinn.

That said if you invested the time reading the first two books read this one. If only for the most original character I have read in a long time, Ulric Skakki.

First, I will point out that I am a big fan of Harry Turtledove's alternate history novels, and have read them all. This though, was my first foray into his fantasy.

I think that the main purpose of this novel was to defeat the Rulers (the bad guys who come to conquer the good guys' homeland) and tell us what the story with this Golden Shrine is. In terms of winning the war, I liked his ending, even though it was a bit easy. As far as the Golden Shrine goes, other reviewers seemed to disapprove, but I was rather impressed. It is EXTREMELY difficult to come up with acceptable mysticism which a reader can actually buy without rolling his eyes. Most authors who make the attempt do much worse than Turtledove did. We live in a very rational society (at least ostensibly so) and it is hard for us to take seriously some sort of magic-based religion which involves a supernatural shrine. This is a common part of fantasy literature, and Harry Turtledove did a fine job of explaining it and not making my eyes roll. He was not trying to insert any sort of political message, and did not rely on trite plot motifs which have been done by dozens of authors. This already places this story into the top 10% or so of fantasy novels, at least in terms of explaining something magical or theological. He kept it simple, which made it more palatable.

The book held my attention from beginning to end, and when I finished I felt like all of my questions were answered. Is this going to become a classic? No. Is this some of Turtledove's best work? No. Is it worth a read? I think so.

In this, the third and final book in his Opening of the World trilogy, author Harry Turtledove returns to his late-Ice Age/Iron Age world. The mammoth-riding Rulers are in the process of overwhelming the Bizogots and the Raumsdalian Empire, and only Count Hamnet Thyssen and his intrepid band seem to be able to offer them any real resistance. But, the Golden Shrine they are seeking is still proving illusive, and worse, the Rulers are learning to counter the potency of Marcovefa's magic. Can they find the Golden Shrine and defeat the Rulers before it is too late?

I must say that I found this book to be a bit of a mixed bag. For most of the book, the action and adventure is pretty darn good, with a lot of interesting magic thrown in. About the time that the story is beginning to drag and get too repetitive, the story comes to the defeat of the Rulers. So far, so good. As a matter of fact, I really liked the way that the author engineered their defeat. (No spoilers here.)

The biggest problem with the book is that it really falls apart at that point. The Golden Shrine, instead of being an instrumental part of the story, is simply explained to have been guiding Hamnet and his band all the way along. Other than that, the priests and priestesses refuse to answer any and all questions, making its presence seem completely useless. Emperor Sigvat is dealt with in a sort of deus ex machina that takes a story right out of the Bible, one that I cannot imagine how it connects to this story at all. All of the other dangling pieces of plot are left dangling, leaving the reader to wonder why they were included in the first place.

So, let me just say that it was a really good book, up to defeat of the Rulers, and not worth reading after that. I give this book a rather guarded recommendation.

The Golden Shrine (2009) is the third Fantasy novel in The Opening of the World trilogy, following The Breath of God. In the previous volume, the Rulers came through the Gap and defeated many Bizogot clans. Then they went south to take on the Raumsdalian Empire. Only the magical skills of Marcovefa matched or exceeded the skills of the Ruler shamans.

Then Marcovefa was hit with a sling stone. She survived, but lost her memory and powers. When Sigvat sent for Hamnet, his friends returned to the steppe.

In this novel, Count Hamnet Thyssen is a Raumsdalian nobleman. He has been away from his home castle for a long time. He has been through the Gap and within the Imperial dungeons. He has lost two lovers, but now has Marcovefa.

Ulric Skakki is an adventurer. He had been through the Gap and seen the Rulers before any other Raumsdalian.

Audun Gilli is a Raumsdalian wizard. He has been exchanging magical expertise with Liv.

Trasamund is a Bizogot, the jarl of the Three Tusk Clan or what remains of it. He is an inveterate optimist about fighting the Rulers. His clan has hurt the enemy, but sustained great casualties in doing so.

Liv is a Bizogot, the shaman of the Three Tusk Clan. She is barely able to counter the magic of the Ruler shamans, but she is always willing to try again. She is Audun's lover.

Marcovefa is a shaman of a Glacier clan. Her people are descended from the Bizogots, but have been stranded on the Glacier for centuries. She is slowly recovering her magical powers.

In this story, Trasamund now leads survivors from many Bizogot clans. With Marcovefa's magic, they have been killing small Ruler bands. Now spring has come to the steppe.

Hamnet and Marcovefa are learning the speech of the Rulers. The Ruler captive teaching the lessons gets too full of himself. Marcovefa gives him a lesson in manners with a minor spell.

A scout rides into the Bizogot camp with word of another small band headed south. Trasamund leads out his warriors with their Raumsdalian allies. Marcovefa -- with help from Audun and Liv -- defeats the Ruler magic and the allies win another skirmish.

As spring advances, the allies head south to Sudertorp Lake. There they meet a gathering of Ruler shamans. The massed shamans fight Marcovefa to a standstill. So Hamnet and the other warriors kill the enemy shamans by physical means.

Then Hamnet and Skakki find a Ruler woman spying on them. They interrogate Tahpene and get little additional information. Tahpene finds it hard to believe that Marcovefa and Liv are respected shamans, so they let Tahpene escape to take some subversive thinking back to the Rulers.

A messenger from Emperor Sigvat II comes to the camp to ask Hamnet to return to Nidaros. Apparently the Rulers have issued a reward for him and the Emperor believes that Hamnet can lead the Empire to victory. Hamnet points out that he has already tried to help the Emperor and was thrown into the dungeons for his efforts.

Then the Ruler shamans send a sorcerous plague to the allies. Skakki senses the magic and informs Marcovefa. While she counters the Ruler magic, the battle is hard fought. The allies decide to head south toward the Empire.

This tale takes the allies through the Empire far to the south and then back to the Bizogot steppe. The main Ruler army turns from attacking Sigvat and starts chasing them. Even more are coming from the north and things are looking rather grim.

This novel concludes the trilogy. Many surprises unfold along the way. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Turtledove fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of varied magics, armed combat, and stubborn noblemen. If anyone has not previously read this series, the initial volume is Beyond the Gap.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have read almost every book this man has written. This series is the best. Cannot wait until he writes some more.

A good third book in the series. I enjoyed the first two so I wasn't surprised when I liked the third.

A good read, fairly good pace without a lot of boring distractions. It moved along although I started to suspect what was going to happen to the bad guys, who by the way, deserved everything that happened to them.

I recomend this book.