Hecate's Glory [Hardcover]

Karen Michalson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2003

Karen Michalson burst on the scene recently with a new fantasy saga in the tradition of George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Beginning with Enemy Glory, now continues with Hecate's Glory. "A grand-scale fantasy taking place in an exotic realm where religion and magic vie for prominence," said Library Journal.

Llewelyn is now a clerical wizard, one whose power derives not from mere arcane knowledge, but directly from Hecate, the goddess to whom he is pledged as consort. After disillusionment in love and betrayal in politics, he is an angry young student in a monastery, bonded to a dark goddess, a magician ready to fight the world.

In Llewelyn's world, the realm of the supernatural lies in the North, while warring kingdoms and a complex religion devoted to gods and goddesses of good and evil dominate the South. Llewelyn schemes for revenge and creates a disaster that forces him out of the monastery and back into the wide world, where he must flee north to escape the Emperor Roguehan, for whom he has been an unreliable spy. Fleeing the enemy, he knows, he will encounter new foes, not so easily recognized.

As Llewelyn travels, the story opens out into broader panoramas of his fascinating world. He will meet an enchanted dragon, befriend a half-elf minstrel, win a claim to the royal throne of far-off Gondal, and face a battle fought by an elven army.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Picking up where Enemy Glory (2001) left off, Michalson offers more of the same dense, rococo prose in the sequel, narrated as before by the pompous, self-absorbed wizard Llewelyn, as his former friend, the Duke of Walworth, holds him at sword point. Ruminating further on the curious religious beliefs that permeate society, Llewelyn flees the nasty emperor Roguehan to a place where he has a chance to become king. When his evil goddess, Hecate, gives him the choice of laying waste to the land of elves and beauty or going north to a certain tortuous death, we finally learn how he has come to be on trial for treason in the north. Inverted logic and word games that try to close loopholes in the plot will irritate some readers, but fans of the first book should find this a satisfactory conclusion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Michalson's debut effort deserves praise for her wonderful characters. . . . Michalson's series promises to grow more interesting as it progresses." -The Davis Enterprise

"This well-crafted first novel about a wizard's education, a sort of Harry Potter on downers, strives for a baroque density reminiscent of the Gormenghast saga. . . ."--Publishers Weekly

"Inventive . . . with a rich, textured backdrop. . . . " -Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (February 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312890605
• ISBN-13: 978-0312890605
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michalson does it again!, August 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hecate's Glory (Hardcover)

Hecate's Glory is stronger than Enemy Glory because Llewelyn completely comes into his own here. He is evil, but his chief attraction is his conflict with his inner goodness, which is more tragic and exciting here than in Enemy Glory because Michalson brings him out of Kursen Monastery and gives him a chance to make his own decisions in the world. He loves beautiful music and poetry so much he risks his own life to save an imprisoned musician (my favorite scene of many). My other favorite scene is when he helps his new companion, Aeren, kill the wizard Zelar, because it brings out a strange sensitivity in Llewelyn even while he is killing an enemy. That is why I love this character. He is not your usual villain. He is ruthless in his assessment of himself and other people - so ruthless I feel pity for him sometimes, even though he always makes me think. But in a way, that's the strength of this book. Michalson provides an intellectually challenging moral tale that asks hard philosophical questions, something you rarely find in a typical fantasy book. I highly recommend this series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMW, August 9, 2006

By 

Vance Daniel "AMW" (santa fe, tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hecate's Glory (Hardcover)

I found this as book as well as Enemy Glory fascinating. The intricate plot kept me deeply intrigued throughout. My favorite thing about these two books are the character development and the beautiful poetic writing style of Karen. I eagerly await more from Karen Michalson. Also----check out Lian Hearn

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Insightful., July 2, 2007

By 

D. MacEwan (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hecate's Glory (Hardcover)

Karen Michalson has the unmatched ability of missing nothing in her plot or characters. The sheer complexity of the nuances begun in "Enemy Glory" and brought to a sharp conclusion in "Hecate's Glory" is award-worthy. To weave such an intricate plot as well as keep the writing stellar throughout is an uncommon talent amongst today's fantasy writers. The attentive reader will be well rewarded with many insights into universal truths, tidbits of occult wisdom, as well as humorous and astoundingly accurate insights into the character flaws of human beings, which Michalson states unabashedly. I have read this series 3 times over and find new insight each time I leaf through the pages.

A flawless read.