To the King a Daughter (The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan; Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Andre Norton (Author), Sasha Miller (Author) "The chill gray mist of early morning had become a driving sword blade of sleet before noon when their last horse foundered..." (more)
Key Phrases: pull lights, Cragden Keep, Prince Florian, Queen Ysa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This novel from beloved writer Norton and coauthor Miller begins a new fantasy series: The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan. Fans of Norton's classic Witch World stories will find familiar terrain in this tale of a crumbling kingdom besieged by dark forces. Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan are the four legendary powers of the world, now fallen on hard times after years of warfare and mutual betrayal. Weak-willed Boroth, King of Oak, and his scheming wife, Ysa, sorcerous Queen of Yew, hold the monarchy for now. Desperate to escape the ancient prophesy that a Daughter of Ash will claim the throne, Ysa orders the death of Boroth's runaway lover, Lady Alditha of Ashe--without knowing Alditha has already given birth to Boroth's bastard daughter, Ashen. Years pass. Boroth's health fails. As Ysa grooms her unworthy son, Florian, to inherit the throne, Ashen is raised by Zazar, a wise woman living with the Bog Folk. When Zazar dies before she can warn the girl of her true heritage, Ashen must trust her instincts and the little magic she knows for protection. After she saves Obern, the dashing son of Snolli, High Chief of the Sea Rovers, who seek alliance against enemies from the north, Ashen and Obern travel to court with Lord Harous, who distrusts Ysa's intentions. Here book 1 concludes, almost as soon as the story really begins. While Norton fans will be eager to read her newest book, they're likely to be disappointed by its slow pace and minimal storyline. --Charlene Brusso --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Born to a mother who dies in childbirth, the girl known as Ashen grows up among the wild people of the swamps, raised by a witch yet marked by destiny as a daughter of Ash. Veteran sf and fantasy author Norton combines her formidable storytelling talent with coauthor Miller (Ladylord) to create a new seriesDthe "Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan" cycleDthat should appeal to adult and teenage fans of high fantasy. Featuring an engaging and courageous female protagonist, this epic tale of hidden heirs and unfolding prophecies is for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (June 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812577574
• ISBN-13: 978-0812577570
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #591,831 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A promising kick-off, August 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: To the King a Daughter (The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan; Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

Andre Norton and Sasha Miller deliver--again. It would be a pity to give away too much of the story, so I'll just say that you'll find strong female characters and a great story with original twists.

It's apparent that this book is the entry point for a new series, and my only criticism is that I really don't want to wait 18 months for the next book to be released.

I greatly enjoyed this book and tore through it in about two days.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great start to a new series, August 24, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: To the King a Daughter (The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan; Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

Rendel seems to have always contained four major powers: Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan. However, centuries of endless war have devastated Ash and Rowan, leaving the King being an Oak and the Queen being a Yew. In reality, the evil Queen Ysa rules with a strategic objective to insure her throne remains in the hands of her descendants even if the magic she uses is malevolent.

Ysa knows that the only potential obstacle is the prophecy that a female Ash will rise to wrestle the throne from her. Already loathing that house for providing her spouse with a mistress and to insure that the prophecy never occurs, Ysa has committed genocide and wiped out the House of Ash. However, deep in the swamp lives a girl being raised by a healer. That girl is the biological daughter of the king's deceased mistress. Could she be the focus of the foretelling of the return of the House of Ash or is it too late since Ysa has control of the rings of magic?

TO THE KING A DAUGHTER, the first entry in a new fantasy series, is an exciting tale that brings to life a magical world. The story line apparently sets the tone for subsequent novels as readers learn about Rendel, leaving characters in the background with the exception of Ysa. The apparent heroine never slides into prime focus until the end of the tale. Genre fans will enjoy the opening gamut that sets the stage for the series, but future surfers may find it difficult to float in and out without this well written novel as a guide.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Time of Decline, February 1, 2003

By	Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: To the King a Daughter (The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan; Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

To the King a Daughter (2000) is the first volume in the Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan trilogy. This new fantasy series describes the history of Rendel during the period after the strike of the great thunder-star has freed the Great Foulness. Once there were four great powers in the world -- Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan -- but time and war have reduced these powers to shadows of their former glory. The King of Oak is a drunken lout, the Queen of Yew is a magical schemer, and Ash and Rowan are nearly dead.

In this novel, a woman pregnant with the King's daughter, and Ash's heir, flees to the Bale Bog, there to give birth and die. The newborn is named Ashen Deathdaughter by Zazar, the Wysen-wyf who delivers her. Ashen is raised as Zazar's apprentice, doing lessons and chores and running through the boglands. Since she is an Outlander, the bog-folk would, by custom, have tossed her into the nearest bog, but Zazar protects her. As she grows older, the young men are somewhat ambivalent about her, both attracted and repelled.

The soldiers of the Yew who have followed Ashen's mother's party believe that the pregnant woman has been lost in the mire, which would surely please the Queen, for now there would be no others to dispute her son's right to the throne. Of course, the young prince is only concerned at this time with bargaining for a pony of his own and, as he grows older, he learns that visits to his ill father are worth plum pudding for desert. So like his father, Queen Ysa thinks, but there is still time to train him to loftier pursuits.

In the far north, the only city of the Sea-Rovers has been destroyed by the tsunami following the thunder-star strike. The surviving ships rendezvous with their High Chief, Snorri, in the land of the Nordens, but then sail on to establish a new city on some hospitable shore; to repay the kindness shown them, the Sea-Rovers transport a Norden emissary, Count Bjauden, to Rendel. Unfortunately, after near three years of battles, the Sea-Rovers are driven out of their new lands by a enemy from the northern ice regions and they have to flee again, this time to the Ashenhold in Rendel. Snorri's son, Obern, is sent ahead to scout and to find a safe harbor.

In Rendel, Queen Ysa spins her webs and, after she gains the four great rings of Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan, uses their magic to forward her plots. She has virtual control of everyone in Rendel...except her own son. Indeed, the young Prince, out of spite, commissions one of the house servants to assassinate Count Bjauden and leave his body in a ruined city in the Bog.

This series is based on an archetype in many religions, the weavers of lifelines, who have been known in various times and places as the Fates, the Norns, Brigit, and other names. Certain trees are significant to most of the Western European religions, but the mythos of the Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan is specific to the old religions of the British Isles and France, particularly to what is now known as Wicca. Thus, the background of this story is drawn from the mythology of Pre-Christian Europe that has figured so prominently in other Norton stories. However, the story overlays this religious context on the architecture, dress, customs and mores of Western Europe of about the 14th century CE, yet with neither the influence of Rome nor the competition between England and France.

Sasha Miller has previously contributed a story to Norton's On the Wings of Magic anthology in The Turning series of Witch World related writings. She has also written Ladylord, a fantasy novel similar in plot, but not treatment, to Moore's Jirel of Joiry. Insofar as I am aware, this is the first novel that she has co-authored with Norton.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys war, magic and feudal politics in a fantasy setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin