Customer Reviews

Lady of Horses

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I could not put this book down! I hadn't read any of Judith Tarr's books before "Lady of Horses," and now I can't stop reading her different works! The way she wrote this book, and her others, is so phenomenal!
"Lady of Horses" was a very enticing book about the struggle of Sparrow, a young women, within her tribe. Sparrow believes that women should be allowed to be near horses and do many other things that only the men can do, but of course, the men would never hear to such things. So, she sneaks out very late at night and just sits with the royal herd, until one night, a white mare, Horse Goddess, asks her to sit upon her back and feel what it is like to fly without wings.
The story has a great plot, and the characters are well depicted - she describes their physical features wonderfully, and allows you to relate to them so much, that you can see each individual character very clearly in your mind. I would definately recommend "Lady of Horses" to anyone looking for a good book to read!

Judith Tarr is simply one of the best writers in the world today! Whether writing literature, historical fiction or sci-fi fantasy, every novel takes the reader away into the time, place and world of the characters she writes about. You feel as though you are living through the eyes of the character you most identify with, and become emotionally involved in the events of their lives. One can't say Judith Tarr gets better with time because every novel (and I've read them all) written years ago till today are consistently excellant in every way a book can be. Lady of Horses is no exception!

Written about the Horse Goddess and a very powerful female character, she continues in the vain of her previous novel's, "White Mare's Daughter" and "The Shepherds Kings". Sparrow, an isolated, spiritual but strong female, is chosen by The Mare and is complelled to fulfill the destiny demanded by the Goddess to become a powerful Shaman and lead the Grey Horse People of her mother's tribe. Raised in a patriarchal society in the Tribe of the People, where men dominate and women are viewed as worthless and threatening, Sparrow must follow the Horse Goddess lead and learn the ancient lessons of the Gods. Set in the world of pre-historical times, the novel focuses on the physical and spiritual relationship between Humans, Gods and Horses. By daring to turn against the rules and demands of the men of her Tribe, Sparrow ultimately leds Tribes with different values and beliefs together. Through Sparrow's response to the Mare who has chosen her, Tarr leads the reader into the Tribe's world and the Spiritual World of the Horse Goddess. Characters arise from the pages of the book who are evil, wise, compassionate and loving. Walker, the People of the Tribe's powerful Shaman and brother of Sparrow, steals Sparrow's visions to control others in evil ways only to fulfill his desire to make the people do what he wishes and become the Maker of Kings. Keen, Walker's wife and best friend to Sparrow, becomes a strong and independant women with the aid of her friend and the will of the Horse Goddess. Then there's Wolfcub, who has always loved Sparrow secretly, but is bound by honor to return her to the Tribe after Sparrow rides the Mare away. Riding horses is an act forbidden to women by the Men of the Tribe and their Gods. And Old Women, a powerful Shaman who lives alone, she becomes the teacher and spiritual guide to a less then willing Sparrow. These four are but a few of the many characters in the story with which the readers becomes intimately involved.

Then there are the Horses. All aspects of the Horse world are brought intimately to life through Tarr's powerful, humorous and very real descriptions of their behavior, habits, relationships, and physical and spiritual nature. Readers become one with the horse, drawn into their world to the point of feeling the joy of riding on their broad and powerful backs, arousal at their definitive and playful courtships between Mare and Stallion, and understanding their thoughts, emotions and communication with the Humans that they allow the privilidge of being in their lives.

Don't start this book unless you have the ability to sit and read it straight through! As with many of Judith Tarr's novels, everyday life intrusions are as annoying as the flies that can torment the Horses. Lady of Horses is an all incompassing experience and it is with a sigh of both sadness and joy that you reach the final page and close the book. I never let go of a Judith Tarr Novel however, as this book, like her others are meant to past the test of time and be read and re-read for years to come.

This was only my third Judith Tarr book and I really really enjoyed this book as much as the other two and wow..! this woman can really write! It's a thick book and I made a mistake of starting it after dinner. Sure enough, I couldn't put it down until it's done around 2am. I wouldn't go into synopsis bcs it's been mentioned above, but I'll go into everything else that I liked about this book.

First, the setting. One thing I admire about Judith Tarr is her ability to bring to life whatever setting she chooses in her novels, be it 2nd century Roman empire, ancient Egypt, or ancient history time. It showed how much research she's done for each book and she weaved everything in a subtle way so it didn't distract readers from the main story. The people, the horses, the custom, the clothes, everything came to life in this book.

Then the story, oh.. what a wonderful story it was. I judge the rating of a book based on its staying power and I know this one is going to stay with me for a long long time.

Last but not least, the characters. I loved the characters in this book, even the mad ones. They're all multi-layered characers who complimented each other as a tribe and made the story stronger. We got to see how each character grew and did what they did and received their just ending. A lot of the things they did in the book didn't make sense in a modern world, but that's another thing I liked about it. Judith Tarr made sure that none of them did something so completely out of character that would jarr her readers from enjoying the story. Plus, the romantic in me appreciated the strong romantic thread in this book.

Thank you Judith Tarr, for writing such a wonderful book! I hope you will continue writing for years to come.

Wow, Wow is how I feel about the book. Though I read alot, I have never read on of Judith Tarr's book before. This book captivated me from the beganing. While reading this you enter the life of Sparrow, her brother Walker, her freinds Keen and Wolfcub,and her childhood love Liden. This book also pays homeage to the relaship to woman and horses. This book is the best book I've read.

This book is roughly about women inthe north who have no freedom and women in the south with the same equality as men. One particular girl, Sparrow, had a mother captured from the south to marry her father, Drinks-the-Wind, and takes her image as short, dark, and round-faced. Sparrow keeps away from her tribe as much as she can and her childhood friend, Wolfcub, who later becomes Kestrel, was always in love with her. they find out their passion for eachother later in the book when Sparrow and her other friend, Keen, escape to the south. Sparrow becomes part of the southern tribes, as keen and the future prince of the tribe, Cloud, fall in love with eachother also. the romanc is passionate, understandable, and realistic. The adventure is overwhelmingly perfect and changes a lot throught the whole book. It is also both tragic and comedic at once and this novel keeps your eyes glued to the pages. Overall, this book to me has been read and enjoyed tremendously.

Lady of Horses has a permanent place on my bookshelf. I have often picked it up to re-read one of my favorite parts (and ended up spending the whole day on it). Its handling of serious issues, sense of justice, and unusual setting are enlightening, while Tarr's unique use of irony and other elements makes it entertaining (let's face it, a book just has to be entertaining). It's also almost impossible to put down, so beware!

I really enjoy reading this book. It is one I've read several times and decided to own it so that i didn't have library due dates to bind me. The storyline is a very good one. It is about women overcoming the overpowering/"all knowing" men but not being cocky as they are often portrayed. They emerge from their male dominated worlds with dignity and respect. I thoroughly enjoy the power of the horses as well and how they are so magnificent and quite intuitive. Through the horse is a source of positive energy.

If you love horses and prehistory, as well as a beautifully written story, you will love this novel. To the East are the tribes ruled by men, to the West are the tribes ruled by women, and a female seer called Sparrow must find her way from one to the other. Overlaying the entire book are the horses, specifically the Horse Goddess, who is similar to the Mother. If you enjoy the books of Jean Auel and Marion Zimmer Bradley you will surely love this book and go on to read Judith Tarr's others. It is a book that I was sorry to finish.

Rather shallow and juvenile. I was looking for a peek into prehistoric culture by someone who had studied history and I got endless junior high school 'he said, she said' drivel. Even the animals were uninteresting and inaccurately portrayed.

I cringed over most of the dialog and after the lead character uttered the phrase "Hither and yon" I slammed the book shut and took it back to the library.