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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What to give the most beautiful, clever woman in the world?, May 28, 2004
While continuing to show Dart Thornton's command of the English language and research into the Faery lore of the British Isles, this was a very disappointing second installment in the trilogy. The mute, already the cleverest gal in the world, regains her voice and face, only to discover that she is also the most beautiful woman in the world, as well. She travels to the Royal City, and discovers that that very handsome ranger-type fellow who was guiding her through the woods was, in fact, the King-Emperor, who has put a war that threatens all humanity on hold in order to find her (and no one bats and eyebrow as, consequently, masses of humanity fall subject to the depredations of the unseelie). They re-unite, and, contrary to the conversations they used to have in the wild, lapse into archaic speech laced with "thees", "thous" and "forsooths", just as any couple would in private. The most beautiful, cleverest woman in the world then becomes the wealthiest, and all her friends, too, as the King begins to give away honors, titles, wealth and a large part of his kingdom to everyone who helped her (is this wise in a state of war?). The only thing she doesn't have is her memory, and a noble title to go with her looks and cleverness. Could she really be a Princess, who has lost her memory? How could she NOT be! Dart Thornton's protagonist becomes VERY annoying in this second volume. She NEVER once faces any real danger, always being rescued by someone or something, and always before the reader has the chance to get even remotely concerned. She can do no wrong, and is always forgiven her transgressions. The woman sinks an island through her stupidity! The woman has no responsibility for her actions, and demonstrates a tremendous, and dangerous (just ask those islanders), capriciousness from her newfound position of influence. Her companions are dead weight, and actually detract from the most beautiful-clever one's progress. So, why does she keep them around? Clearly, the author has become enamored of her protagonist, and, like a maniacal RPG player, wants them to have EVERYTHING. If they have it all, what's the sense of writing a third book? So what's to like? Dart Thornton's evocative use of the English language is extraordinary, and demonstrates a unique talent. The faery tales which she intersperses throughout, while certainly not original (they're hundreds of years old), are at least used originally as a backdrop, and the book is a great read if for no other reason than these faery tales themselves. Anyone familiar with "Faeries" of Froud/Lee will recognize the world in which Dart Thornton places her character. Anyone who has ever seen "Labyrinth" will recognize entire scenes plagiarized, and even the wicked villain seems to be heavily based on Jared, the beautiful faery surrounded by malignant goblins. There really isn't that much original here. The only real originality is in the way Dart Thornton expresses herself (her prose IS beautiful), and the fact that she weaves faery tales into the story of her character. Otherwise, with no danger faced that she won't ultimately be rescued from (and this is a key point in that there is little she has to rescue herself from, with all salvation done by outside agencies), read the book for the faery tales scattered within, and the lovely prose.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Volume 2 is even better than Volume 1, June 5, 2002
This review is from: The Lady of the Sorrows (The Bitterbynde, Book 2) (Hardcover)
"The Lady of the Sorrows" is the second volume in Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde trilogy. I was worried when the 'ill-made mute' turned drop-dead gorgeous at the end of volume 1, but luckily it doesn't seem to affect the heroine, Rohain's pluck, or her determination to discover her pre-amnesiac past. There is a mounting tension in this book that was missing in the relatively plotless first volume of the trilogy. The author begins to frame the overarching struggle between good and evil. She begins to drop hints as to why it is so important that Rohain should recover her past. Some of the hints aren't so subtle: The Wild Hunt mounts a full-scale, coordinated assault on the tower where Rohain is visiting; the forces of evil blow up an island, Krakatau-style, where she seeks refuge. (There are a few minor errors regarding lava viscosity and the behavior of tsunamis, but overall this section of the book is a splendid, scary reinterpretation of the eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatau in 1883). As in "The Ill-Made Mute," Cecilia Dart-Thornton specializes in long, static, but beautiful descriptions of scenery, clothing, courtly manners, holiday feasts, the land of Faêran (Faêrie), etc. Even though these descriptions slow down the action, they really bring the reader into the scene: "They found shelter in a mossy stone ruin that had once, in ages long past, conceivably been a byre. Honeysuckle and traveler's joy formed a roof over the few remaining, slug-haunted walls. Against those they piled dry bracken to serve as a bed. Not daring to light a fire, they unwrapped the last slabs of cold porridge from their dock leaves and dined in silence." Beautiful. I'm right there under the honesuckle, eating cold porridge with Rohain and her friends. Read "The Ill-Made Mute" (in which Rohain is called 'Imrhien') before tackling "The Lady of the Sorrows" or you might not understand the story and all of its lovingly crafted accouterments. Then you'll have to wait until April, 2003, when the concluding volume of this unique trilogy, "The Battle of Evernight" is published, to see how it all ends for Imrhien-Rohain.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
So disappointed!, May 18, 2009
Having loved The Ill-Made Mute as a flawed gem with occasional gorgeous prose (but the lady swallowed a thesaurus or something and writes page-long lists of trivial minutiae), I was looking forward to the next two volumes.
I simply cannot read the second volume, having become bored senseless with the menus, hats and gowns at imaginary parties of no interest to me at all. The main character has lost any humanity and is now a Perfect Princess but has become utterly useless (if pretty. She was much morer interesting as a scarred mute). The "nobilty" were suitably awful and condescending - except for the King, who allows his subjects to be slaughtered and left unled during a time of war so as to be (un)suitably romantic.
The story is really just a collection of Olde English folktales rebadged, but without any interesting narrative arc involving the original characters, who become more shallow as the series develops! At least as far as I have read, and I just cannot be bothered finishing the series.
I'll flick through and read the re-worked folklore, and look out for the odd magic passage of prose. But the lists of trivia, lack of interesting characters and story have defeated me!
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