Customer Reviews

Nobody's Son

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Nobody's Son" succeeds as both a fantasy and as a psychological study of an over-achieving hero who is four years old when his father deserts their family. Normally the phrase `psychological study' would be the kiss of death for a fantasy, but Sean Stewart's characters are the opposite of pretentious, navel-gazers. They're introspective, but they're also over-achievers and likeable to boot. His hero, Shielder's Mark is a shrewd young commoner who succeeds in shattering an age-old spell and winning the hand of a princess. He then blunders through the courtly landscape and into marriage, wears an awful hat through much of the book because the woman he loves made it for him (out of a corset and badly dyed leather), and forges his own demesne out of land that no one else would have because it was haunted. Sean Stewart tells his tale of "Nobody's Son" almost backwards---or at least his real story begins where most fairy tales end---in the `happily ever after.' Time itself shuttles backward, forward, round and round like an industrious orb-weaver. Shielder's Mark crosses a bridge that collapsed fifty generations past. He accidentally conjures up a dead hero and steals his sword. He loans his own sword to a man whose bones crumble to dust the next morning. In his `happily ever after,' Mark learns that he now must vanquish the ghosts he let back into the world when he destroyed the spell of the Red Keep. He also needs to learn that his "strange, proud, fierce, fox-faced" princess-bride, "chose him as much as he chose her." Read this Aurora Award winner for its engaging characters, for its wonderful, offbeat love story, and for the dire spell of the Red Keep, where Shielder's Mark must confront his own past and intervene in a patricide that took place before he was born.

This is a fantasy story which starts where most end: when the hero vanquishes the evil in the land and goes to claim his prize.

The Ghostwood has been the evil in the heart of the kingdom for a thousand years, and for most of that time, the best, bravest and most noble heros have gone to try and vanqish it, for the prize is no other than any wish they may make of the king. For all that time none of these great heros succeded or came back - till Shielder's Mark did.

And there's the problem, because Mark is no noble hero in the traditional sense, instead he is a pratical pesant with big dreams. Mark claims his princess and finds out how much the fairy tales *didn't* say.

This is a well written novel. Aimed for "young adults" it can be read by anyone who enjoys an original, well written fantasy story. All the characters have a depth and honesty to them that is refreshing, and the writing style is descriptive without going overboard.

Having read this book, I now plan to look up more works by this author, who appears to be a hidden gem of the fantasy/young adult market.

I have been using the top 100 fantasy web pageto get ideas of what to read, and for the most part, the favorites of the masses have been helpful recommendations. This book was ranked rather high, so I kept an eye out for it... for two years. Nowhere to be found. Even here. Yet you can read here that its won some prestigeous awards. After finally finding a copy in a dusty library, I rushed home to read it aware that it had been built up in my mind for all this time- and it in no way disappointed! A decent culture, and fun delemas and situations, but what made this stand alone story really shine was the characters. Nothing steriotypical about them. They are real people in a very imaginative, yet realistic world. It may be tough at first to get used to his style, and the speaking habits of his characters, but twenty pages in it doesnt phase you, and by the end of the book you want more.

At first glance, 'Nobody's Son' appears to be a typical young adult fantasy; one of those where the young nobody overcomes tremendous odds and becomes prominent. But it turns out to be so much more.

Our hero braves the evil enchanted forest where time exists for only one day. It has been foretold that once a man enters the forest, he must leave by midnight or he is trapped inside for eternity. The only way to lift the curse is to remove the evil dagger from the forest. Our hero overcomes innumerable odds and removes the dagger. He returns to the king's castle and demands his reward, the king's youngest daughter and a dukedom.

Stewart's story goes into much more depth than this seemingly basic plot. His characters are unforgettable. They linger in the mind days after finishing the book. Their relationships with each other are fascinating; particularly that between the young princess and her affianced.

This is a compelling story that will entertain. It goes beyond the surface-thin plots we see all too often in fantasy today. The story has depth and resonance. Magic Carpet Books is to be applauded for bringing this fantastic story back into print. It's a travesty that it had never before been printed in America. Sean Stewart is gradually gaining prominence in the literary (not just fantasy) community. He keeps improving with each book. You owe it to yourself to become familiar with this relatively new and powerful author. Recommended.

A very sophisticated novel which uses the language of fairy tales to explore marriage, growing up without a father, coming to grips with adult responsibilities, and dealing with the past. This book brings an unusual level of realism to the fantasy genre. While the action sequences are as thrilling and scary as any in the genre, they take a back seat to the primary story, which is about Mark's growth from a young man controlled by his past and desperate for love and a place in the world to a mature husband and father-to-be who has made peace with his demons. Moving, believable, and often funny, with excellent characterization and dialogue. One of Stewart's best... and that's saying a lot.

But this was actually good. This was actually really, really good.

A lad by the name of Shielder's Mark fulfills what no other hero had done in the past. He gets his reward, but not all is what it seems. Being 'married' to the princess really doesn't equate being loved by her, after all; and was 'saving' the land really such a needed thing?

Actually, when I first began to read this book, I knew it wasn't going to be just any ordinary fantasy--the story itself attests to that. But it went beyond my expectations. The writer has talent. Not only is Shielder's Mark an intriguing and humourous character; his plight is written in such a way that you remember it long after you have closed the book.

The writing is reminiscent of Le Guin, but with a humor of its own, and perhaps more sex than you usually see in good fantasy.

If you want a good read that will stick to you, get a copy of this book now. And I mean buy it, because if you rent it from the library like me you're going to balk at having to turn it over to the librarian and make your boyfriend do it instead because you know you'd regret it, and then have to make plans to go to a bookstore later to buy it. Make it hard cover. Because you're going to want to read it again and again, and you don't want it falling apart on you.

This unusual story succeeds on several levels. Plotting is good, with fast action and unexpected plot twists. Characterization is excellent, with 3 dimensional people. The psychological aspects of tensions between fathers and son are woven beautifully into the plot with several variations on the same theme. A very offbeat love story is also part of the plot. The book retains interest even on re-reading.

Nobody's Son was my first introduction to Sean Stewart, and a damn good one too. Felt like I could get inside Mark's head, saw things how he saw them, felt things how he did. The whole story was a puzzlelike fairy tale that slowly came together as I kept reading, with a dark and beautiful climax. The story left none of the characters unaltered, for the better AND the worse, and shows that lessons can be learned in those dark places where we don't want to look. A great read, and I definitely reccomend it.

Shielder's Mark is a commoner, with big dreams. Since childhood, he has prepared for and daydreamed about rescuing a sword from a haunted Keep. It is believed that the nearby Ghostwood Forest is cursed, and the curse can only be lifted by reclaiming the sword. Mark has always had a vision of how his life would change, if he were successful. But his eventual success does not bring him the fame he envisioned. Instead, the ensuing complications seem endless...

The story of the Keep and the sword is okay, but it suffers from some dull moments. The romance story between Mark and his wife is just okay. Typical of Stewart's novels, the focus of this one seems to favor character development over story. There are themes of fatherhood and father/son relationships, which are featured with Mark, with another Duke, and even among some ghosts. Those moments are more interesting than the fantasy elements of the book, which are fairly typical of the genre. This is certainly different from his other works, and not as powerful as many of them. Stewart's strength, for me, has been his ability to turn ordinary situations into something truly special, by creating painfully realistic characters. That seemed a difficult task here, within the confines of pure fantasy. There is some magic in this story, which is another common theme in a Stewart novel. It just didn't work as well for me in this story. Not a bad book, to be sure, but not representative of Stewart's best work.

Shielder's Mark was abandoned by his father when he was a boy. In other words, he's Nobody's son. Having dreamt all his childhood of adventure and glory, he decides to go to the Ghostwood to try and break the spell of the Red Keep. And actually manages to.

Bringing back a sword named Sweetnesss as proof, he goes to the King's castle to claim the reward. King Astin asks Mark to give up the legandary blade in exchange for any prize of his choosing. Mark picks the sovereign's most precious jewel: the hand of his youngest daughter, the bold and impetuous Gail, currently betrothed to Duke Richard.

Mark is a farmboy, not used to court manners. He's blunt and makes blunder after blunder, but the Princess actually sees in him her chance at freedom from court duties and etiquette.

And since Gail wants to enjoy the world, she won't let her new husband touch her until she decides so, for fear she falls pregnant and has to stay at home. She'll also make Mark travel on foot to their estate at Borders, in the company of Lissa, her strongheaded childhood pal and lady-in-waiting, and Mark's only friend at court, the elegant and bespectacled Valerian, who's secretly in love with Lissa.

During the treck they'll grow fond of each other.

Arriving at Borders, Mark realises that by breaking the spell, he might have unleashed the magic and ghosts that had been sealed off in the keep. Now he has to put everything right.

Nobody's son isn't your typical fantasy novel. Nor is Gail your typical princess or Mark your typical hero. He swears, has fears and doubts, and we're privy to his thoughts. This gives the book a slightly comical tone and a pleasant rhythm. A nice surprise!