Customer Reviews

Northern Girl

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

 

 

Down in the Delta, the martial arts and the power of the Red Clan have declined but have also been incorporated partially into general culture. Contrary to the first books of the Tonor series Northern Girl focuses on a female protagonist, but gives also ample space to male characters. The book tells the story of a young girl whose emerging telephatic gifts might eventually lead her far away from every home she knows. While she struggels with the question wheather she should stay or leave and thus loose her lover, who is captian of the guard of her "employer", she is caught in midst of a dangerous political intrigue.

Northern girl revisits the lands of the first two books and closes the circle as Tonor Keep was once founded by a renegrade smith from her southern city. The warm atmosphere of an almost utopian society where men and women can live and love each other freely and without any barrier to create families (including numerous children) in various gay, lesbian and even sometimes straight familiy arrangements is cleverly balanced with action.

This and the detailed descriptions of both characters, the world and the landscape make "Northern Girl" a pleasant summer read, I have read this book numerous times and am glad to ree it reprinted again.

It is a book I can highly recommend to any lower of martial art and utopian fantasy or any age.

I first read this book many years ago. I liked it; I saw it as a fun fantasy with an unusual structure.

Pushing 50, I recently re-read it, and a much richer story revealed itself. This book describes Sorren's transition to adulthood. In the first part of the story, we learn that although she is an orphan, Sorren is at the center of a group of unrelated adults. These adults may be allies, in conflict or unknown to one another, but they all love this girl. Each of them provides her with some type of resource: material goods, knowledge, a skill, insight or even just a bad example.

In the second part of the story, she goes off to follow her dreams. In the process, she uses each of their gifts, even the ones she doesn't know she has been given. She eventually becomes an adult they would be proud of.

Sorren's progress mirrors the changes occuring in the land she lives in. This book shows how one generation's motivations (especially love) impact the next in ways they could never have imagined and will certainly never know.

I didn't find The Northern Girl as entertaining as the other two in this universe [Watchtower; The Dancers of Arun]; In fact, I didn't find myself much interested in anything until the very end of the book. She continues with her familiar themes: the flexibility of human love and sexual attraction, and the necessity of force to bring and maintain peace. It's as competently written as the other two, though the pacing seems much slower [and it could be that I simply wasn't as interested in the story]. I'm not sorry I read it, but I don't think I'll ever re-read it.

A note: It's not necessary to read the first two books to understand this one; all of them can be read out-of-turn.

While each of these books stands alone, they do add up to an amazing experience. The third one is perhaps the richest, as the culture seems to have evolved significantly since the first book. I loved the characters and the language. I wish Ms. Lynn had continued to write books like these and to write prolifically.

I read this book a number of years ago. I really liked the story and how all the charactors were developed. I liked how she found what she was looking for even though her visions were of the past.