Customer Reviews

Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles, Book 1)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Obernewtyn (1987) is the first SF novel in the Obernewtyn series. Death fell from the skies during the Great White, leaving lingering radiation and chemical destruction over much of the land. During the Age of Chaos, those fortunate enough to live on untainted land ruthlessly slaughtered refugees who poured from the cities. Thereafter, mutations among men and beast were frequent, so the Council decreed that any who born with abnormalities were to be burned.

The Herder Faction, a fledging religious order who worshipped Lud, were appointed to perform the burnings. Gradually the law and dogma fused to condemn all technology other than simple farm implements. Later the Herder Faction announced that some mental aberrations did not show at birth, but manifested later. These mutants were called Misfits.

In this novel, Elspeth Gordie is a Misfit who has been raised in orphanages following the execution of her parents for Sedition. Now she and her brother, Jes, are residents of the Kinraide orphan home. Jes has just become a Herder assistant and wants to advance in the Herder Faction, but this career would be ruined if she is accused of being a Misfit. She cannot have any friends, due to the danger to herself and them, except Maruman, the mutant cat.

Maruman has visions, once telling her that the mountains will call for her. Another time he confessed that a Guanette bird had told him that his destiny was twinned with hers. For the rest of the time he was haughty, conceited, full of opinions about everything. Maruman was instrumental in discovering the extent of her telepathic powers; one day she scared away a bird that Maruman was stalking and Maruman said a rude comment into her mind and she responded in kind. Every since then, she has been bonded with Maruman.

Maruman predicted that a "darkOne" would come from the mountains seeking her. Elspeth knew the mountains meant Obernewtyn, the most remote work farm. An ancient institution in the Western Mountains, Obernewtyn accepted only the worst afflicted of the Misfits and those Misfits sent there were never heard of again. The Obernewtyn keeper arrived three days later.

Madame Vega detects some small part of Elspeth's ability, but that is enough to send her to Obernewtyn. There she meets other Misfits, the working staff, and the supervising triumvirate: Alexi, Ariel, and Madame Vega. Later, she meets the nominal director, Doctor Seraphim.

This post-apocalyptic novel is much like The Stars Are Ours in several respects, including theocratic restrictions by the government and underground resistance to those repressions. Moreover, there is the element of hope at the end. Subsequent volumes in this series further develop the mental powers aspect as well as the the role of the mutated animals.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys a well-crafted novel of suspense and adventure in a SF setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Obernewtyn is fabulous. If you read it, you WILL go on and read Farseekers, Ashling and The Keeping Place. Isobelle has created the most beautiful characters, so moral and nice and interesting, very well defined, and not typical heroes - ie gods and godesses that can't be beaten. Everyone has faults, weaknessess. It is set in a post-apocalyptic place, simply called the Land. The novel centers on Elspeth Gordie, a 'Misfit' with extraordinary psychic abilities. She thinks that she is the only person in the Land that harbours powers, and hates her mutation for what it makes her in her brother's eyes (but likes being able to talk to Maruman, a wild cat). When the Mistress of Obernewtyn does a routine visit to her orphan home, Elspeth is sure that she is bound for the horrendous Obernewtyn, which is said to be a place where Misfits are tortured and studied. Many go into Obernewtyn, and none ever come out. But Obernewtyn and the never-present Doctor Seraphim, Matster of Obernewtyn, is not as bad as the tales make out...on the outside.

I have never had much desire to read post-apoctalyptic literature, so it took me awhile to actually get around to reading this book. What I found was pleasantly surprising. While the book is naturally full of anti-nuclear war sermonizing, it (thankfully) is not a story of bitter characters who spend most of their time whining about how bad things are. Instead, I found a captivating introduction to a world of survivors who must live with the consequences of "The Great White", but who are prevented from knowing anything about the era which created such weapons. In fact, the ruling Council ascribes the event to their god and hence burns all mutants as further evidence of divine punishment.

The whole series focuses on a group of so-called Misfits whose mutations are mental and have allowed them to have unusual abilities (such as talking to animals and forms of ESP). This book chronicles the events in which the characters discover their abilities and bind together to stand against those who would destroy them or use them to evil ends.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a very talented misfit, Elspeth. Her personal struggles and fears are focus point of similar aspects in other characters. It is a beautiful and deadly world in which she lives. She must face poisons from the Great White, the restrictive Council, and the hatred of mutants.

This book begins the story of the fight against such evil. Get all the books you can at once since you will want to get as much of this story in as you can. (I just wish that the publishers would be quicker about getting these published in America!)

Obernewtyn is the first in a series of books written by award-winning Australian writer Isobelle Carmody. It is a postapocalyptic story set on an earth in which many children are born with enhanced mental abilities.

Those with these abilities are termed Misfits and are sought for either extermination or service in Obernewtyn. The story follows Elspeth Gordie, a young girl with the gift to read minds and communicate with animals. Discovery of her powers by members of the Council lead to banishment to Obernewtyn where Elspeth must learn to control her powers in order to save her friends, and herself, from the evil being wrought there.

Ms. Carmody's books have just recently made their way across the shores and are among a number of books that are following a recent trend: being printed unabridged in both children's and adult versions. My initial impression was that the book was slow but by the time I finished the first chapter I was really into the story and finished the book in a day. The story moves along at a pace that keeps you interested in what is about to happen without being overwhelming. Ms. Carmody allows the reader to get to know her characters in such a way that you are interested in their respective fates. This is an appropriate story for children aged 10 and above but is by no means a "kid's" story. I believe that the success of the Harry Potter novels has encouraged publishers to market books like the Obernewtyn Chronicles to children as well as adults. I would give the book 4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars...

Thanks to previous Amazon.com reviewers for introducing me to "Obernewtyn". The story of Elspeth Gordie and her struggle to pass as 'normal' in her grim, post-Holocaust world reminded me more of "Watership Down" than of Andre Norton's fantasies (a comparison made by a previous reviewer), since the animal characters seemed much wiser and more likeable than most of the humans!

As Elspeth learns how to use her telepathic powers, she is aided by a motley crew of friends, including a dog and a spastic cat named Maruman who plays the role of a half-mad prophet. The animals recognize her as the 'One who will fulfill The Prophecy', and save the Earth from a second Holocaust. Unfortunately, Elspeth must contend with those who seek to discover and control the apocalyptic weapon that almost destroyed their ancestors.

"Obernewtyn" drew me right in and kept me reading through the night to see whether Elspeth could survive and somehow manage to use her special talent to save herself and her friends from some really nasty villains. I'm looking forward to the sequel, where (hopefully) Maruman the mad feline prophet has a further role to play.

I withheld one star only because some aspects of Elspeth's telepathic powers seemed to pop up for the sake of moving the plot forward, e.g. the ability to pick locks. A minor nit, but it took me out of the story for a minute to puzzle over why picking locks (action against a physical entity) had anything to do with reading people's minds.

A friend wrote about this book some time ago and I ordered it on speculation. Unfortunately it is the fate of the compulsive book buyer to occasionally lose a book in the bookshelf wilderness and it has rested in a forgotten nook for nearly 5 years. Discovered in a rare fit of housecleaning is was its time to be read.

Isobelle Carmody is best known as a children's writer in her native continent of Australia. While I wouldn't precisely call Obernewtyn a young person's book, it has a transparency of style and subject that makes it accessible to many ages. The book has it's own rhythm's and there are few missed opportunities to bring each thread to conclusion.

This is the tale of Elspeth Gordie, a Misfit, condemned to be outcast, servant, or worse, burned to death, for talents to which she was born, and which she hardly understands herself. Elspeth's world is post-apocalyptic. Technology is feared and has, for the most part, disappeared. But remnants of poison and pollution have hastened mutation, and in a bucolic world filled with the fear of the council and the fanaticism of the herders those who are born with 'gifts' are spurned.

Elspeth, already orphaned, comes under the eyes of the seekers who search for Misfits and she is sent to Obernewtyn, where she will be locked away as a day laborer, watch her friends be twisted to strange uses, and eventually find herself at great danger as Council, Herders, and the Masters of Obernwtyn all see to use her for their own dark purposes.

Given that I'm not particularly drawn to post-apocalyptic stories of young women with paranormal powers. It is exceptional that I should fund this a compelling story. But Elspeth is a strong character who rings true, the suspense builds steadily as the layers of Obernewtyns onion are peeled away one after another and Isobelle Carmody demonstrates a facility with supporting characters that is pleasing to say the least.

This is the first of a trilogy (there may be a fourth as well) and will repay pursuit with a great deal of entertainment. Recommended.

Looking for a new series? This one's excellent. It deals with the child Elspeth Gordie (or Innle) and her movement towards her ultimate destiny, as yet unforseen: the destruction of the weaponmachines that caused the Great White, the nuclear holocaust that has wiped out much of the population of the world, turned much of the Land into a blackened, tainted ruin and allowed the rise of the tyrannical Council and Herders. Elspeth here is unaware of her greater purpose and so this book reveals very little of this...you'll just have to read on!

I love Carmody's treatment of the mind powers: more human than Julian May, yet more plausible than Anne McCaffrey. Basically, there are different 'talents': empathy, coercion, farspeaking (telepathy), beastspeaking, futuretelling and Teknoguilding (slight telekinesis, ability to understand relics of our age). Of course Elspeth, as the heroine, is gifted with all of these (except empathy) and she uses all of them in her yet unwitting quest as the Seeker.

Supporting characters are good too, like the blind, gentle empath Dameon, the skinny, eager farseeker Matthew, the doomed Cameo and Selmar and the sadistic three in control of Obernewtyn. Plus of course the enigmatic Rushton...

I think Carmody's books played a major part in getting me into fantasy. That's how great they are. Some of the writing may not suit certain people's taste as it's fairly unique; however this is a read not restricted to the young adult demographic. I know as many adults as kids who are fans. Carmody just sucks you into her world and doesn't let go, not even after you've finished the book - and I'm speaking as one who dreams about the series!

Isobelle Carmody's "Obernewtyn," now reprinted for kids and young adults by Starscape Books, is a pretty good post-apocalypse fantasy, with a pretty good heroine and a good, suspenseful plot. It's not a typical fantasy, but it should definitely be given a look.

After the Great White (nuclear holocaust), the Beforetime civilization was pretty much destroyed -- the people remaining lost most of their knowledge of the past, and genetic mutations altered the minds and bodies of animals and humans alike. The human mutants are known as Misfits, and if they're found, they are burned by the Council on the assumption that they are possessed by demons. One such girl is Elspeth Gordie, a girl who has kept her psychic abilities secret for a long time. But a future-seeing cat pal of hers sees the future -- that she will be found out and taken to the ountains.

His prediction comes true. Elspeth, instead of being burned, is taken to the mountain prison of Obernewtyn. Misfits there are kept as laborers, and the mysterious Master of Obernewtyn is supposedly trying to find a cure for them. But Elspeth soon learns that all is not as it seems -- the Misfits are being used by someone at Obernewtyn to find out the nuclear secrets of the past.

Not bad -- not bad at all. Isobelle Carmody puts a lot of work into making her world believable and sort of simple -- she doesn't overburden us with too many weird developments, like many postapocalypse fantasies do. Very realistically, "Beforetime" is viewed sort of the way we view ancient Rome, as a noisy, mean, fascinatingly mysterious place; it's very cool when she has Elspeth flipping through a manual for computers that don't exist anymore. Telepathic talking animals and ever-increasing psychic abilities add an extra edge to the book, though one that is thankfully never overused.

Elspeth is a good heroine in the sense that she reacts very much the way you'd expect her to, since she is an orphaned girl with no real friends until she lands in Obernewtyn. That doesn't mean that she's always likeable, but she's always believable. The supporting characters tend to be a bit flatter, as the good guys tend to run together a little. The less sympathetic characters like Rushton, Jes, and the real Master are more three-dimensional, they have a little more bite to them.

Carmody's plotting still lacks somewhat -- her prose is pretty standard, nothing mind-blowing here. And the middle of the book sags a bit as Elspeth lives her first months at Obernewtyn. For a long time, nothing really seems to happen except people snap at her. But she does give a drearily hopeless atmosphere to Obernewtyn, and does one of the best jobs of "talking animals" ever. (No cutesiness here!)

This book is fine for teens and kids; I advise buying the juvenile edition of this book, because the cover art is much better. While "Obernewtyn" is not perfect, it's a good darker fantasy.

Australia has had a number of excellent young writers publishing genre work for young adults recently and Isobelle Carmody is one of the brightest stars in this group. I was disappointed to see that Carmody's more recent work for adults (the 'LEGENDSONG' trilogy) does not appear to be available yet outside Australia; this is also the case for Carmody's literary contemporary Catherine Jinks, whose 'PAGAN' series is deservedly one of the most lauded young adult works in recent years. However, the fact that even some of Carmody's works are available overseas is excellent.

The Obernewtyn chronicals are set on a post-apocalyptic island ruled by the tyrannous council and more ominously by the Herders, prists of Lud. Once a mechanism for survival, the Council hunts down misfits (any person or animal born physically or mentally deformed)for purely political reasons in the era of Elspeth Innle.

This awesome heroine is a misfit of a new kind - she, and others like her, have developed mind powers which take various guises (farspeaking, coercion, beastspeaking etc). Sent to the mountain fastness of Obernewtyn on suspicion of possessing just such powers, Elspeth meets a number of fascinating characters who become her comrades in the struggle to build a haven from persecution for all misfits. This is the story told in the first two novels of the series; however, running underneath the action and development of the haven is the development of Elspeth's unique destiny: to save the world from a re-occurence of the Great White nuclear holocaust that has devastated the world once already.

As the legendary Seeker, she must locate and destroy the machines which created the Great White before her nemesis, the Destroyer, can find them and use them. This is the thread of this sophisticated, morally complex series which continues to improve. Though this book is complete enough an adventure and engrossing enough a story to be read on its own, I can guarantee that readers of "OBERNEWTYN' will find themselves hooked on the rest of the series.

When I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure, for I'm more of a fantasy reader (David Eddings is the best! ) but when I started this book, it definately roused my interest. Isobelle has a nack of holding the reader inthralled! As a writer myself, I feel that her style of writing with hold the attention of young and old! Brilliant! Icant wait to read the rest of the series!