Pride of Kings [Paperback]

Judith Tarr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2001

"Tarr spins an entertaining and often enlightening tale." (The Washington Post)

A powerful epic of two kings, two realms, and two wars for England to win-or lose. One could weaken the mortal empire. The other could destroy the world...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fantastic may be subsidiary to fact in Tarr's (Kingdom of the Grail) latest historical fantasy, but it lends an eerily beautiful, sometimes frightening undercurrent to this engrossing, thoroughly satisfying novel, set in the late 12th century. England's Richard the Lionheart, lusting for men, poetry and war in Palestine, sets off on a crusade, leaving his brother, Prince John, to look after the kingdom. Prompted by the ghost of a Saxon saint, who promises him "powers beyond the reach of mere mortal king," John agrees to seize the throne. The price is steep history will treat him as a traitor, a betrayer of his brother's trust but John truly loves Britain and its people, unlike Richard, and is thus a worthier monarch in the view of certain higher powers. Summoned to England to help John is the French youth Arslan ("lion" in Turkish). The son of a lord and a female spirit, Arslan moves readily between the faery and the human worlds. Tarr smoothly blends a dazzling array of characters from both history and myth: Eleanor of Acquitaine, her "face still beautiful, like a wood in winter, stripped of all its softness"; Philip of France, who after abandoning Richard in Palestine seeks to invade Britain; "Robin o' the Wood... crowned with oak-leaves and carrying a great bow"; and the enchanted Lorelei, who wears "a woman's shape" but "the suppleness of its movements was not truly human." At the end, the author even throws in the Ring of the Nibelung, but such is the quality of her prose that no extravagance seems forced or extraneous. A firm sense of place, notably London and Paris, contributes to a totally credible delight. (Sept. 4)Forecast: With the support of a name author or two, plus the recognition of an award (she's been a World Fantasy Award nominee), Tarr could graduate from trade paper to hardcover and bigger sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Upon succeeding his father to the throne of England, Richard called the Lion-Hearted accepts the temporal crown and the political power that comes with it but refuses a second crown bestowed upon him by older gods. In Richard's stead and at the price of his own good name, John Lackland takes up the charge of the true kingship of Britain, fighting a secret battle against supernatural foes. The author of Kingdom of the Grail continues her mystical exploration of England's rich body of legends as she weaves familiar tales of Robin Hood, Richard the Lion-Hearted, and the Sheriff of Nottingham into a new tapestry of myth and magic. Gracefully and convincingly told, this new look at an old story belongs in most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (September 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451458478
• ISBN-13: 978-0451458476
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,737,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have a lot of academic credentials (PhD from Yale, MA from Cambridge University, AB from Mt. Holyoke) and taught writing and Latin at Wesleyan University in Connecticut--before I ran away from it all to live on a mesa in Arizona. I breed and ride Lipizzan horses, read and study history (and make up my own alternate and fantastical versions), and write--novels, short stories, articles. I teach writing online (details at http://capriole.smoe.org) and blog on the livejournals as dancinghorse. My alter ego is author Caitlin Brennan, who also has a plog on amazon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fantasy, September 5, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pride of Kings (Paperback)

It is not generally known but on the day that Richard the Lionhearted was crowned King of England, he turned down another crown, which would have bound him to Great Britain in the Old Way. Richard chose the mundane over the mystical, leaving the island vulnerable to the evil spirits on the other side of the veil.

An innocent cleric is duped into opening the door to let unholy evil into the world. Only the ruler of Great Britain can close the door. Arslan, born of a Provence lord and a fire spirit is sent to John Lackland in England. John must put on the mantle his brother rejected. Arslan is very persuasive as are the other guardians and John proves his right to use the mystical forces to protect the land. However, he must do it secretly so Richard does not get wind of his plans and think he will try to overthrow him. John, using all the magic at his command, closes the door but the curse is not over yet. Danger lies in the form of Prince Philip of France, the mystical king of his land, who will willingly sacrifice the living to further his ambitions.

Judith Tarr has shown a John and Richard unlike those found in Shakespeare or Robin Hood. Using actual historical events, she weaves a different version of their actions during a troubled time. PRIDE OF KINGS is an epic fantasy work of alternate history that thoroughly enchants the reader with a powerful drama, mystical and earthly intrigue (both deadly), and vivid pageantry.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Guardian of Mystic Britain Fight to Protect Her, March 31, 2002

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pride of Kings (Paperback)

I love seeing Judith Tarr writing fantasy again. Her grey mare's daughters series was ok, but she is at her best when describing the swirl of Wild Magic about Riders who have gone beyond the boundaries of the mundane world.

Henry is dead, Richard the Lionhearted is to be crowned King of the English, but there is another crown waiting for him, did he but accept it: the crown of the King of Britain, guardian of the mystical realm that is Britain, warded by four guardians who are more than human. However, Richard's eyes and heart are set on Jerusalem and his Crusade. He has no use for Pagan ceremonies and spurns the Crown of Britain. This sets in motion a magical chain of events that resonated in the real world.

In Anjou, Arslan, a young ... son of a dead lord waits with his two Seljuk servants. He had been born and raised in outremer, the son of a mortal lord and an Ifritah, a spirit of fire. In him the magic runs high. A Crusade is gathering and he intends to return to the East. However, he is given a prophetic dream, in which he is told that he must go to Britain, where he is needed. There comes riding into his brother's keep a company, one of whom is recognizable as William, a ... Plantagenet. The other, who seems less worthy is pushed aside while William is feted. The one who is pushed aside is John Lackland, the very legitimate son of Henry and Eleanor of Acquitaine. He is pleased to be amused by it and when he rides out, leaving a discomforted Lord of Anjou, he takes Arslan with him.

The mystical forces that protect Britain offer John a bargain. They offer him a chance to rule as overlord of the spirit of the place, but he is to pay a price. That price is that the world will see him as his brother's usurper and would not know of the service that he had performed to save Britain (and England) to, from the forces arrayed against it.

The book though focuses mainly on Arslan, on his love for one of the Guardians and how two people both blessed and cursed with magic come to an understanding. Arslan, the son of a spirit of fire, is beautiful and strong. His name means lion. The Lady Eschivra, the daughter of Morgana and a river god, is older than him in years, wiser than he in magic, but more tangled in her thoughts and emotions. Together they must face the forces of the Wild Magic, of Sorceries sent against them by enemies outside Britain, and the convolutions of their own too human hearts.

If you liked Ms Tarr's earlier fantasies, if you have a fondness for Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill and Reward and Fairies, if you just enjoy a good historical fantasy then grab a copy, curl up on the couch with a small dog or two (I recommend a Jack Russell terrier) and settle down to enjoy a rouse-- and touching-- fantasy.

(By the way, the title is a pun. It refers to both the feeling of pride, and a collective noun for all the young lions who make up the actors in this book.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Story, February 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Pride of Kings (Paperback)

Judith Tarr has taken fictional characters and woven them in with historical characters to make the story line plausible. The plot lines, primary and secondary, are strong and well written. The characters are well developed and believable, even with the knowledge many of the characters are fiction. This was a well told story and a well written book.