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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular use of history in fantasy.,
This review is from: Prince of Dogs (Crown of Stars, Vol 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
I really connected with the first book in this series and am eagerly awaiting the third (August can't come soon enough!). This is a fantastic series with serious scholarly kudos due! If you like fantasy and historical fiction than don't miss Crown of Stars. The detail on medieval life and the spin on religious schisms is fantastic - all on top of a great story with great characters. It was fantastic to see Sanglant, a character of whom more was heard than read about in the first book, come to the fore, and the degradation of his character relly struck a chord. Similarly for Liath - the trials she went through in the first novel come back to haunt her and Elliott convincingly relates her trauma and inability to act in the face of her past. She develops a longing for the fulfillment of the characters separate destinies in the third novel very well. I think that it helps to have some knowledge of the classic texts and languages she manipulates in this novel for fuller appreciation, for example if you knew Sapientia meant wisdom in the first book (she only says so in the second) you can appreciate her character a lot more readily. This goes for Lupus/Wolfheim as well. And the ironies of the attributions of classical texts in this novel is also enriched by knowing the originals e.g. the Heleniad by Virgilia (a story about a woman by a woman) rather than the Illiad by Homer and the Aeneid by Virgil (stories about men by men, with a woman at the heart of it all - Helen and Pallas Athene respectively). But even if you aren't interested in the development of heresies or other topics that are entwined through the heart of the fast-paced action and character travails that propel this series, if you like good quality fantasy you'll still enjoy Crown of Stars. I recommend Gore Vidal's JULIAN for anyone interested in the idea of the development of the Church as a succession of Synods, and Guy Gavriel kay's one off novels TIGANA, LIONS OF AL_RASSAN, and A SONG FOR ARBONNE for anyone interested in fantasy which is enrichened by a historical basis. For medieval historical fiction I can't recommend anyone more than Sharon Kay Penman's Plantagenet series.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Pseudo-History,
By A Customer
This review is from: Prince of Dogs (Crown of Stars, Vol 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Not bad at all, not the absolute best.One of the features of this series is its thinly veiled grounding upon 10th/11th c. medieval German culture. A lot of authors borrow from history. Kate Elliott borrows *heavily.* (Elliott's sister is a professor in medieval German court culture at Duke University)Amazingly, it works. Here are some of the obvious parallels - 1) The church 2) Wendar/Varre = Germany/France 3) Eika = Vikings 4) Dariya = Rome 5) Alternate Islamic and Byzantine cultures (names escapes me at the moment.) 6)Mathematici = astrologers (well-researched medieval astrology at that) 7) Lots of minor parallels, down to the names of individual mountains - the Eiger, Moench, and Jungfrau of Switzerland make an appearance. It isn't in the borrowings,but in the skill in arranging them that makes this book better than most. Aside from taking names, Elliott's writing style creates a medieval, and not a disney/medievalish world. As a pure read and not a merely a history re-working, it's also pretty solid. Hugh is a truly evil villain ;)
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Epic tale,
By EquesNiger (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Prince of Dogs (Crown of Stars, Vol 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Sanglant, the prince of dogs and King Henry's [...] son, is being held captive in the city of Gent by Bloodheart, the Eika warlord. Liath, now one of the King's Eagles and still grieving over the loss of Sanglant, is desperately trying to unlock the secrets of her own past. Alain, proclaimed a Count's heir, is increasingly troubled by visions of the enemy he befriended and the Lady of Battles whom he's sworn to serve. And Fifth Son, least favored son of Bloodheart, has returned to the lands of his own people to unite the scattered tribes and build an army to do his father's bidding. While King Henry continues his progress through a troubled realm, Sanglant, Liath, Alain, and Fifth Son fight their own individual battles. Only time will tell who will prove triumphant as all of them are caught up in the dangers and turmoil of a world at war . . . .
It has been quite a while since I read a series and thought "damn, it's over!" at the end. The author has built a vast number of interesting characters but, despite the number, one is able to know and relate to each. Each of the characters has their own remarkable flaws and imperfections, and you actaully have opportunities to sympathize with each throughout the series (even the remarkably "evil" ones you think you would never agree with). Unlike the Robert Jordan WoT series which seems to go on and on and on without resolution, Elliot has squeezed a sweeping epic into a (mere) 7 books, and I found myself disappointed when I finished the last of the third book. Fortunately, there are enough open issues, unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts in the end that Elliot could forseeably write another series to "fill in the blanks". I, for one, sincerely hope to see more from this author in the very near future.
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