Customer Reviews

Prisoner of the Iron Tower: Book Two of The Tears of Artamon

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Prisoner of the Iron Tower (2004) is the second Fantasy novel in the Tears of Artamon trilogy, following Lord of Snows and Shadows. In the previous volume, Gavril let the Drakhaoul destroy the Tielen army besieging Kastel Drakhaon and then rescues his mother from Swanholm. With help from Malusha, Gavril liberates himself from the Drakhaoul. Later Kaspar Linnaius, the Court Artificier, takes the terribly burned Prince Eugene away from the monastery of Saint Sergius.

In this novel, Gavril has lost his daemon, but the creature then possesses Andrei Orlova, Astasia's brother. Astasia returns to Muscobar with Count Velemir's ashes and discovers that the West Wing of the Winter Palace is aflame. The Tielens use her request to rescue the Grand Duke and Duchess as justification for the invasion of Mirom.

Emperor Eugene proposes to Astasia and she accepts. The Grand Duke agrees and gives Eugene the Mirom Tear of Ardamon. Now that all five Tears are possessed by Eugene, his jewelers reconstruct the imperial crown. After the fifth Tear is added, the crown glows red and a beam of red light shoots into the heavens. Following the imperial wedding, Eugene wears the crown for the first time.

With the formation of the New Rossiyan empire, Eugene begins to think about the defeat in Azhkendir. Gavril Nagarian still rules at Kastel Drakhaon. Eugene sends dispatches to the Northern Army.

In this story, a Tielen army once more besieges Kastel Drakhaon and Gavril surrenders himself to them rather than watch his druzhina die needlessly. He is taken to Mirom, tried and convicted for acts against the empire, and confined for life within an insane asylum. There his name is taken away from him and he is known only as Number Twenty-one.

Empress Astasia gets permission for Elysia Andar to return to Smarna. Despite Tielen occupation, Smarna is rapidly becoming a thorn in the side of the empire. When Elysia finally arrives in Smarna, she finds herself in the midst of a rebellion. When students demonstrate before the Old Citadel, the Tielens fire on them and kill a student; open insurrection is now inevitable.

Magus Linnaius searches the locked archives at Saint Sergius's monastery and discovers some forgotten information about the banished daemons. He also discovers more in Kastel Drakhaon and interviews Kiukiu about the casting out of Drakhaoul from Gavril. Linnaius then overwhelms her mind and gets her to lead him to Malusha.

The title and Gavril's confinement remind one of The Man in the Iron Mask. The context, however, is quite different. This novel has demons!

Recommended for Sarah Ash fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of political intrigue, demonic possession and exotic magic.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have a recommendation for people reading this series. Read the books sequentially. There's just so much detail, so many political plots and characters and mythical things to remember that if you don't read the series all at once-well, let's just say I had to go back to "Lord of Snow and Shadows" for reference quite frequently.

Other than that little hitch though, I have to say this book is a heck of a follow up to the first one. Gavril Nagarian the very young ruler of the wintry nation of Azhkendir and heredity carrier of a dragon/vampire type of demon has at last cast it out but in doing so removed the best means of defense his people had. And after losing the war with the new Emperor Eugene of Tielen who has united the continent (although he did severely damage the mans appearance with some nasty burns) he has made Eugene angry enough to imprison him in a famed iron tower housing lunatics and political prisoners. A tower from which no one escapes-unless maybe you could breathe fire and fly...

At the same time Eugene's magician is searching for the source of the demon, as his master aspires to have one of his own, knowing nothing of the blood lust the creature inspires. Ruthlessly using Kiukiu, a spirit singer and Gavril's love to search the lands beyond to death for help he determines the location-and is about to unleash a plague of dragon demons upon the world...

And in rebellion in the new empire is about to explode. Add in a couple of demon hunters from a holy nation to the south and this is a book whose tempo never ceases to excite.

As with her last novel, Sara Ash clearly merits another four stars for this intriguing and excitingly. Fans of the first novel will not be disappointed. And I look forward to the third.

This is the second volume of the Tears of Artamon (after Lord of Snow and Shadows and before Children of the Serpent Gate).

After the terrible battle in Azhkendir, Eugene is disfigured but alive, and asks Astasia to marry him. Seeing her Duchy going to pieces and fearing for her parents' sanity, she has little choice but to comply. The empire of New Rossiya is created.

Knowing that Gavril has cast out the dragon and is no longer a threat, Eugene takes the opportunity to seek revenge on the man who maimed him. Gavril is condemned and imprisoned in the Ironsea Tower, an asylum for the insane on the jagged and desolate cliffs of Arnskammar. How long can he resist calling the Drakhaoul to his rescue?

In the meantime, Gavril's mother Elysia travels back to her home in Smarna and kindles the flames of rebellion, while Kiukiu is sweet-talked by Kaspar Linnaius into helping Eugene find the way to Ty Nagar, where the Drakhaons are waiting for their release. The vicious Magus will leave her lost in the Ways Beyond.

In opposition to the first volume where I felt trapped with the heroes and struggling with them, in this book I was rather watching from afar. For me this middle-volume can be summarized as a perpetual chase, with characters repeatedly looking for others where they're not, and relatively few relevant events happening in the end. I did enjoy the court intrigue between Empress Astasia and the Francian singer Celestine, though, and hope the third part will grip me as much as the first one did.

Sarah Ash continues to develop the intriguing world of New Rossiya in "Prisoner of the Iron Tower," the second installment in the Tears of Artamon trilogy. Prince Eugene is now emperor of a fledgling New Rossiya (made up of the five countries introduced in the first book). At his side is Astasia, who, due to her brother's death and the uprising in her country, agrees to marry Eugene because she sees no other options. Eugene takes Gavril, now a regular human since his daemon has been cast out, prisoner in an attempt to find out how to gain Gavril's former power. A rebellion against the new empire in Gavril's former home country of Smarna and the introduction of some new characters from a far-off country who have an interest in Artamon's Tears and the Drakhaouls round out the story.

"Prisoner" gives us some needed history about the Drakhaouls, their origins, and the events that led up to the possession of the Nagarian family. There's also a great amount of characterization in this novel that was lacking in the first book. Many of the main characters are developed further, the most intriguing being Eugene and Astasia and their personal relationship. The story line is still the main focus, though, with a bit of a slowdown in the early half of the book.

One thing that bothered me was the lack of characterization for Kiukiu. Since she's the love interest of the main character, you'd hope that she has more spunk, cleverness, or at least some common sense. But she seems painfully childish and naive and, due to her one-track mind, gets into a lot of situations that could have been avoided. Despite everyone's warnings, and her own knowledge of what's happening, she chooses to think that Linnaius won't play her false. It's really annoying, because I find it hard to believe that Gavril, who is very politically and personally savvy, would want someone who, well, isn't.

Other than that, a solid read and one that kept me hooked. Highly recommended.

A great follow up to book one of this trilogy!

Well written and easy to read, I found this book had just about everything one could ask for in a good (bordering on great) fantasy story; that being love, deceit, unexpected twists and turns, creatures and people with special talents and of course a liberal dose of magic sprinkled through out the entire novel.

The Pros:
a.)There was substantial character development through out the entire series, and not just the main characters. The good guys had some faults and the bad guys usually had a few redeeming traits.
b.)Multiple, complex and convoluted story lines; just when things seem to be leveling out something else happens to reshape the scheme of things

The Cons:
Only one, that being; I found it easy to get a little confused at times because of the number of twists and turns that occurred, especially in the third book.

All in all a good book and an extremely interesting and complex fantasy adventure. Recommended!
4 and ½ Stars.