Customer Reviews

The Serpent and the Rose (The War of the Rose, Book 1)

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

 

 

I agree with most of the reviews I have read of this book. It is a good example of High Fantasy. Peasant boy meets princess and falls in love. It is well written and a fun read. I will give it the best accolades that I can give a fantasy novel: in some places it reminds me of Guy Kay. The writing has a similar flow and some word choices brought me back to Kay's work.
The reason I wanted to write this review, is to point out that this is not a first novel. In fact this is the work of a well established fantasy writer working under a pseudonym. This book was written by Judith Tarr. If you like this book you should check out her other novels.

Although the servants of the New God and the Lady appear to have vanquished their ancient enemy, the serpent of chaos, lost magic has a way of being rediscovered. Lady Averil, only heir to an aging Duke, has a vision of the King extending his own power and that of the serpent-god he worships throughout the land. Her aging father may stand against him, but can that be enough? When the Duke calls her from her lifelong exile in training with the Lady, Averil must return to a world grown dangerous indeed.

Gereint never knew his father and his mother does everything she can to keep him from exploring the magic that flows so richly through him. But when a group of Knights of the Rose find shelter in his home during a storm, Gereint decides he can stay on the farm no longer and follows the Knights. The Knights, he knows, are all sons of noblemen while he is a bastard who doesn't even know his father, but surely they can point him to an order that will accept his kind. To his surprise, the Knights take him in--although there is plenty of resentment over his low birth and his age (at sixteen, he's far older than the normal postulant), he's allowed to train with them. It doesn't take long before he realizes that his magic is different from theirs. Could he be a part of the danger they're preparing to confront.

Although Averil is bound, by tradition and law, to marry a noble, someone who can lead armies and bring wealth and power to her family, and although Gereint is the son of a peasant and an unknown father, the two bond--over their studies and over the strange magic that flows in the two of them--and seemingly nowhere else. But before they can get into too much trouble, the King strikes and Averil's dukedom is overrun by royal forces--and by followers of the ancient and supposedly destroyed serpent god.

Author Kathleen Bryan creates an engaging story that combines fantasy adventure with traditional elements of romance. The magical system she creates, with magic being bound and focussed within worked glass, seems interesting and well thought out. The magical land has a real history and layers of magic that add to the reader's interest. Bryan is also capable wordsmith, making the story all the more engaging.

With all that is going for it, I would have liked the story itself to be a bit more original. The fatherless peasant discovering vast but somehow forbidden powers, falling for the princess and somehow winning her affection, and the evil serpent-worshiping king all seemed a bit familiar--as if we've read this story before. Bryan is a strong enough writer to hold my interest as I read, but I couldn't help wishing she'd used some of that talent to take our characters in new directions.

Averil is the daughter of a duke of Lys, trained from childhood in the magical arts on the Ladies' Isle. Gereint is a fatherless farmboy who possesses a powerful, untamed streak of wild magic. As the sinister king of Lys and his advisor, both practioners of dark magic, unleash a plot to remove the realm's nobles and awaken an ancient evil, Averil is summoned back to the mainland, while Gereint chases after a band of Knights of the Rose, hoping that their Order can train him. In time, Averil and Gereint find themselves together as unlikely allies and, perhaps, the only hope of both their realm and world.

As is obvious from that brief summary (and its faint echoes of Star Wars, among other tales), there is little new in The Serpent and the Rose, the first book of The War of the Rose trilogy by Kathleen Bryan (a penname of Judith Tarr). Still, the author's prose is almost always clean and even elegant, and her creation of an alternate Europe and a magical system centering on the use of glass are deft accomplishments. And even though little--especially the two main characters--was new or surprising in the first half of the book, I enjoyed the tale's unfolding. However, the plot loses focus and momentum in the second half, and the characters' choices make little sense except to prop up the collapsing plot. The ending of the book on a weak anti-climax, in preparation for the next book, was particularly disappointing. Other weaknesses include the lack of characterization of (or motive for) the villains and too many instances where seemingly important events or world-features (e.g. the orders besides the Knights) were glossed over or unexplained. (It is worth noting that one positive for many readers may be the lack of profanity and graphic violence or sex.)

Recommended as a library loan only for fans of high medieval fantasy, many of whom may enjoy this book. (However, A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay is a far superior work, though it is more R-rated.) Three unremarkable stars.

The Knights of the Rose, mages and fighting men, have defended the Mysteries and kept the evil magic of the Serpent imprisoned.. or so they thought. Secretly, or not so secretly, the King of Lys has been gathering power by eliminating the powerful nobles, He also seeks to bring back the rule of the Serpent. To that effect, he makes a move against the Houses of the Knights, who were more complacent than they should have been after being unchallenged for centuries, and destroys their power and their magic. He also moves against the Duke of Quitaine. Averil, the Duke's heir, has been away on the Isle of the Lady, where she was trained and raised from a baby. She has returned to an assassination attempt against her as well as a suspicious illness that has stricken her father. She has found an unlikely ally in Gereint, a farm boy who is also a fledgling mage and Postulant to the Order of the Rose.

The basic tale is nothing novel... A strong lady, imperiled, who hopes against hope to foil the nefarious plans of the Evil King of Lys... aided by a farm boy who has the potential to be a great power. But the Knights aren't Jedi, Averil and Gereint are very likable characters (although why she insists on worrying about how unconventional it would be for her to hook up with a peasant boy when the sky is falling is beyond me!), and the world and writing is just good enough for me to want to keep on reading to the end of this book and on to the next in the series...

Having actually read the book (ahem), I must say it's a wonderfully refreshing foray back into classic fantasy. The characters are all well-wrought, with realistic traits that make it hard to flatly pronounce any of them purely good or purely evil. Although much has happened in this first volume (Averil's acceptance of her birthright, Gereint's development of *his* birthright, and their burgeoning relationship) there is clearly much ground yet to be covered in ensuing books. I'm very much looking forward to continuing the story.

Ms. Bryan's writing style is wonderfully evocative and grabbed me from the first page. One could say she crafts her words into a binding of the unsuspecting reader. Make sure you have plenty of free time before opening this book. You've been warned. ;)

How refreshing to read a well-written fantasy story whose characters are engaging and sympathetic. The mythology is very similar to ancient christianity, but instead of finding that trite, I enjoyed the different language and perspective of our basic mythology. It's very easy to relate to. Bryan's writing is poetic and clear. The plot doesn't stand still for a moment. A real treat!

yet if I had to compare this book with the C.L. Wilson series, I like the Wilson one's more.

I finished it in just a couple of days. It was quite entertaining. The characters are all or all bad, but it doesn't take away from the fun. Even Gerenint's time spent at school, he made almost all loyal friends, with the small exception of one (who wasn't really all that bad, either). The Knights were exceptionally devoted without blemish. I know, it sounds as though it would be sappy and annoying, but it's not. The story is sweet and full of hope. I think too many people now a-days are a bit too jaded, and this book brings back a feeling that has become lost in present day--even though the situations are vastly different I think anyone can draw comparison lines. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

An excellent book. I had a hard time putting it down and can't wait for the next.

Good start to a fantasy series. I enjoy a strong heroine and a little romantic tension. The problem is now I have to wait months/years for the next book to see what happens next!