Customer Reviews

The Shadow Of The Lion

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I love historical novels, especially the really well researched and lushly written kind, like the late, and very much lamented Dame Dorothy Dunnett wrote, and I love science fiction, fantasy and alternate history. Mercedes Lackey, Dave Freer and Eric Flint have managed to write an alternative historical fantasy about 16th century Venice. So I got three of my favorites in one shot.

This novel is long. But it never flags. The pace is headlong, but the descriptions are clear, crisp and detailed. And the characters are wonderful, especially the little people, the spearcarriers, and the supporting cast.

A case in point is the use of a certain Basque priest as a main supporting character. It plays great without knowing who that character is based on, but it adds piquancy indeed to know that the character is really St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

The magic isn't intrusive where it shouldn't be, and is organic... that is, it doesn't just come from anywhere, and there are clear rules about how it works.

The magic isn't nearly as important to the plot as the convoluted and terrifyingly complex politics in the story. Remember, this is the same part of Europe that was still reading Macchiavelli as a "How To" textbook.

I read snippets before publication, and I can't wait for the next one. The collaboration of Lackey, Freer and Flint is greater than each of them alone. And since Lackey and Flint are known for being extremely good on their own, and Freer is too, just not as well known, that's saying a lot.

Buy this book. You will be swept away.

The Bananaslug. at Baen's Bar.

I really enjoyed this collaboration of Lackey, Flint and Freer. I had been rather disappointed with Lackey's latest offerings (except The Serpent's Shadow)and, while I love and adore Flint, his books with Freer are lightweight bordering on silly. This book really worked for me. I couldn't identify the various authors which is often a problem with collaborations and the plot moved seamlessly from one story line to another. Unlike other reviewers,I had no problem with following the plot, the characters or the intrigue and I don't believe other Lackey or Flint fans will have trouble either. Nor is the Shakespeare reference difficult for any high school student who has read Romeo and Juliet!

The story, set in an alternate world Venice, is an adventure, a fantasy, a court intrigue, a romance, in other words, something for all tastes but in a unified package with great and sympathetic characters. Don't let the heft of the package put you off - The Shadow of the Lion is long but well written, using an easy to read vernacular. Highly recommended.

I must admit, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this book. While I love certain of Mercedes Lackey's writing - especially her Elemental Masters and Free Bards series and her historical retellings of fairy tales - I've never warmed up to her Valdemar books, and I'd never read anything by (or even about) her two co-authors, Eric Flint and David Freer.

I started the book, and was underwhelmed. While the concept seemed interesting - an alternate Renaissance Italy where magic works - the execution seemed clunky, introducing over a dozen major characters within the first chapter or so (a common mistake in historical novels). But within the first few chapters, I found myself caught up by the characters and the events that tied their lives together. By this point, the book had become so gripping that I couldn't stop until I finished it - and at 800-some pages, that takes a while! This is a wonderful book, and has persuaded me to check out some books by Flint and Freer while I'm at it. Certainly if you're at all interested in historical fantasy (especially dealing with alternate histories) you should give this book a chance.

_Shadow of the Lion_ (hereafter referred to as SoL) is indeed related to Merovingen Nights, although SoL's acknowledgements may not mention it, but it's not a simple recycle.

Once upon a time (1980s), the Merovingen Nights series, hereafter referred to as MN - 1 novel and 7 anthologies - was set in the city of Merovingen (a Venice-like city of canals) on Merovin, a world in Cherryh's Union/Alliance universe cut off from the rest of humanity and frozen at a pre-starflight level of technology. Cherryh introduced the framework of the city and some of the star characters in the novel _Angel with the Sword_. The series regrettably stopped at anthology #7 and passed out of print.

Moving on to _Shadow of the Lion_ (SoL), we have an alternate universe wherein the breakpoint was the conversion of Hypatia (last Librarian of Alexandria in our timeline) to Christianity. (This information is provided gently early on, via a character ducking into a church during a rainstorm, looking at the frescoes of Saint Hypatia.) In SoL's universe, when the mob incited by bishop Cyril (in our universe, *he's* the saint) came to burn the Library down, Hypatia was saved by a miracle. That's the official version, anyway; it's been several centuries, Hypatia was an eloquent woman, and magic exists in SoL's universe, so SoL's history may have been prettified. Since Hypatia became a major Christian theologian-saint and the Library survived, Christianity and the political map of the world are different in SoL's 16th-century: the Church has different relationships with other religions, the Holy Roman Empire is a major power, and neither France and England exist as such. The magic system resembles that of Lackey's elemental magic novels with more religious overtones, a la Katherine Kurtz' Deryni.

What has this to do with MN? The main action of SoL takes place in Venice (obviously correlating nicely with Venice-like Merovingen), and Lackey has used some of her contribution to MN's characters and short stories as raw material for SoL. Both characters and plots have been remolded, however, allowing for 1) the different histories of Venice (pretech) and Merovingen (posttech), 2) more realistic characterization, and 3) revision of areas where the original cast and plots interacted most with contributions from other authors. Consequently, any similarity between the storylines fades as events in SoL play out.

Manfred - a prince serving his hitch in the Knights of the Holy Trinity - and his protector Erik have no counterparts in MN, and neither does Manfred's lover, the courtesan Francesca, consummate political operator that she is. I suspect Lackey of major contributions to her character, especially some of her conversations with Kat Montescue, daughter of a noble house fallen on hard times; Kat's far better developed than her underutilized MN alter ego. The priests seeking to form a new order within SoL's Church have no MN counterparts - instead, they correspond to those who in our universe founded the Society of Jesus: the Jesuits. The nebulous Strega correspond to the slot occupied by the Janists in MN, but only insofar as they interact with the Valdosta brothers.

In place of MN's house Takahashi, SoL has the ducal house of Ferrara - the Valdosta family. As in MN, a wayward daughter of the house got involved with a very dangerous group of political fanatics - in SoL, the Montagnards - who murdered her as unreliable before the story opens, leaving her two young sons fugitives far from home. Marco's in the Rigel Takahashi role: a good, somewhat naive kid, having had no chance to learn social skills in the swamp. Benito corresponds to his younger half-brother Denny - a wild petty thief. Their introduction to SoL is a twisted reflection of "Deathangel" from _Festival Moon_: they ask one of their mother's old contacts (now *ex*-Montagnard, as it turns out) for help. Caesare is far more realistic than MN's Mondragon. Mondragon was a wish-fulfillment character - very beautiful, a great fighter who'd left his revolutionary cause through having a few too many ethics (his assassin aspects were played down), and genuinely devoted to the canaler-girl who once saved his life. Caesare presents a Mondragon-like facade, especially to his rescuer Maria, but it's a pose. He's mercenary to the core: he's only interested in Maria for her canaler connections and her body, and wants her loyalty as long as she's useful. When *he* takes in the Valdosta brothers, it's not charity; their grandfather hadn't abandoned them, and had paid Caesare (among others) to search for them. (What the reader knows up front, although the other characters don't, is that Caesare helped murder the kids' mother in the first place.)

To summarize: the events of the Marco & Benito thread initially reflect those of the corresponding characters in MN; compare with the 5 stories Lackey contributed to MN anthologies 2-6. However, the SoL and MN threads diverge with good reason, with the realistic characterization of Caesare and Maria and their differences from Mondragon and Jones.

SoL isn't MN, but if you liked certain aspects of MN you'll like this.

Set in Renaissance Venice in a somewhat alternate world (one where, for instance, magic works), this book chronicles two or three years of political upheaval, primarily from the point of view of two nobly-born brothers in hiding.

The plot is complicated, but given that it's about Italian politics in a particularly volatile period, not excessively so. It's engaging and flows well; there aren't any particularly noticeable slow spots, and you don't want to put it down. Despite its size and weight (it's 800 pages in hardcover) I brought it with me on a cross-country plane trip because I'd started it and didn't want to leave it behind. And unlike many multi-author works, the various plot threads all integrate properly.

The downside is that many elements of the plot -- and several of the characters too -- are rather heavily borrowed from C.J. Cherryh's Merovingen Nights shared-world anthology, to which Lackey was a contributor. This should not be construed to mean that this book is a rehash/clone of Merovingen Nights; it's not, and even the borrowed elements are not necessarily assembled the same way.

There are also certain points of resemblance to Diana Wynne Jones's book _The Magicians of Caprona_, but this probably just reflects common thematic material.

To the extent that the setting is historical, it appears, to a non-historian, fairly well researched; to the extent that it's made up, it's done well, and it's not always easy to tell which is which (usually a good sign).

The characterization is competently done, if not in general terribly deep; several of the characters are quite engaging. (Details would probably be spoilers.)

Lackey's writing sometimes suffers regarding style; whether due to collaboration or more/better editing, there's none of that this time; the book is solidly and competently written, though not brilliant.

Overall: **** (Ok, even pretty good, but not extraordinary.)

While I am extremely pleased as to how this book turned out compared to Lackey's usual material, I'm a little perturbed about the who this story line belongs to. About 15 years ago, I stumbled acrossed a series called Merovingian Nights. It is around 7 books long, and is pieced together by a plethora of authors. The series was not truly co-authored in the way we think of it now, but where each author wrote their own chapter in the novel. Sometimes it ended with some discontinuity.

Shadow of the Lion is what I wanted Merovingian Nights to be. But does the story belong to CJ Cherryh or does it belong to Mercedes Lackey? It is not 100 percent the same, but a good 80% the same. Names, settings, plots.

While I really enjoyed the book and its sequel, my enjoyment was dampened by the fact I couldn't get the idea of [...] out of my head.

Any book set in the Renaissance is pretty much bound to be a complex amalgam of plots and counter plots. This book lives up to its setting in history. I was cautious in approaching a book that was written by three authors, expecting writing dissonance and perhaps some plot danglies. But the authors did a very good job of developing characters and coherent plot. I didn't expect anything along the lines of a serious historial novel, and so was not disappointed. I would almost classify this as a Young Adult book because the majority of the main characters are in the process of coming of age. This is light fare that is well enough written and well plotted to engage your attention. Very light on the fantasy element, and light on characterization - - but don't think that any of the characters are cardboard cutouts. The plot is woven well enough and moves fast enough that deep characterization isn't missed. Well done entertainment.

I bought this book because I love fantasy and I love books by Mercedes Lackey. I got quite a surprise. This book was not what I expected but I enjoyed all of it. The typical fantasy book is heavy on the fantastical elements with one or two plot twists thrown in. This book has one basic fantasy premice and is heavy on the plot twists and turns. There are pages and pages that read like a good solid historical novel instead of a fantasy book.

For me, this was all the better. I love a good fantasy, but I also appreciate getting a book I can sink my teeth into - and this one is a book that cannot be digested all in one bite. There is a 25 page prologue that takes you over 3 different locations and 8 characters - and these are just the men that pull the strings of power, not the heros and heroines of the book. Then in the next 25 pages you meet Benito, Katerina and Marco the most major characters in the book.

Its a daunting 50 pages and can leave you feeling overwhelmed, but once you get past it the book begins to draw you in. As advertised on the front cover, it IS "Rich plotting, vivid characterization.." As a matter of fact, at the end I found myself wondering about the histories and futures of several of the more minor characters as well as what Benito would do in the future. This is not a light read, but it IS a good solid enjoyable one. Buy it and digest it, you'll be glad you did.

The first thing to say is that I like almost everything that Mercedes Lackey has written and so I am predisposed to like this. I have to say, however, that I suspect that Ms Lackey did not write the lions's share of this book (or perhaps she did write that part because the book gets much more 'Lackey-like' when touching on the supernatural). (The Lion of St Mark features in the book)
The book is really an alternative history and will, I think be enjoyed by people who like relatively lightweight alternative history. It creates a world where the Library at Alexandria was not burned and the wisdom and knowledge contained there was saved by Hypatia, the courageous librarian who was unable to protect the library in our world . (Hypatia is obviously a favorite of Ms Lackey's .since she 'featured' in The Ship Who Searched'). The theory is that the Library contained much arcane knowledge and that as the result of saving it Hypatia was beatified and set up a tolerant and liberal Christian denomination with St John Chrystomenes (sp?) (who in real life was, I believe, dismissed as a crazy fanatic). In addition the knowledge of and practice of magic is very much a part of this world. Furthermore there is a substantial pagan presence. Some of these pagans are Mages. There is a group called the Strega (again , not well explained, they seem to be the equivalent of gypsies), whom the Church - or certain factions in it - are oppressing. Many of the Strega work magic in some form.
In this sixteenth century Venice the Church has factions who follow St Peter (the Petrines) and those who follow St Paul (the Paulines) and some Hypatians. The exact beliefs of these factions are never explained - which probably doesn't really matter since the book is complicated enough without that - except that, by not going into that kind of detail the book may lose alternative history fans. The Church is a powerful and complex force in this world's politics as it was in the real world - but I missed just where each faction stood. Certainly the politics of Europe, woven through with magic and a powerful Lithuanian demon ARE pretty detailed - and complicated- as are the political factions within Venice herself. I found that reading the book took some effort because of the very rather labyrinth like plot but, having made the effort I finally got caught up in it ...only to find it had finished!
The reason that I don't think Ms Lackey wrote much of the book is that one of her strengths is her ability to make the reader care about a character, or small group of characters. In this book the two principal characters are orphaned brothers Marco and Benito. They are pawns of shadowy puppet masters - who, again, the reader never knows much about. However, apart from the fact that Marco is fairly saint like and Benito is a street rat,and they are important in a 'great scheme', I never really felt I knew much about ' how they ticked'. We spend a lot of time with Ceasare, a shady character who is a spy, assassin and mercenary . . .but his character is deliberately unreadable.. . Only one character comes across clearly; an ambitious courtesan called Francesca. We understand her, she is highly intelligent, beautiful and a survivor. She also seems as if she is the only person who has control over her life! Perhaps the book should have been about her!

I do not feel that regular Mercedes Lackey fans will necessarily enjoy this book. In fact, I would recommend this book only if you like dense, alternative universe stuff (though it isn't good enough for an alternative history purist) with less characterization that we have come to expect from Ms Lackey and (not enough) rather erudite magic.

I'm not one who normally likes alternative histories, but this is one of the best, most complex Lackey books I've read in ages. The characters, as always, have depth and humor, and the plot is fascinating -- my one question -- will there be a sequel?

One word of caution -- those who have read C.J. Cherryh's Merovingen Nights Series may find many aspects of the plot strangely familiar...