Customer Reviews

Taming the Forest King

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another out-of-print little gem that's worth finding. I would have given it five stars but some of the scenes seemed to shift abruptly - I don't know if it was written that way or just poorly edited.

This book is a nice blend of fantasy, supernatural and military elements, with a touch of romance to boot. The main character is Tevra who is a Colonel in the Light Cavalry of the Kingdom and who has been sent by the King as Viceroy to resolve the corruption in the misogynistic Forest Kingdom. She is accompanied by her brilliant second-in-command Hetwith, and is aided, strangely enough, by the deposed Forest King, Dard, who is also a wizard. Tevra is a person of high principles who's always defined herself by her military position. The story follows her attempts to familiarize herself with the ways of the Forest Kingdom and handle people and situations totally alien to her training, while dealing with treachery, corruption, rebels, and assasination attempts.

This isn't a massive book - Ms. Edwards was able to create this world and its inhabitants with deft precision. Tevra is slowly revealed to be a person who has triumphed over her origins by making her military career the be-all and end-all of her existence, somewhat to her detriment. As the book evolves, so does she, with the help of the two people she winds up depending on more than she wants.

This is the second book by Ms. Edwards that I've read, and I've enjoyed both of them. I've only found mention of four books written by her, all in the late 1980's, and biographic information about her is almost non-existent. Here's hoping that someday she resumes writing in this genre.

Tevra, a Colonel of the Light Calvary, the youngest regimental commander and one of the highest ranking women in that demanding branch of the service, had been chosen by the King and appointed Viceroy with extraordinary powers to deal with the problems in the Forest Kingdom, a distant and rebellious province. These problems included corruption and mismanagement by the previously appointed governor, famine, disease and unchecked supernatural threats decimating the population. Many of the inhabitants still feel they owed allegiance to the Forest King, the heir of their deposed monarch.

Tevra, aided by her loyal and able second in command, Captain Hetwith, finds herself under magical and physical attack as she deals with bandits and less mundane threats. She had also not counted on the personal attraction she would feel for Prince Dard, the ci-devant Forest King, or the change in Hetwith's previously impeccable behavior toward her. She had, many years previously, taken Hetwith on as a soldier with a less than stellar reputation and by careful handling created a reliable tactician and her most valuable resource. She feels quite lost when his behavior causes a rift between them. Competent as she might be in military matter, Tevra has little experience in understanding her own emotions.

The character of Tevra as a career military officer who has been a very "by the rules" player, is well worked out. Her insecurities and strengths are both displayed as she copes with situations that threaten both her life and her loyalties. Her relationship with Hetwith, who she trusts implicitly to save her life, but whose inner workings confound her, is interesting. Their relationship as commanding officer and subordinate and the conflicts that arise in it are in keeping with both of their characters.

I can't comment on the military aspects of the book from experience, but from the presence of Jenny, the striker, to the uniform, the feel was very British colonial rather than American.

I have no idea what happened that this author stopped publishing, but that she did was fantasy's loss.

Ms. Edwards has strong heroines, usually with a martial bent and a sad love affair in the past. Always a touch of magic to the tales as well. All the books I know about are listed on amazon. Big disappointment that the The Bastard Princess series wasn't finished.

This would have to be one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read (and to think I got it on sale as a 3 for $10 book!). I have never been able to find any others by this author, which is the one thing that is rather annoying about it being so enjoyable. Apart from having a great heroine (in the true sense of the word) there is a lot of sexual tension throughout the book - so much so that the heroine is even more believable in her struggle to be the leader, and not the woman.... and guess what? She isn't weakened by it (none of this soppy 'and she fell with a sigh of relief into his arms kind of thing') which is also rather unusual. Please publish more (and republish all those ones that I havn't been able to get copies of) :)

I found this book several years ago and enjoyed it so much I've spent those years occassionally looking for more from Ms. Edwards. I enjoy reading about strong women who are both capable, compassionate and admirable. It's only a 200 odd page book, but I felt I got to know the characters well. It's a quick read and I highly recommend it if you can find it

I can remember reading that the author was a teacher and in the middle of a new series (Eldrie the Healer) when her published was merged with another and the line dropped. I was so disappointed - and hope that she will some day write again.

This book was my introduction to the author and I really enjoyed it greatly. It is a very easy read and I'd definitely classify it more as romance than fantasy. As noted, it is very much a first novel but definitely an enjoyable one. I treasure my copy.

This was a surprising little gem. I'd found it at the flea market and, for 33¢, I couldn't resist the female warrior--in chain mail, yet, instead of a bikini!--and the pristine condition. (ahhhh... new books. the tight pages, the smooth cover, the unbroken spine, the story waiting to be discovered... give me a moment here.)

It's a short book, only 215 pages, from 1986. Colonel Tevra has been called to the forest lands to investigate the myriad problems besetting them: from a corrupt governor to supernatural attacks. At her side is her ever-faithful Second (XO), Hetwith.

She's aided and romanced by the Forest King of the title, Dard.

Taming the Forest King is as much a romance as it is a fantasy, but it's all the better because the focus is on the fantasy. The worldbuilding is vivid, the society rich with details. The various supernatural creatures and the way magic works aren't described very thoroughly, but it's enough--they're consistent, and clear enough that the story makes sense.

Tevra does veer awfully close to the TSTL line on occasion--not in her professional capacity--she's a very capable officer, and is highly respected for good reason--but in her personal life. She's very dense when it comes to realizing that she's actually the center of a romantic triangle. She's saved--barely--by her focus on her duty and military ethics, and by the fact that it fits her character to view emotions and sexual attraction as inconveniences to be ignored when duty doesn't permit indulgence. In short, she represses what she sees as inappropriate emotions, and in doing so, is blind to their mirror in others.

I was disappointed to find that Claudia J. Edwards only has a handful of books, none of them still in print. I'll be looking for them anyway.

Great book! I like the concept of the female heroine being in an authority position over our hero who is her subordinate. The heroine is not a 16 year old with blond tressess and a nymph like body, like in so many fantasy series. The romantic tension is strong, the fantasy is light. I bought a used copy online for less than a dollar, and it was defintely a worthwhile read.

It is a shame that Edwards hasn't published more books. Taming the Forest King was a highly enjoyable book. Great suspense and romance- Edwards had me guessing until the closing pages of the book about what would happen to Tevra and which beau she would choose. The ending was skillfully done- she gives enough details about the characters' futures to not cause a reader to sob in desperation for more.

I read this in my early teens, and really loved it. It is well-written, with great characters, easy to read yet effective prose, and a good story. The romance bit of it is also well executed--not cheesy or flowery. I even adapted the first few scenes of this novel into a storyboard for animation back then!