Customer Reviews

Thirteen Orphans

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

 

 

For my money Jane Lindskold is one of those few writers whose novels you just don't read, you devour. There hasn't been a time when I've cracked open a book of hers and been let down. Although, the caveat is that I haven't yet managed to pick up her last two entries in the Firekeeper saga. But I've read just about everything else she's written, my favorites being The Athanor series and also BROTHER TO DRAGONS, COMPANIONS TO OWLS. All this is just a roundabout way of my telling you that I really liked THIRTEEN ORPHANS, the first in her new series.

The roots of Lindskold's new story can be found in an enchanted realm quite removed from Earth, in the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, when long ago an Emperor was struck down, and his twelve wizardly advisors were forced to submit to exile. But the twelve outcasts slipped away with a secret, having managed to scamper away with the last surviving infant son of the Emperor, much to the ire of the new regime. The exiles found their way to China and then across the seas, scattering across America. These magical twelve advisors - with the addition of the Emperor's child - began referring to themselves as the Thirteen Orphans. As time went on, as age set in, they passed on their traits and powers onto their descendants. Peace reigned for years, with nary a whiff of their enemies. In time, certain of the Orphans' successors even forgot their magical heritage.

And yet, back in the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, the new order had not forgotten about the Thirteen Orphans. Plots are hatched. Deadly agents are deployed. And, today, in the present, 19-year-old college student Brenda Morris will, while on a surprising road trip with her father, learn of her roots and her surprising destiny.

Boy, that sounded like the back cover of a lurid fantasy novel... THIRTEEN ORPHANS isn't wall to wall action, isn't necessarily for the Jim Butcher fans. The narrative of THIRTEEN ORPHANS spools out at a leisurely pace. Lindskold thoughtfully constructs her world, and she plonks her characters down into this ostensibly normal human environment, except that, occasionally, Eastern mysticism peeks out from behind the curtains. Along with that Eastern mysticism, the writer steeps us in Eastern philosophy and Chinese lore, and the vast enigma that is... mahjong. When the Thirteen Orphans came to Earth, they camouflaged their magics in the game of mahjong, and so this pastime is a recurring presence in the book.

Long ago, each of the Thirteen Orphans had taken on the aspect and attributes of a beast from the Chinese Zodiac, with the Emperor's descendant representing the Cat. When an unidentified foe methodically begins to endow the Orphans with a peculiar and selective form of amnesia, this causes the victims to forget their magical nature, rendering them mere mortals. Soon, the only ones left with intact memories are the Tiger, the Rooster, the Rabbit, the Dog... and Brenda Morris, whose dad, it turns out, is the Rat. The very interesting thing is that, when Brenda's father is assaulted and has his Rat's memory stripped away, Brenda begins demonstrating a few of the Rat's abilities. This is not supposed to happen. It just may save the Thirteen Orphans.

Winning characters dot the landscape, and I absolutely am fascinated with the stern but gracefully aged Pearl Bright (the Tiger) who long ago was a popular child actress during Shirley Temple's era. Brenda Morris, the main protagonist, is very appealing and, true to her Rat nature, she demonstrates cleverness when only cleverness can save the day (even though I could've done without her endless mooning over her crush). The Rabbit and her young daughter, Riprap the steadfast Dog, and even Brenda's scheming con-man of a father are also very fun to read about. And when the story quits being leisurely, it launches into a series of exciting magical skirmishes, but these skirmishes tend to be more cerebral rather than, say, indulge in mindless sword & sorcery violence. There's a short list of writers I read when I'm in the mood for the more lyrical urban fantasy stuff. Jane Lindskold, Charles de Lint, Terri Windling (with her Bordertown stuff) and Nina Kiriki Hoffman top this list, although, to be truly honest, I don't think anyone can currently touch Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Anyway, I am now totally invested in this Thirteen Orphans series. On to the sequels NINE GATES and then FIVE ODD HONORS.

The major failing of this book is that the action to fact dump ratio is really low. Not enough action, way to much fact dump. For the first 100 pages basically all you get is the "Beep Beep Beep" of the dump truck unloading on you. It is done in character at least, since Brenda (the main character) knows nothing about the magical world the other characters can reasonably lecture her about it. But I did start wishing they would get on with it (as does one of the characters about half way through the book. The author should have listened to the Dog and gotten on with it faster).
I really like the idea of using the mahjong limit hands to encode spells but the introduction to the game in the book gets old fast if you know anything about how to play. Hopefully now that the world has been set up, book two will have more action. I did enjoy the book, I just didn't find it fabulous.

Book arrived in perfect condition, and several days before I expected it. I had intended to get the book on Kindle, but it wasn't available. Excellent service!

This is the beginning of a new series for Lindskold, and it's a good one. Unlike the "Wolf" series, which is straight fantasy in a fantasy world, this one is set entirely in this one and in essentially the present, though it has echoes from ancient times and another world. In 213 BCE, when the "first emperor of China" burned most of the books other than those dealing with practical things (agriculture, medicine, science, law, etc.) and executed most of the scholars who knew what was in them, a relative handful of Chinese scholars, along with their families, were able to open gates to a parallel world (known as The Land of Smoke and Shadows) and fled there, where they largely flourished for many years. They had an emperor, and he was supported by a council of twelve advisor mages, named for the 12 animals of the "Chinese zodiac." (Actually, per this book, the advisers came first and gave their designations to the zodiac in later years; there was significant travel between China and the Land over the years.) But sometime in the late 19th century there was a war in the Land and the emperor was killed and the advisers exiled to our world. They brought with them the only surviving son of the emperor, who was a small boy at the time; he's referred to as the Cat. (At least one version of the Chinese zodiac that I've seen replaces the Hare/Rabbit with the Cat, but not Lindskold's.) Over the years the Twelve were forced out of China, fleeing first to Japan and later to the US, and they interbred with the locals so that the current representatives for the most part don't look very Chinese. There's a prologue from the point of view of Albert Yu, the current Cat, but the rest of the book is told from the alternating POVs of Brenda Morris, the 19-year-old daughter of Gaheris Morris, the current Rat, and Pearl Bright, a former child actress (she appeared with Shirley Temple in quite few movies) who is the current Tiger. Gaheris was intending to introduce Brenda to Albert as the heir of the Rat, but when they got to his office in a San José mall, he wasn't there, and there was a strangely laid-out mah-jongg set on a table. (Lindskold spells it mah-jong, but I've always seen it the other way. De nada.) Gaheris calls Pearl Bright and goes off to do some investigating while Brenda waits in the office for Pearl to arrive. (She lives in SJ herself, so the wait wasn't long.) Someone is stealing the memories of the Twelve, and by the time everything is clear there are only four left who can still operate, counting Brenda, who isn't really one of them but is subbing for her father--Brenda; Pearl; Des (who looks fairly pure Chinese), the Rooster; and Riprap, a mostly African-American athlete, the Dog. There's a lot of action, with Righteous Drum, the Dragon from the Land; his daughter, Honey Dream, the Snake; and Flying Claw, the Tiger, providing the opposition for most of the book. The characters are good, the premises are interesting, and the writing up to Lindskold's usual quality.

With this book it was easy for me to distinguish what I liked and what I didn't. I became really enthusiastic about certain elements and not so much for others. The elements I really liked was the originality of almost everything in this book. The magic, flashy and based on the game Mah Jong, was really creative and clever. I learned so much about the game while Brenda was learning to use her magic skills. The characters were also well done; even though there was a large cast (in my opinion), each character was distinct and not overly caricatured through their zodiac sign. The story was good and original since it embodied Chinese mythology, culture and history into a modern setting. I don't know much about any of those so I assume the author did her research but also took some liberties.

What bothered me the most was the fact that there wasn't much action. The novel is long and there are only a handful of parts that really stood out for me action-wise. But when there was action it was awesome. Also, what became a trend was the amount of dialogue in the novel. The characters talk, and talk, and talk. It is interesting for sure, but I would have preferred more action. It would have made the 500 pages go by a lot faster.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and it has left a lasting impression on me. I will never look at a game of Mah-Jong the same again. I recommend this to people who enjoy urban fantasy, especially if they are looking for something other than vampires and werewolves. This book is the first in a trilogy, the next being Nine Gates and then Five Odd Honors, so be prepared to continue. The novel ends but it is clearly a beginning to a trilogy.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. The story is slower paced but is not painfully so. Author does a good job explaining her universe without becoming overly descriptive or drawn out. Also romance IS NOT the focus of the story which is becoming a plus for me especially in the urban fantasy genre where many books are practically romance novels. This is a great book for those who love exploring interesting fictional universes and fun little facts about the universe but don't want to wade through the overly descriptive and confusing worlds that are the norm for many sci-fi/fantasy books.

Lindskold's new fantasy series blends Chinese culture and magic in a fascinating and unusual mix of ancient, modern and arcane. Faintly reminiscent of the magical atmosphere in her novel The Buried Pyramid (which dealt with Egyptian culture), this weaves a story of a deposed emperor exiled with his 12 advisors into our world. After living in hiding for a couple of generations, danger suddenly threatens the 13 as one by one the memories of their magical abilities are stolen. Brenda, heir to her father's magic of the Rat, is just about to be taught her heritage and introduced to the emperor's descendant when they realize something is wrong with his mind. Together with the Tiger, Dog, Hare and Rooster, the only ones left with their memories intact, they must guard against an unknown enemy and find a way to restore their friends and protect their families.

This world's magic is tied in with the animal symbols of Chinese astrology as well as the game mahjong, and can be pretty confusing at times, which bogs the story down in several places. Still, it can be expected of the first book in a series with so much exposition necessary, particularly with so unusual a premise. I found the slow pace easily forgivable, especially as Lindskold's characters are interesting and human, and keep the reader engaged. I actually rated this 3 1/2 stars, and I look forward to the sequel.

Lindskold is an accomplished hand at the fantasy genre and she does not disappoint with this latest well-rendered addition to urban contemporary fantasies.

The first book of a series, Lindskold introduces the characters through subtle shifts of viewpoint, staying most often with young Brenda, who is brought into the mysteries as the reader is. The tale relies on generational differences and cultural assimilation as some of the most subtle touchpoints in the story. Will the older protagonists respect the younger ones? Will the old ways still have value? Does the modern world and adopted culture overpower the meaning of where your magic has come from?

While all this unfolds like origami in reverse, Brenda admits she moves from child to adult: a self-aware protagonist is very refreshing, especially in the areas of minor romance and parental observation.

I found the story absorbing from beginning to end and the characters extremely interesting.

The next book should prove even faster paced than the second half of this one. Complications ensue!!!

The idea was interesting enough, but I was so bored after the first half of the book that I didn't bother with the last half. I don't know Mahjohg, and frankly if I wanted to learn it I'd start playing. Not only that, I didn't care enough about the protagonists to care if they won or lost. Maybe it's just this author's style and it's not my cup of tea.

What a wonderful story! I know nothing of mah-jong, but it doesn't matter. The characters are so well drawn and believable, and the twists and turns of the story always catch me by surprise, but make perfect sense as I see them unfold. The book ends in a way that neatly ties up loose ends, while still keeping me eager to see what happens next.
If you've never read anything by Jane Lindskold, do yourself a tremendous favor and pick up one of her books: Child of a Rainless Year is a wonder, The Buried Pyramid is totally intriguing, Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls is a heart-grabbing delight, and all of them, The Pipes of Orpheus, Changer, the wolf series, starting with Through Wolf's Eyes, are mystical, delightful, enchanting, riveting... every single one of her books grabs the heart and mind and takes you on wonderful journey. Just read her books. All of them. You won't be sorry.