Throne Price [Paperback]

Lynda Williams (Author), Alison Sinclair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2003

In the far reaches of space the descendants of humanity have evolved into two vastly different cultures. On the planet Rire, the Reetions use computer technology to ensure comfort and equality for all. On Gelion, genetically modified Sevolites adhere to a strict ­hierarchy based on racial purity and ones ability to wield a sword. As war threatens to destroy both worlds, two men, Erien of Rire and Amel of Gelion, attempt to preserve the fragile peace. Together they hope to unravel the complex web of intrigues and ancient hatred that threatens to destroy ­humanity itself. This is book four of the Okal Rel Saga, a massive ten part epic, of love, war, betrayal, and hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gelion and Rire, two rival empires, stand on the brink of war in Throne Price, a stand-alone SF novel that reads like a sequel, by Canadian authors Lynda Williams and Alison Sinclair. Readers who persist through the confusing verbiage at the opening will find a decent, if not particularly memorable, yarn.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

Benjamin Franklin Award FINALIST 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing; 1 edition (June 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894063066
• ISBN-13: 978-1894063067
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,760,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynda Williams has been creating the Okal Rel Universe through three degrees and at least as many careers. Now the books of the ten novel saga are rolling out from Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy one a year (Part 7: Healer's Sword forthcoming in Nov 2011). Works by both Lynda and other writers captivated by the story-potential of the ORU, are published by Edge's sister-press called Absolute X-Press. Lynda taught and worked in educational innovation at the University of Northern B.C. for fifteen years, and now works as Learning Management System Analyst for SFU. She holds two masters degrees (M.L.S. and M.Sc. Computation) and a B.A. in Liberal Studies with emphasis in Chemistry and Creative Writing. "All my life," Lynda explains her eclectic education and life experience, "I had questions that no single discipline could answer without help from others."

Fully-realized characters living the drama and humor of culture clash surrounding power, sexual mores and social values are the hallmark of the Okal Rel experience: dramatizing questions about what it means to be human. Enthusiastic readers range from precocious pre-teens to senior citizens, and include thinking people from PhDs to high school dropouts. The gentle, beautiful, vanilla-scented Amel Dem'Vrel, title character of Part 1: The Courtesan Prince, provides a focus for the series as his life plays out the age-old story of the prince raised as a pauper combined with the notion of the prostitute with a heart of gold, despite being male. But Amel's slow recovery from a traumatic youth and rise to power as his people's leader is only the backdrop for the lives and passions of a cast of characters who seize the stage for as long as a book (e.g. Horth Nersal in Part 2: Righteous Anger) or weave their own bright threads through the ten-novel saga (e.g. reluctant rebel Perry D'Aur, the intense and brooding Di Mon, or trickster, warrior, poet Eler Nersal).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exhilarating and enjoyable read, April 18, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne Price (Paperback)

Collaboratively co-written by Lynda Williams and Alison Sinclair, Throne Price is an impressively presented science fiction saga of conflict and tension between a hierarchical empire of genetically modified humans and a republic that embraces computer technology. Rivalry for the empire's throne threatens war and bloodshed, and tests the worth of one man who has tried to delicately balance political forces for eighteen years. An exhilarating and enjoyable read, Throne Price is enthusiastically recommended reading for dedicated and discerning science fiction fans.

5.0 out of 5 stars As real and ugly as the best of life, May 13, 2003

By 

Ashley Robins (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne Price (Paperback)

(Caveat: I met one of the authors and write a review at her request. The opinions are very much my own, however.)

Fiction, to me, let's us do what we try and do with life - take apart reality and put it back together again to ask "why not THIS way". If it's good fiction, the re-formed reality works. This book, "Throne Price" is good fiction.
"Throne Price" (not 'Thorn Prince' as the title graphic looks like) by Lynda Williams and Alison Sinclair. Book 4 (1st published however) of a projected 10 book series.
A vivid world as complex, ugly, and promising as our own with characters I knew right away, and many I wish I could know here and now a lot better. (and a few I would never want to meet without a few decks of armor plating between us.) These are characters, and a world, I look forward to visiting. This book is a 'stoplight' book for me (carried in my car, so I can read a line or two whenEVER I get a chance.

What is it like, reading Book Four first?
Think of being tossed to live in, say, Paris. It would take a while to get to know the way of it, but from the first, you would know you are in an ancient place that would still be there in a thousand years... with some things barely changing. It would fascinate, attract, confuse, and reward you. Welcome to the world of Okal-Rel
Let the large cast and complex politics wash over you, enjoy the imagery and language, and don't fret remembering all the details. Save that for the second reading.
As with Stephan R. Donaldson's 'Thomas Covenant' series, Frank Herbert's "Dune" and Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth' series, the main character is not my favorite and even share an uncomfortable habit of being put to pain... a lot of pain. It is the other characters that attract me with their independence, flaws, and unpredictability.
In the advent of the Web, books no longer are singular experiences. Chat rooms, in depth commentary and visual aids abound and help continue the experience after the cover closes. It reminds me of Dickens reading his works aloud to early versions of FanCons (albeit with a less tacky T-shirts). Web sites give the author, and fans, a chance to interact much more with each other. I am glad to see the Okal-Rel world having one as well. There is evidently a way for fans to read sections into a MP3 file and having it posted. Amateur aspirations to make the world of the authors even more real. Mr. Dickens would approve.
I recommend this book. Ashley Robins (aka G.Robin Smith)

Published by Edge Science Fiction.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, May 5, 2003

By 

Marie Jakober (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne Price (Paperback)

This is one of the most original and fascinating works of fantasy I have ever read. I agree with earlier readers that it offers some marvellous world-building, and a genuine page-turner of a plot, especially in the latter half of the book. However, what lifted it above its peers, for me, was its superb characterization, and its insights into the personalities and emotions of those who, while still young, have endured violence and degradation at the hands of their natural protectors (ie. parents and others in positions of power or authority.)

This is a difficult subject to handle well in fiction. Many novels sensationalize or even romanticize this kind of personal cruelty, bleeding it for its shock value while pretending it has no real, lasting effects. Others recognize the ugliness of it, but in doing so, create a victim who is always a victim and never a hero. Sinclair and Williams walk a very thin line between these two potential pitfalls, and they walk it flawlessly. We see Ev'rel as a comprehensible human being, a woman with her own tragic past, yet NEVER FOR A MOMENT do we lose sight of how evil and unforgivable her actions are. In the character of Amel, the authors walk an even finer line, capturing with bitter poignancy the very real scars he carries, yet fashioning, in spite of this damage (NOT because of it) a gutsy and exceptionally likable character. As he fights to rebuild his identity, and to stay alive in an increasingly dangerous world, he becomes one of those unforgettable fictional heroes whom we really, desperately hope will make it.

I have one small caution, however. The society of Gelion is hightly ritualistic and structured, and there are coined words and terms for many unfamiliar things, places, relationships, and behaviors. Some readers will find this manageable and even fun. Others, like myself, might find it hard to keep track of at first. To those readers I would say: "Hang in there. Read on. You will be wonderfully rewarded!"