Customer Reviews

Tower of the King's Daughter

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For those of you who love George MacDonald, but desire better narrative, C.S. Lewis (who didn't like George MacDonald's narrative either), but want a secular fantasy story; and J.R.R. Tolkien, but think a couple more female characters would be appropriate, and are tired of the rut of fantasy stories that too often follows in the wake of these writers . . . For those of you who long for daring vistas, swashbuckling adventures, and scintillating dialogue, but aren't satisfied with these things alone and would see them combined with dynamic narrative . . . For those who desire a chiaroscuro of events, characters, and places, but events that aren't just plot devices, characters that react as opposed to simply act, and places that capture glimpses of both heaven and hell, then the Outremer Series by Chaz Brenchley is most definately for you.

I almost didn't read these books, I almost left them sitting on the shelf in the bookstore because the story summary on the back of the book seemed to be relating just another sword and sorcery novel that, worse yet, was going to unite the "princess" and the "knight-to-be" in a simplistic battle of good versus evil and beauty versus darkness. Let me tell ya', the back of the book is a bald-faced liar.

First and foremost, this series is a sweeping fantasy adventure in a fully-formed world that is intricately imagined and described. It is the setting, the situations, and particularly, the choices the characters make to complex problems and threats that drive this superbly told story which doesn't simply leap from one magic trick to the next. And don't expect mundane magic like Hogwarts, either. This magic is complex, dangerous, brushing softly against the numinous.

Brenchley, appropriately, is a storyteller, not a preacher, but his story DOES deal in absolutes, and in my mind at least, avoids moral relativism completely. The problem with absolutes is that NO ONE has a monopoly on them; the miasma of conflicting loyalties, spiritualities, and desires that is life is mostly successful at obscuring or obliterating completely the direct path to goodness. Sometimes there simply cannot be a choice between right and wrong, but only a choice between the lesser of two evils. While the series is filled with such dramatic and realistic dilemmas there is one character that is braver, genuinely braver, than most characters I have ever read: he is Marron, a graceful, strong squire whose bravery lies not in when and how he handles a sword, but in the frightful clarity of his personal courage and the choices that he makes. Marron is a troubled, but conscientious soul battling the forces of tyranny, dogma, and deindividuation, for the most part, successfully. And perhaps it is the character of Marron that is the most fantastical element of this fantasy. In real life, most of us aren't this morally competent.

But morality aside, these books are great. I'm recommending them to everyone. Just don't read them when you have more important things to do; they are just that difficult to put down.

P.S. The emotional and physical relationships are sensual, maddening, and heartbreaking all at once. I'm just sorry one doesn't get to read more about the consummation of these. Brenchely's violence isn't gratuitous, but it certainly goes into a lot more detail than his sex does. Sigh.

With the second volume (second part of the first volume of UK edition) Mr Brenchley fulfills all the promises of the first.

We have a solid -if very slow- fantasy with nicely done action scenes -not many- based on a complex but not intricate plot.

Characterization was the strongpoint of the first volume and is superb here.
Julianne finally comes to life -as if the author needed a little time to get her going- which is good because she bears one of the two POV of the narrative. The other is carried out by Marron whose quite sufferings, adolescent torments, too early needs to give up a black or white certainties are not only well rounded but also moving, convincing and not overdone.

What in the first book was hinted at becomes explicit here. We are told why Anton killed his brother and what kind of relationship existed between Marron and Aldo before the fell apart. Not to mention that finally the implicit sexual tension existing between Marron and Anton finds here an explicit release.
All above is explicitly told but in a hushed, nearly understated way. The actual telling and love making last no more than perhaps three pages -so that sensitive readers need not worry too much- but is nevertheless essential in understanding the underlying currents of the whole story up here. Therefore sensitive readers also beware: lack of graphic sex does NOT mean lack of sensuality.

I simply feel no sympathy for those homophobe reviewers who see gay people in fantasy novels as a dreadful lésé majesté, as if homosexuality was unknown in the Middle Ages. And it is not as if they are faced here with graphic sex. And it is not as if gay readers do not have to relate with straight characters in 95% of the books they read.

If there is a flaw I can find is that the writing is sometimes convoluted and rough. It is always slow, therefore I must repeat my warning: avoid this series when in need of relaxing light reading.

About the fact that this series is out of print I have already expresse myself in my review of the first episode. A shame...

The second installment in the Outremer series has even more momentum and intrigue than the first. Brenchley takes real risks with his characters, which heightens the peril. This is a refreshing alternative to fantasies whose main characters remain static through umpteen books; there are surprises enough here for even the most jaded fantasy reader. Kudos to Mr. Brenchley.

The Devil in the Dust, the first book in Chaz Brenchley's Outremer series, drew me into its world of fantasy from the very first page, and thus I was eager to see what happens in book two, Tower of the King's Daughter. Brenchley is a true craftsman of the written word, far surpassing most fantasy authors with an unassailable skill at constructing worlds the reader can almost reach out and touch and then filling these worlds with complex characters whom we come to know and care for despite the mysteries and character flaws surrounding them. Tower of the King's Daughter takes off where The Devil in the Dust ended; I should point out that the Outremer series was published as a trilogy in the UK, whereas the US publisher has split those three books into six. A lot of issues that were left hanging in the balance at the end of the first book are more directly addressed in this text, and there are some big surprises waiting to greet the reader in the final sections.

The action so far is really built around two central characters: Marron, the young man who came to Roq de Rancon in order to serve in the Knights Ransomers, and Julianne, the daughter of the King's Shadow who stops at the fortified castle on her way to meet and then marry the husband selected for her. The first book dealt primarily with Marron, and his is the more captivating story in my opinion. Soon after arriving at the castle and being introduced to the disciplined life of a religious warrior and witnessing the magic of the King's Eye, he begins questioning his service. A knight at the castle, Sieur Anton d'Escrivey, injures Marron's arm badly in a display of fighting and soon takes the boy in as his squire. Sieur Anton is by no means an average knight; his is a past that includes the murder of his own brother, but only in Tower of the King's Daughter do some of his hidden secrets fully reveal themselves to Marron and to the reader. I have to say I was shocked at the turn of events and revelations late in this novel. What I had regarded as baseless rumors concerning Sieur Anton turn out to be true, and this quickly leads to an even more shocking discovery about Marron himself. The controversial nature of the subject at hand will likely turn a few readers off, especially if they get blind-sided by it like I did, but the sheer daring of Brenchley's imagination is really something to behold. While events drastically rub my own personal beliefs the wrong way, it is impossible for me not to remain wholly committed to this series - Brenchley's writing is just too good to miss.

While Marron remain the central character to my mind, this second book of Outremer delves more deeply into the lives of Julianne, daughter of the King's Shadow, and her new companion Elisande. We now learn why Elisande has come to Roq de Rancon and largely through her we come to know two additional important players in the drama. We also meet the man Julianne is to marry; the bride-to-be finds herself drawn to him from the start, a fact which makes what she has to do all the harder. A second visit by a mysterious djinni has compelled her to leave everything behind and journey alongside Elisande to the land of the Sharai, a foreign people with little love for Outremer. This plot point eventually allows for the assembly of all our major characters in one place, but the book does not end before we discover the truth about Roc de Rancon's mysterious Tower of the King's Daughter.

Plenty of mystery remains in the lives of our characters, a fact which bodes well for the succeeding four novels in the series. I'm still trying to recover from the shock of the stunning secret just revealed, and Brenchley seems determined to keep me off-balance as even the final sentence of this second book of Outremer drops another bombshell right on my head. I am quite bothered by the nature of one aspect of the story, but - as I said - that disquiet has done little to dampen my wonder and excitement over this refreshingly bold and uncommonly compelling series. Few fantasy writers can equal the power of Brenchley's prose, as anyone who wanders into the world of Outremer will quickly discover on his/her own.

Chaz Brenchley's Outremer series creates a richly imagined world populated by people who feel real. The pace is slow and unhurried, but it's always clear that the story is going somewhere, and worth following. It's solidly based in the real history of the Crusader kingdoms, but places them in a universe where the magic of that time and place is real, making for a compelling and different take on the fantasy genre.

This book opens where the previous volume left off, with the young squire Marron having to face the consequences of his choice to protect the Ransomers from a stealth invasion. It's clear from the very first scene that this is no fluffy fantasy, where only redshirts die -- Brenchley unflinchingly shows that Marron's choice was between two evils, and that people he cares for would suffer greatly no matter which choice he made. It's close to horror in its intensity, but it's not gratuitous.

The pattern continues through the book, with choices having to be made by most of the characters, some lesser and some greater, but never easy choices. If you're looking for a nice simple Good Versus Evil, look elsewhere. This series has complex characters reacting to complex situations, and actions don't always have the consequences someone intended.

This volume develops the relationships already shown in the first volume, and shows more of two characters who were introduced relatively briefly. One of the plot hooks in the first volume provides much of the plotline for Julianne and Elisande, as they try to obey the djinni's request/order to Julianne that she go where she is sent, and marry where she must. The promise proves both more complicated and more painful to keep than Julianne had imagined. And one of the hints for Marron and Sieur Anton comes to fruition, but Marron finds his own promises, to himself and to others, clashing with each other.

Some of the secrets hinted at in the first volume are unveiled -- including the mystery at the heart of the titular tower, a strange edifice in the heart of the fortress of Roq de Rancon. But it's clear that the characters still have a long journey ahead of them, and lessons to learn.

The series offers a fascinating world and well-developed characters, including strong female characters who feel integral rather than a nod to the female readership. It's all presented in exquisite prose that's a delight to read.

These days, fantasy novels should come with warning labels.

Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald -- where are you when we need you? Your stories always had a clear good vs. evil theme. No moral relativism. And no all-pervasive political correctness.

But, nowadays, our fantasies simply MUST include elements of decaying moral uncertainty ("neutrality"), coupled together with 21st century sexual hijinks.

The first book in this series was an "OK" fantasy story.

However, after reading the second book in the series...about three-quarters of the way through.....I began to consider the virtues of recycled paper........

If you like for your adventure stories to be spiced up with soft-core porn, then this is the series for you.

Otherwise, avoid.

I would like to recommend George MacDonald's Phantastes, instead. A great story - and a sad romance. Without the need for modern baggage.