Customer Reviews

WHEN THE KING COMES HOME

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

 

 

Edited to add: *** SPOILER WARNING ***
OK, I admit it. I wanted the herione to fall in love at then end of the book. There. Something just rankles about our girl Hail Rosamer being so clueless and indifferent to the hero, after all they've been through! But stilll...it was a good, original story and you can't say that about a lot of fantasy these days! Hail Rosamer is an artist apprentice and either Stevermer is an artist herself or she's done her research, because the littlest details of Hail's training are fascinating. Hail goes to the big city to learn art, she meets a jealous rival and encounters interesting people. Then one day she runs afoul of her rival and runs away, only to stumble onto a seeming living legend. From there we have necromancing sorceresses, Arthurian and Fisher King-like heroes and a work of Art above it all. Although this is set in the same world as "A College of Magics" (which I would rate higher and enjoyed even more) there is little similarity other than one character with a same last name and some references to the juxtaposition of the fantasy world Stevermer has created and our own.

Stevermer is a good and fastastically creative writer--I just wish I had her ear next time to tell her how to end the story! :)

This book is suitable for high school age and up.

Caroline Stevermer is one of those authors who writes (it seems) a book a decade, but oh what a book, when it finally appears! _When the King Comes Home_ is a true treasure -- realistic fantasy that doesn't shy away from showing all of the trials and tribulations that we often forget when indulging in a fantasy. The narrator is a young girl, apprenticed to an artist in the capital city of her (imaginary) country, who ends up being witness and participant in the changes that come when the Good King Julian of legend (he lived several hundred years ago, and died while at war, in Europe) reappears. There is a subtle Arthurian twist to the tale, which makes the characterization of the King's Seraph and his Queen, who also are brought back by necromantic means, richer and deeper.

This is a book which rewards reading and re-reading. Another classic by Stevermer.

Caroline Stevermer has a new book out, _When the King Comes Home_. It's apparently set in the same world as her fine earlier book _A College of Magics_. It's been a while since I read the earlier book, and I confess I didn't notice any close links: I'm pretty sure both books can be read independently. This new one is a decent book, though not terribly memorable.

The world it's set in is very much like roughly 16th Century Europe. It's set in an imaginary country in Europe, and the other fantasy element is that magic works, though magic isn't wildly prevalent. Mostly, the feel of the setting is like our world. The narrator, Hail Rosamer, is a young apprentice to a successful artist. She lives in the capital city of their "country", which is ruled by an old, dying, King, and a capable "Prince-Bishop". But people remember the days of Good King Julian, 2 centuries before, with great affection. It is said "When the King Comes Home", any number of miracles might happen. Wilful Hail becomes obsessed with an artist of King Julian's time, Gil Maspero, who among other things made a special medal for the King. Against her mistress' wishes, Hail makes a copy of this medal, and by happenstance ends up one day encountering a man who looks just like the old King. Soon it is clear that sorcery is afoot: an evil witch in league with the rebellious lord of one of the provinces is trying to recall King Julian's soul to a new body and bind the King to her will. Hail ends up imprisoned for a time, then trying to help track down the witch, then trying to help free the King from her spell. I liked it, it was fun to read, but in a way I felt that not quite enough happened. It's quiet, and it ends in an honest but rather muffled fashion: Stevermer worked hard to avoid an ending with any sort of heroic cliche. That's a good thing, on the one hand, but perhaps it detracts from the book, too. Or perhaps while avoiding cliche (good) the book also avoids replacing the standard cliches with something really special. Lest I seem too negative, though, I repeat that it's a fun, engaging, read. Hail is a neat character, wholly an artist, headstrong, interesting, unobservant of anything she doesn't care about, like the obviously besotted soldier who keeps encountering her. The other characters are well drawn, too, and largely good people too.

I generally love Caroline Stevermer. Her books are so well written and so subtle. They are not fast paced. If that is what you are looking for in a book, you'll be disappointed. But they are well crafted and the language is almost poetic. This book was no exception to that.

That being said, I was very disappointed with the story. I felt as though I never really connected to the characters. One aspect of Stevermer's books that I enjoy is the subtlety of the romances. This book had no romance. I kept waiting for it, and nothing ever happened. Ditto for the humor. Normally there is plenty of quiet humor, little one liners that help to ease the tension of the plot. I think there was maybe one line that made me laugh out loud and think "Yeah, this is what I like about Stevermer." But that was it. And there were a couple of questions that were raised in the book that never seemed to be answered, a couple of characters that she started to develop and then just dropped.

I read the book all in one sitting. But I was left feeling very empty at the end.

This sprightly, original fantasy concerns necromancy and an apprentice artist who drives everyone into an advanced state of irritability with her determination to experience true art.

The setting is a finely detailed post-Renaissance somewhere-in-Europe city. Readers of Stevermer's "A College of Magics" will recognize some of the place names, but this book takes off on its own with the very likeable Hail Rosmer and her fellow apprentices.

Hail becomes obsessed with the deceased artist, Maspero who was interested in magic as well as art. She discovers a gold medallion in the palace archives that Maspero supposedly cast, with a portrait of Good King Julian on one side, the obverse being a view of the city of Aravis. She pesters the archivist into letting her sketch both sides of the medallion, then makes a wax copy, and casts it over and over again in bronze until she is satisfied with the result.

The young apprentice is very pleased with her medallion until one of her jealous colleagues accuses her of counterfeiting. What could any self-respecting heroine do but clobber her accuser over the head with her heavy market basket. She then flees from the city, not knowing whether she killed her fellow apprentice.

Four days into her flight along the river, it begins to rain and Hail takes shelter under a bridge. There she sees a ragged tramp catch a mudskip with his bare hands and eat it raw. This doesn't bother her half as much as the fact that the man is a dead ringer for good King Julian--who departed from life over 200 years ago. She recognizes him from her medallion.

Now we're into the sorcerous part of the book, with a magician as equally nasty as any that came out of "A College of Magics." Hail plays an important role in the battles and necromantic manipulations that follow, including the recasting of King Julian's crown (again, the original was fashioned by her favorite artist, Maspero).

"When the King Comes Home" has a relatively happy ending if the reader is into artistic fulfillment rather than romance. The wicked are punished, the good deceased sail away into a starlit diminuendo of love and death. Hail's masterpiece, "When the King Comes Home" is ---well, I don't want to give away the ending. Read this subtle, graceful fantasy. There's nothing else like it.

Many of the other reviewers have complained that this book moves too slowly. If you go into it expecting a rollicking adventure, then you'll be disappointed. This is not a novel of swords and sorcery. It's not something that you could pull from transcripts of your last D&D campaign. And that is very much in its favor.

Stevermer has painted a picture of the life of her main character. She is not your typical fantasy heroine, nor is she a wilting flower waiting to be saved by the big strong men. She's an individual, and the joy of the book is learning about Hail.

The book expects more of you, too. Unless you're familiar with Renaissance Europe, and have a more than passing acquaintance with the Arthurian legends, you'll find many of the references obtuse. But for the rest of us, Caroline Stevermer has given us a rich world full of memorable characters, and my only disappointment is that the book was too short.

If something is unlikely, it is said it will happen when the King comes home. This refers to Good King Julian who has been dead for 200 years.

Hail Rosamer is the daughter of a sheep merchant but she has a talent for art and wishes to pursue it. She gets her wish when a talented artist agrees to accept Hail as an apprentice. Hail's studies go well and by being in the city, she gets to see fabulous and legendary works of art, including ones that accurately depict the Good King, his Champion and his Queen.

But a jealous apprentice tries to frame Hail and Hail flees the city. While resting under a bridge, she encounters a strange man. A man with the face of Good King Julian!

Hail then gets caught up in politics as the Prince Bishop, the man who really runs the Empire, tries to squash rumors that the Good King has returned.

But he man is not the King, he is the King's Champion, accidently resurrected by necromancy. Necromancy that will try again to resurrect the King. Thus the King returns, not as the Empire's savior, but as a puppet tool of an outlaw baron and a necromancer.

Can the city and the Empire survive the return of the King? Can Hail disentangle herself from the politics? Will Hail's love and knowledge of art and the King's artist provide a key for stopping the ensorcelled King? What happens if they succeed?

An interesting tale of one way that a people's hopes and dreams can turn awry.

I started reading this book expecting an adventure but getting to about page 60 and having to put a 236-page book down is pretty sad. The plot just doesn't move. If this was a biography it would actually be quite interesting, but taken as a fantasy novel? At first I thought maybe she was just trying to get more into Hail's character, but I found that I really did not know that much about Hail. I knew her fellow apprentices better. I put this book down on page 58. I have only ever not finished two books in my entire life; they were Homecoming by Cynthia Voit (sp?), and The One Armed Queen by Jane Yolen. I don't recommend either. It pains me greatly to not finish a book. The whole idea of the book would have been wonderful were the plot interesting in the first 20 pages, and it was in a way, but maybe only because I like to draw and she was becoming and apprentice to an artist. If you prefer biographies and are looking into going into fantasy books I could recommend this book, but that is considering that I really don't like biographies.

Sorry for rambling.

I've been a Caroline Stevemer fan since 1993 when I found one of her early books. When the King Comes Home is delightful. The mix of magic and art, her post-Renaissance pre-Reformation alternate Europe with the city state as supreme governing structure and the ateliers as the height of artistic education reminded me of Firenze, Italy. Being married to an artist, although not one myself, she caught well the creative process and how creating changes the creator as well as the object created. Delightfully written, spare and elegant, with a nice blend of characters and an unexpected ending - all elements conspire to make a wonderful read. Highly recommended; Hail Rosamer is one of those people you wish you had living near by.

Stevermer does a wonderful job of portraying what really happens when the king comes home. I really cared about the main characters - Hail Rosamer and Ludo. The one complaint I have about the book is that she didn't fall in love. Just as another reviewer said, I really wanted them to fall in love. Anyway, I really enjoyed how Hail was an artist. I liked how Maspero, the object of her obsession, was connected to everything. It is a very original fantasy and thoroughly satisfying (except for the whole not falling in love with Ludo - who is perfect for her). I think this is better than Stevermer's A College of Magics - but read that too.