The Warrior's Tale [Mass Market Paperback]

Allan Cole (Author), Chris Bunch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1996

Captain Rali Emilie Antero and her elite corps of amazons, the Maranon Guard, must embark on a suicide mission with the wizard Gamelon on a hunt for an evil wizard who possesses a doomsday spell capable of destroying all civilization. Rali's search takes her to the end of the world and beyond -- but only in the uncharted waters of her own soul would she find the power to defeat the wizard and return home in triumph.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What might have been a standard nautical fantasy patterned on the Odyssey reveals itself to be a charmingly subversive lesbian feminist romp about a group of women warriors who battle wizards, demons, pirates and sexism on land and at sea. Narrator Captain Rali Emilie Antero of the Maranon Guards is in charge of a legion of women who train rabidly, fight ferociously and swear off sex with men. Typically, they've been forced to stay home in Orissa and be showpiece soldiers, but after they disembowel a raging demon in front of the entire city, they are awarded a place of honor in the upcoming battle with the rival city of Lycanth. Adventure abounds as the women sail uncharted seas, searching for the Archon, or sorceror, who is determined to destroy them and rule the world. This lighthearted novel (sequel to The Far Kingdoms; Rali is the sister of that novel's hero) turns several of the standard fantasy conventions topsy-turvy. There's the twist, for example, by which Rali, after heroically saving a local princess from drowning, enters into a sweaty romance with her-just one more winsome moment in a book brimming with whopping good fun. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As commander of the all-female Maranon Guard, Rali Emilie Antero must defend the city of Orissa. When sorcerous magics threaten the city, Antero receives orders to pursue the malevolent wizard across uncharted seas, returning only when her quarry is defeated. The Odyssey-like voyage of Antero and her companions lends a picaresque quality to this sequel to The Far Kingdoms (Ballantine, 1994). While not graphic or gratuitous, the authors' forthright portrayal of lesbian relationships may limit the audience for this fast-moving and involving fantsy adventure. Recommended, with the above "caveat," for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (October 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 051717295X
• ISBN-13: 978-0517172957
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,721,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ALLAN COLE is a best-selling author, screenwriter and former prize-winning newsman. The son of a CIA operative, Cole was raised in Europe and the Far East. For details see Allan's website at www.acole.com. Here's what critics have said about Cole's work: The Sten Series: Landmark science fiction -Publishers Weekly; When The Gods Slept: Page turner of the year - Locus; The Far Kingdoms Series: Glorious... Swashbuckling - Locus; A Reckoning For Kings: Classic war novel - SF Chronicle; Lucky In Cyprus - A haunting, enlightening experience - BookLoons.com; A Cop's Life: Must read by anyone with a badge - Philadelphia Fraternal Order Of Police.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Warrior's Tale, January 26, 2003

By 

not4prophet (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Warrior's Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Warrior's Tale" is one of those extremely rare sequels that outdoes the original. For longtime fantasy fans, it's a real breath of fresh air. The narrator and main character, Rali Anterro of the Maranon Guard, is a lot more likeable than Amalric from "The Far Kingdoms", since she has a real personality and some actually feelings, as well as more interesting relationships with other people. Perhaps more importantly, the plot has some real unpredictability to it, with the heroes facing a number of different villains and dangerous situations, and sometimes having to use more than just random luck to survive. Also, the authors include at least a little bit of humor, something that was sorely absent in "The Far Kingdoms", and in general they simply manage to give the story more life this time around.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, December 30, 2000

By 

"valai" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Warrior's Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

I rate this book with 5 stars in the category of adventure. This tale is filled with magic, aventure, sword fighting and all that good stuff. It's your basic book on good vs. evil. The city Orissa is in grave danger... the Archon has evil powers that could destroy the whole city! So one of Orissa's guard is sent to follow the Archon and to kill him. Oh and did I happen to mention that this guard is made up of all women? That's right! Who else goes on the quest? Well there is an old powerful wizard who decides to go and some pirates who are more after the gold and loot than destroying evil.

Much do they know that there is more than the Archon and his evil that they will have to face. They travel in boats and see more of the world than anyone in Orissa. They face betrayal, evil, depression, lack of food, and at the end there is a twist.

Romily is their only hope... their last hope. She will have to face things that go beyond all... the death of her beloved friends, she has no support except her Guard; her family does not accept her for who she is and.... she will have to forge into the magic she's always refused and denied in order to save herself and her companions.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, Yet Unforgivably Self-Indulgent, January 26, 2010

By 

CJ (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Warrior's Tale (Cosmos) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Good: The story is full of imagination and zest; something that seems to be worked out of most authors as they're driven to write faster than they can actually *create* and dream. Even as a hard-core, well-traveled Fantasy fan, I was pleasantly surprised with the locations, twists and turns, and the story in general; the author walked a path less traveled, so to speak, and it shows.

The Bad: This novel reeks of a self-indulgent fantasy put to paper. I can tolerate a rabid feminist/lesbian point of view, but only if she is professional enough to write a story for the readers, and not for herself. Without spoiling the story, there are several points where the cool-under-fire, seasoned veteran protagonist acts in the most brain-dead, illogical manner, simply to further the self-indulgent plot, which ultimately consists of meeting and then killing males of any species, because all males are evil, and greedy, and lustful, and foolish, and prideful, and inept. And if they're not, they're harmless old men, who may escape with mere disfigurement if they're lucky. There's a story here, and it tries to shine through the writer's soap-boxing and daydreams, but it fails.

So, if you're a lesbian and/or a man hater, you should give this a look. If you're a lesbian man hater that loves Fantasy, then you NEED this book. If, however, you're one of the many people who simply loves Fantasy, I can't suggest it, simply because author intervention is so frequent that it destroys any spell the imaginative story tries to create.