Magic is entirely forbidden in Upper Hetzia, a town scarred by the Sortilegious Wars. Those who are suspected of practicing magic are executed in the infamous White Tribunal. Tradain liMarchborg lost his father to the White Tribunal, and now seeks vengeance. He pawns his soul to conjure powers that will allow him to avenge his father's death and returns to the capital city of Lis Folaze. There, Tradain falls in love with Glennian liTarngrav, who has a different agenda. Their union could redeem a nation or cost them their lives.
--This text refers to the
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
In Volsky's new fantasy (The Gates of Twilight, 1996, etc.), the city of Lis Folaze in Upper Hetzia is slowly recovering from the Sortilegious Wars (though we never find out what these involved). But now the city trembles in fear of Gnaus liGurvohl's White Tribunal, an inquisition that supposedly exists to root out sorcery but actually seeks to condemn rich families and expropriate their wealth--as young Tradain liMarchborg soon understands when his father and brothers, though entirely innocent, are accused, tortured, and ``disinfected.'' Tradain himself is incarcerated in the ghastly Fortress Nul, where he languishes for 13 years before a prison riot enables him to escape. He hides in the ruined mansion of the sorcerer Yurune and decides to sell his soul to the puissant other-dimensional entity Xyleel in return for sorcerous powers enough to destroy his enemies. He also finds his childhood friend Glennian, her family likewise expunged by liGurvohl, clandestinely leading the political resistance to the Tribunal. Tradain eventually triumphs, though he finds the achievement curiously unsatisfying and prepares to surrender to Xyleel. Unexpectedly, Glennian intervenes with Xyleel to plead for Tradain's life. Skimpy backdrop, thin plot, and characters by the numbers, not to mention the dreadfully feeble conclusion: some graphic tortures but otherwise unpersuasive. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From the Publisher
Praise for Paula Volsky's The Gates of Twilight:
"Excellent...tightly woven, exotic, tense, atmospheric...I rarely get to read something this impressive."
--Melanie Rawn
"A captivating novel whose appeal should extend well beyond fans of the genre."
--Publishers Weekly
"Detailed, exotic...A realistic portrayal of another society; highly recommended."
--Library Journal
"No one can create a fantasy world like Paula Volsky. She just keeps getting better and better."
--A.C. Crispin
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Caveats all over the place, but I like it anyway,
By
This review is from: The White Tribunal (Mass Market Paperback)
The strange thing is, reading the editorial review I couldn't disagree - the thing about "characters by the numbers" is close to being right. Except for one thing: Paula Volsky wrote a good book here, and a rational one. What's good? The plot - not especially original, perhaps - is that of the innocent wronged. The difference is, unlike the Count of Monte Cristo, the innocent, when he comes to take his revenge, doesn't enjoy it. The first object of his vengeance (incidentally, I wouldn't have bothered with this one) never understands what she did, or why vengeance should be called for. In the second case, though the person involved originally behaved badly, Tradain misses the point of the man's personal redemption, but still feels guilty. As he should. One comment here - I felt that Volsky could have done a great deal more with the redemption of a human soul here than she did. And Tradain missing the point, or ignoring it, weakened the denoument. It could have been done better, yes, but I was glad to see it done at all. Another of those quibbles - our heroine, Glennian, somehow doesn't figure out that her guardian is the one who betrayed her family? Huh? This girl's supposed to be a genius, or close to it. Nope, sorry, Paula, you blew that one. The ironic tone is nice. When your main subject matter is the destruction of the innocent under horrific circumstances, a little distance is necessary. The demonstration, through Aestine and Drempi, of how people end up coerced into supporting the witch-hunt is neatly done. Neither of these two characters is especially strong, and perhaps Volsky slights the process of deliniating character. I would complain that even our main character lacks complexity, except that Volsky deliberately demonstrates how stunted he becomes in solitary confinement. I'm not thrilled, but I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I'd just let it slide while reading it. Let's not pretend that I didn't like it most because I detest mass hysteria, and the witch-craze makes me more than a little ill. The Tribunal is ugly and deserves its end. The premier jurist, a self-righteous monster, actually was fairly convincing. The best moments are little sketches: in the years Tradain has been imprisoned, the number of sorcery-repelling charms on the gates of the city have increased from one to six. The fear doesn't diminish, but grows. The White Tribunal takes more and more, and is never satisfied. Over all, recommended.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Redeeming because it was so creepy and full of horror...,
By
This review is from: The White Tribunal (Mass Market Paperback)
All of the other criticisms of this book are pretty much on target. The story _did_ have a skimpy sort of vagueness to it remarkably similar to the foggy description given to the city of Liz Folaze. There were some plot holes too. For example, how did Yarune the Bloodless become such a terror to behold when the amount of power given by Xyleel was so limited that Tradaine used it all up in a matter of weeks? And if magical items continue to consume power with each use (as did the Vigilance created by "Dr. Flambeska"), how did the enchanted projection of Autonn keep working a century after the sorceror's demise?But these problems can be excused when considered against the sheer force of personality of the liGurvohl character (I was actually scared of him!), the vividness of the torture scenes (I could feel the heat of the cauldron and imagine the suffering), and the black mood the author conveyed with the surety of Tradaine's awaiting torment when the last grain of his power fell. The finitude of magic in this world was a nice touch, as it paved the way for a character forced to consider each move carefully, and who must be preoccupied by his own unavoidable personal hell. Anyone who has ever been bullied or impelled by circumstances beyond their control would appreciate a tale such as this, where a weaker character pays the ultimate cost for the mastery of his destiny, if only for a short while. While many of the deeper existential issues broached here are never really explored by the story itself, I continued to mull them long after I turned the last page. I'll remember this one for some time to come, and will try some of Volsky's other works.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Count of Monte Cristo--revisited,
This review is from: The White Tribunal (Mass Market Paperback)
To all who devoured the "Count of Monte Cristo", this ought to be fun. It's all here: betrayal, incarnation, an old man who supplies all needed information, and at last: the discovery that revenge is not worth it. It's here, but now the magic supplies the revenge instead of an endless sourse of money. It doesn't really matter: the count of Monte Cristo was always a fantasy anyway.Is it a great book? No. But it does keep you hooked, and some scenes have real power (such as the steward's--I cannot pronounce his name--death scene, and Astines nightmares). The characters are reasonably good, though the relationship between Glannian and Tradain was too sketchy and stereotyped. Also, the moral was apllied a little too heavely. Let us enjoy the book, and figure out the moral for ourselves. Still, despite it's flaws, it was a very enjoyable book.
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