Customer Reviews

Wolfblade (The Hythrun Chronicles: Wolfblade Trilogy, Book 1)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With Wolfblade, Jennifer Fallon goes into the past of the world she created for the Hythrun Chronicles, giving us a story of Marla Wolfblade, Damin's mother (the Hythrian Warlord in the original trilogy). Marla was an interesting character in that trilogy. Though not used much, she was intriguing, irascible, politically expedient and very intelligent. How did she get to her position? Wolfblade begins that story. Other than a slow beginning, it's a fantastic tale of political fantasy with the question always hanging over the book: who will end up with the throne of Hythria? I'm already looking forward to the results, which is a good thing since we know what the political landscape will look like in about fifteen to twenty years.

Sixteen-year-old Marla Wolfblade is the only sister to an increasingly perverted High Prince of Hythria. Lernan has no interest in bedding a woman, not even to establish an heir, and the rest of his practices become increasingly strange as the book moves on. He has no interest in running the country, and leaves that to the High Arrion of the Sorcerers' Collective, an old man named Kagan. Marla is to be married off to the King of Fardohnya as part of a political bargain, but dissidents within Hythria are determined to remove Lernan from power. Other dissidents come up with a plan of their own. Caught between these factions, young Marla wishes desperately to marry for love, but instead is constantly told what she must do for the good of the realm. Now, with the much-needed son that everybody wants, will she be able to protect him from those who want absolute power anyway?

Wolfblade is book one of the "Wolfblade Trilogy," at least in North America. When Fallon originally wrote the books in her native Australia, this was book four of the Hythrun Chronicles. Personally, I wish they would have left it that way. If you're a fan of Fallon's like I am, you'd follow her from book to book anyway. However, anyone who picks this up cold as the beginning of a new series may be hard-pressed to stay interested at the beginning. I cared about the characters because I knew where this would ultimately lead and I wanted to see how the story got there, but I have to say the beginning is tedious at first. I persevered, and I was rewarded, but somebody coming in without the benefit of the previous books might not.

Part of the problem is that Marla is incredibly annoying. It's a vivid contrast to the Marla we know from the previous trilogy, and it's hard to get used to at first. She whines a lot about marrying for love, gets the mistaken impression of who she's going to marry *twice* (both times thinking that she would finally get her wish only to have it dashed) and is despondent after that. Without our knowledge of the characters, Fallon has to work doubly hard to keep them interesting as she's introducing all of the palace intrigue. Who really cares who will succeed to a throne of a country we're not familiar with at all?

Thankfully, Fallon gets past that and delivers a wonderful book. The characters are extremely well-drawn (the beginning is important to what comes, even though it is slow), the situations interesting, and Fallon makes us care about this succession. Political fantasy, where there is no earth-shattering threat involved, can be boring, but Fallon avoids that trap as well. Marla and the rest of the nobility have to maneuver very quickly to satisfy their aims, and many of those aims are conflicting, even for people on the same side. It's almost heartbreaking, but also horrifying, what Mahkas, Laran's brother, finds himself forced to do to keep a secret. Marla's relationship with Laran is about as good as can be, considering the age difference between them. Marla's dwarf slave, Elezaar, teaches her about politics and how to accumulate power and protect herself, and their relationship is quite good as well.

Yes, you did read correctly above. One of the problems with Wolfblade is the very similar set of character names, even more confusing because of their relationship to Marla. Lernan is her brother, and Laran is her husband. It makes it hard to tell them apart at times, at least until the context gives it away (they are two vastly different characters). Thankfully, other than the slow beginning, this is the only real fault with the book.

What I was really impressed with was that Fallon was able to surprise me. Certain events that I thought would turn out one way went in the completely opposite direction. Because of that, one of the chapter climaxes completely floored me. I felt like I had been punched. It was a great move on Fallon's part, and the rest of the story flowed from it, creating more surprises. While the end result of the book is tied up fairly neatly, it leaves a lot of room for the next book to carry the story forward. Thus, it makes the best of both worlds: a self-contained story for those who hate "to be continued" and the first part of what looks to be a great trilogy for those who don't mind that.

What may be even more of a selling point for those who enjoyed the first series is that there is more action with the Harshini, those demi-god like beings who regularly talk to the various gods, who are immortal (unless killed), and who were hunted down by the Medalon priestesses. We learn a lot more about them and their relationship to the gods as well, and it looks like there will be a lot more of that in the subsequent two books. I can't wait.

If you're a Fallon fan, you have to pick this book up. If you haven't had the pleasure yet, you can still try this one, but just persevere through the beginning. It gets much better.

David Roy

I read the Medalon / Treason Keep / Harshini trilogy last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Naturally I was quite curious about Wolfblade. I read through all the reviews here on Amazon and thought the book would be below the quality of the first three but probably still quite enjoyable. I think the thing that put me off for this long was all those comments about the slow start. Well I'm here to tell you this book is every bit as enjoyable as the first three books in the Hythrun Chronicles (those I listed above). I can't imagine how anyone would think the book had a slow start. It has lots of character building which is necessary for the reader to undestand all the political manuvering that happens in the rest of the book. And boy oh boy is there a lot of political manuvering in this book. Overall I'd strongly recommend the book to anyone that enjoyed the Hythrun Chronicles. Alternately if you have not previously read the Hythrun Chronicles this might not be a bad place to jump in as this book takes place chronilogically before Medalon. But having read the other three first makes for some delightful insights into some of the characters you meet here when they are younger.

I'm disappointed with the reviewers who demonstrated little ability to appreciate good writing. This novel is just as good as all of Ms. Fallon's other titles. There is more political machinations than in her previous series, but it's just as absorbing. And frankly, comparing Lackey and Fallon is like apples and oranges. Both have their strong points. I think Fallon's work is deeper and the characters are more enmeshed in their worlds. Don't turn away from this book because of the rating. It is a fantastic book. All of Fallon's work shines above and beyond the typical fare of most fantasy out there. Fallon does an amazing job of surprising the reader.

I had high hopes for this book, but like several others who have have posted, I found the characters boring, flat, and not engaging, and I could not get past that. The story itself could have been fascinating, but I didn't care about any of the people involved--Marla least of all. Her character is spoiled, with no redeeming qualities and the personality of a board. I tried so hard to enjoy the book, but it took me more than a month to read through half of it--and I usually read a book of this length in less than a week. From the descriptions, it sounded almost on par with the intrigue of books by the likes of Robin Hobb, but it was full of awful, personality-lacking characters and dialogue, and the intrigue didn't even fit together well. In places, it almost felt pasted together--the story seemed to to be leading one way, and then suddenly jumped into something completely different, which was jarring.

I'm sure Ms. Fallon has written some great books, as she seems pretty widely published, but this was not it. It almost feels like she got into writing the book, realized it wasn't working, but was then forced to keep going for publishing's sake. And for her persistence at keeping such an odd book going throughout, I have to give her credit (and 2 stars).

This is a very entertaining coming of age fantasy novel that describes how a young woman, Marla, deals with the political maneuvers around her and become a savvy political actor. The reader who says she is a "dolt with a womb" clearly has no appreciation for the nuances of female characterization and illustrates why various editors may not imagine that there is an audience for complicated female heroines in high fantasy. The character begins sheltered, spoiled and foolish and develops into a fascinating womanr. This was an EXCELLENT trilogy, and I'm actually having a hard time reading the first one now because I'm not as interested in these characters as I am in the Wolfblades.

I loved this book! I oftentimes find that fantasy books take a little while to get into. Not so with Wolfblade! It starts off with mass murder and the intrigue continues on from there. Betrayal at every turn, love found and lost unexpectedly, political factions lurking in every corner, fickle gods stirring the pot and much more. This book is a must read!

So I just discovered Jennifer Fallon with this being her first book that I have ever read. Found it enjoyable---nice mix of fantasy and treachory with just a touch of the erotic thrown in here and there. I enjoyed it so much that I bought the second book in the triology the day after---which I found to be even better than the first but you do need this one for background of the second. For an entertaining read, I would definitely reccomend.

As I sat and started to read this book, I found myself snuggling deeper into my comfy chair, asking my husband for a glass of wine and happy that the kids were occupied elsewhere. This is one of those fantasy books that is like comfort food. It is familiar, yummy, satisfying without being too heavy, and yet too much of it may not be very good for you.

It takes place in a typical fantasy setting, namely a vaguely medieval setting with royalty, sorcerers and a recognizable caste system. The ...more As I sat and started to read this book, I found myself snuggling deeper into my comfy chair, asking my husband for a glass of wine and happy that the kids were occupied elsewhere. This is one of those fantasy books that is like comfort food. It is familiar, yummy, satisfying without being too heavy, and yet too much of it may not be very good for you.

It takes place in a typical fantasy setting, namely a vaguely medieval setting with royalty, sorcerers and a recognizable caste system. The cast of characters are very approachable with cool names life Wolfblade, Lionsclaw, Ravenspear etc. There are a few plot surprises, plus some great moments of understated humor to keep the story moving along.

The main protagonist, Marla Wolfblade, is quite a nitwit in the beginning, but she is gifted with a calculating slave who wants to survive at all costs. He believes that making sure she learns political craft is the answer to both their continued survival. It is nice to see Marla's growing and learning process. Until the end where the reader sees how very much Marla has learned about the politics of survival.

And even though, Marla is clearly the main character, she doesn't carry the bulk of the book. The book boasts a large cast of characters who all plot for gain or survival. Even the main villain has a reason for the things they do that isn't necessarily all evil. I always like it when a villain isn't just there for the sake of villainy.

As i was reading the book, I couldn't help but be reminded of Raymond Feist/Janny Wurts' Empire trilogy that featured a character named Mara. The plot of a young member of a ruling house have to learn deadly state craft in order to survive runs strongly through both series. And I think that anyone who liked that one would like this one too.

Fifteen years old Lady Marla Wolfblade, sister to the High Prince of Hythria Lernen, is an asset used by her sibling to forge an alliance. He sold his pawn in holy matrimony to King Hablet of Fardohnya and in exchange Lernen strengthens his hold on the throne from invaders and usurpers. He can call on the powerful armies of his future brother-in-law to defend Hythria against an attack from Medalon, to enable him to control the feisty Warlords of his country, and especially put down the outraged Patriots that condemn the self-gratifying aristocracy.

The Patriots assassinate Ronan Dell whose hedonism emulated that of the High Prince. Most residents of Greenharbour will secretly rejoice that the abusive pervert is dead; his frustrated advisor the dwarf Elezaar is one who feels relief from the demise. Elezaar offers his services to Marla. She takes to his suggestions like a student to a beloved fatherly mentor as he trains her to be a Madam Machiavelli in a regal world of backstabbing. Through his aid she instead marries a provincial warlord that causes problems for her brother with the King and increased aggression from Medalon. Still when she gives birth he names his nephew his heir.

The opening act of the Wolfblade trilogy is a superb fantasy constructed on a believable complex patriarchal society in which men forge political alliances that includes selling disposable females to cement them. The story line introduces the reader to a vividly described caste system where everyone knows their place. Marla is the star of this coming of age high fantasy as she matures to the point that she is as good at deadly political chess manipulations as anyone; that leaves fans doubting whether she will survive to see her son as the High Prince.

Harriet Klausner

I anticipated a book that would be on the same scale as Heir of Autumn or Briar King or a Mercedes Lackey book, but ended up with a read that was lackluster and boring. The characters were unimaginative and flat; the writing was colorless and weak. The concept was good, but the quality of the writing was so poor that I kept getting hung up on how it could have been written better, rather than what was happening to the characters.