The Burning City (Hardcover)

by Larry Niven (Author), Jerry Pournelle (Author) "They burned the city when Whandall Placehold was two years old, and again when he was seven..." (more)
Key Phrases: twisted cloud, kinless driver, lurking spell, Kettle Belly, Tep's Town, Serpent's Walk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have created a unique and believable world set in the universe of Niven's The Magic Goes Away. The story begins nearly 14,000 years ago in Tep's Town, located on the future site of Los Angeles. Tep's Town is a city held captive by the slumbering god of fire, Yagen-Atep. Awakening only occasionally, he commands selected men to begin Burnings by giving them the ability to start fires coupled with consuming anger.

Whandall Placehold grows up in the stagnant, three-class society of Tep's town, part of a gang of thieves. No one gets in or out, since the town is hemmed in by a malevolent forest. But when Whandall is chosen by Yagen-Atep to start the Burnings, he resists the compulsion and, aided by Atlantean wizard Morth, escapes through the forest with a group of children he saves from certain death.

As the years pass, Whandall builds an empire, buys wagons and bison, and builds a trade route all along the California coast--except for Tep's Town. Life is good for Whandall and his bride, Willow, until they get a message from a desperate Morth: he convinces Whandall to return to Tep's Town and help eradicate, once and for all, an ancient magical being from Atlantis who has been trying to kill Morth for many years.

The Burning City is a lively book that deftly integrates social concerns of today with the magic and mythology of yesterday. Cameo appearances by the Native American god Coyote and the Norse god Loki add to the mischievous nature of the book. With a well-thought-out system of magic, characters with depth, unicorns, and swashbuckling adventure, this book is sure to please hardcore fantasy readers and fans of Niven and Pournelle. --Robert Gately

From Publishers Weekly
Bestselling authors Niven and Pournelle (Footfall; The Gripping Hand; etc.) have produced yet another hefty fantasy (set in Niven's The Magic Goes Away series) sure to delight fans of sword, sorcery and male superiority. In the implausibly organized Tep's town, populated predominantly by a welfare/warrior class that steals from the Kinless artisan class and is given alms by the higher-class Lords, lives young Whandall Placehold. He is the son of a thief who was killed by the wizard Morth of Atlantis, during one of the town's many burnings, conflagrations that occur when the town's god Yangin-Atep possesses men and gives them command of fire and the rage to use it. As the god is losing his power, the fires are escalating in scope and duration, and the town is slowly turning to ashes. Whandall, who wants to grow up to be more than a short-lived thief, finds his path becoming inextricably tied to that of the wizard. When the opportunity arises, Whandall and Morth escape the town in the company of a family of Kinless ropemakers containing the inevitable beautiful, virginal, marriageable daughter. Years pass, Whandall breeds and becomes a warrior merchant, but he must return to the town of his birth in the company of Morth if his burgeoning family is to prosper. There, Whandall uses all his cunning and strength to aid the wizard in his battle against a magical nemesis from Atlantis. Fun in a formulaic kiss-or-kill fantasy kind of way, this adventure has enough swordplay, magic and unicorns to please those looking to tread the old, tired pathways again. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Atria; First Edition first Printing edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671036602
• ISBN-13: 978-0671036607
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #983,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Absorbing, March 23, 2000

By	Jessica Mulligan (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

Unlike Ms. Bartholomew, I found the book charming and quite a bit of fun. And that is how it was written, I believe; somewhat tongue-in-cheek, a fun romp through someone else's garden.

I don't really care that the main themes harken to our own era and Los Angeles's particular peculiarities; it makes for an interesting arc and wrap-up. The characters are intriguing and not overblown; for example, when was the last time a magician character had actual flaws and had to be helped, instead of just being the deus ex machina to pull the hero's chestnuts out of the fire? Gandalf? These characters all have flaws, as well as admirable attributes, making them well-rounded. By the time you finish the book, you want to follow their adventures some more.

If you're reading The Burning City to find the child of Tolkien, you won't be happy. If you take it on it's own merits (instead of grinding a personal axe, as a couple other reader-reviewers obviously have), the book is as good a new fantasy read as you're likely to see this year.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Niven & Pournelle magic hasn't gone away, March 23, 2000

By	Peter Glaskowsky (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It must be difficult to write fantasy as science fiction, to address fantasy situations with the same intellectual rigor found in quality science fiction. Done right-- the way Niven & Pournelle do it-- it's a real treat.

_The Burning City_ takes place on Earth, but long ago when the gods still lived and magic still worked. Magic was a science then, and gods were all men needed of government.

Like government today, the god of the Burning City is unknowable and unpredictable. Life in the Burning City is difficult and often all too short for some, luxurious and long for others. Even the wealthiest there have problems of their own to worry about, however, and even the poorest have opportunities to excel-- or escape.

The worst thing about living in the Burning City is the burning. Every so often, the god of fire that controls the city allows part of it to burn. The burnings were once almost festive, but over time they become darker (so to speak), more dangerous.

Enter our hero, who gets caught-- repeatedly-- in conflicts among the social classes and their god. These conflicts and his responses to them form the core of a great story.

Niven & Pournelle have woven assorted subplots into the mix, as they always do; _The Burning City_ is a big book like their earlier collaborations.

It's not a very dynamic book, though there are some great action scenes. The authors have put more work into character development than they've done in some previous books, and I like that.

The book still moves along well, but includes messages along with the motion. This may not be to everyone's taste, but Niven & Pournelle are good at it. You probably won't even notice most of this higher-level content the first time you read the book.

Fortunately this book is worth a second read, and maybe more than that. It reminds me most clearly of _Oath of Fealty_, though the plots and characters in the two books are radically different. Both are (at least in part) about how individuals relate to each other and to the society in which they live-- a popular topic for these authors and many others.

_Oath of Fealty_ is my favorite Niven & Pournelle book, and _The Burning City_ may well rank right up there with it. I'll know better after I've read it a few more times. If you'll excuse me...

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rather an Enjoyable Book, March 22, 2000

By	Glenn H. Reynolds "Instapundit" (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, it's not the Mote in God's Eye. But after all, it's set in a universe that's already been covered with quite a few stories, so it CAN'T have the shock of newness that Mote had. But it's quite an enjoyable story. Yes, it has cool insider references that may annoy some readers and elude others (but so did "Jurgen") but the story stands on its own. What, you read a story of heroic myth and coming-of-age and your disappointed because it fits the genre? I just don't understand these other reviews. I think that most Niven and Pournelle readers will enjoy it. I know I did.