Harshini (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 3) (Hardcover)

by Jennifer Fallon (Author) "Korandellan té Ortyn, the last King of the Harshini, waited until the end of the concert before he left the natural amphitheater in the center..." (more)
Key Phrases: demon child, pagan rebels, dragon riders, First Sister, Lord Defender, Seeing Stone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Australian author Fallon's rousing final entry in her Demon Child trilogy (after 2004's Treason Keep) relies less on standard high fantasy tropes than its predecessors. Half-Harshini/half-human R'shiel is now comfortable with her destiny as the demon child, but she's still clueless about how to accomplish her mission. Nor does she completely understand her powers or how to use them. Intent on saving the gods and the demigodlike Harshini by defeating the austere god Xaphista, whose minions control the land of Medalon, R'shiel must also act as a marriage counselor to Princess Adrina of Fardohnya and Damin Wolfblade, Warlord of Krakandar, whose union she has forced for political purposes. Guided by the half-Harshini Brak, R'shiel has little time to accomplish her many tasks, since the Harshini king grows ever weaker. Once past the initial requisite précis of the past, readers will find that the pace moves briskly to the dramatic conclusion.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Book three of the Hythrun Chronicles moves inexorably toward the final battle against the god Xaphista and his fanatical followers. R'shiel has accepted her role as the demon child and, though still learning her great powers, knows she must defeat the god before he destroys the Harshini and takes all the lands as his own. Medalon has surrendered to the god's forces, and Tarja and the Defenders have been forced to flee into the wilderness, where Tarja hopes to join forces with Damin Wolfblade and his Hythrun army. But the Hythrun high prince has died, and the Hythrun capital is besieged by the forces of a pretender to the throne. Damin, now the high prince, must save the city. As in Medalon (2004) and Treason Keep (2004), the capricious gods are part of the mix, and now intrigue and counterintrigue become even more complicated. The battles are fierce, the losses heartrending in Fallon's beautifully created world, whose disparate inhabitants are once again completely convincing, making Harshini a chilling, thrilling conclusion to the trilogy. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765309882
• ISBN-13: 978-0765309884
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #431,605 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hythrun Chronicles takes a small turn for the worse, September 16, 2005

By	David Roy (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Harshini is the final book in the first trilogy of Jennifer Fallon's The Hythrun Chronicles. And if that sounds confusing, that's because Tor has decided to put all six books into that series name, despite the fact that it's two different trilogies. In this book, a lot of the intricacies of the previous two books are undone and it's a lot more straightforward than either Medalon or Treason Keep. That can be a good thing, except that it loses a little bit of what makes Fallon's work so special. It's still a fitting conclusion, but things are wrapped up a bit too quickly and the characters are a bit flatter than normal.

Usually, I really like the way Fallon handles political intrigue, juggling so many balls that many authors would likely lose them all. In Harshini, she does a decent job, but I didn't get the same sense I have in her previous books, where R'Shiel and her companions have to constantly be moving in order to keep all of the balls in the air. Instead, this book almost has her do it in step-by-step fashion. She's solved one problem with Damin and Adrina's marriage, so she travels with them to Hytheria. There, Damin has his own problems, especially with having a Fardohnyan bride, so R'Shiel has to help him solve that problem. Then another roadblock gets in the way, and dealing with that one also helps her deal with a subsequent one. Then she has to go back to Medalon for the final showdown. It's almost fantasy politics by rote, and it got a little boring. Thankfully, Fallon's skill with characterization made sure that it didn't get too dull.

R'Shiel is still done very well, though she became a bit more wooden in this book than she has in the past. The only time I was able to get deep into her character was when Brak, another half-Harshini man, showed her the true meaning of being Harshini. The wonder that was on her face and in her eyes was fabulous, and Fallon described it very well. However, the rest of the book she's like a bull in a china shop, demanding that various gods help her in certain ways, being reprimanded even as the gods sullenly do as she asks; always promising that there will be a reckoning, but there never seems to be. One might say that her final heartbreak would be punishment enough, but that was already coming even before she annoyed a number of the gods, so it can't really be considered her comeuppance.

While Tarja is much the same way, more two-dimensional than I'm used to from Fallon, she really excels at characterizing Damin and Adrina. Their relationship is a joy to watch, as both of them have walls around themselves so high that they don't trust the other one, even when it's obvious to everybody around them that they love each other. Damin is a wonderful combination of sarcasm and intelligence, with the sarcasm hiding a deep devotion to Hytheria and to the people he loves. Adrina is, at times, too much of a spoiled brat, but it was how she was raised. Other characters aren't as strong, with Adrina's father coming off the worst. He's stereotypically greedy and wimpy when R'Shiel demonstrates her full power to him, and he just doesn't come off the page very well. I found him annoying every time I saw him, which makes it nice that it wasn't very often.

The major problem with Harshini, however, is the dropped plot threads that just scream for better treatment. The book is short by today's fantasy standards, and I think it could have used a few more pages to handle some of these, or at least Fallon could have re-worked things to actually resolve them better. The first is Loclon (who I also complained about in Treason Keep), whose storyline just withers on the vine until it's resolved in an almost perfunctory fashion at the very end. He hates R'Shiel for what she did to him, and she hates him for what he did to her in captivity. They spend a lot of time talking about having to find him in the Citadel and not letting him escape during the siege, but then he simply disappears. He then turns up again for a brief appearance so that Fallon can end his storyline. The other plot thread that goes nowhere is what happens to little Mikel. After what he's coerced into attempting to do, he's cast off without a second thought. At least his story does end in a fairly believable fashion, but it's not very interesting. Sure, it manages to throw some more conflict between Damin and Adrina, but that doesn't really go anywhere either, making this storyline seem even worse.

Ultimately, though, Harshini is an enjoyable climax to the series, and I'm looking forward to the next one (a prequel). While it's not as good as the first two books, it's not a complete dud. I just wish Fallon would have done a few things differently.

David Roy

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but lacking that professional touch, June 27, 2007

By	Lucas Trengove "Tarigal" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harshini (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I liked this series and burned through it in about 5 days, the author has a knack for moving things along quickly which I really enjoyed and find lacking in a lot of other authors. I give it 2.5 stars but rounded up because of the entertaining value of the book. The reason I write this review is because I found few reviews on this book that actually told me what I was getting into, so hopefully you can get a bit from these points.

Pros:
-Very unique ideas in this novel, the concept of the Harshini and the demons, and how God's worked especially, were very entertaining, and sparked some actual real world thought about the nature of religion and God. The way she included dragons was interesting as well. I liked how they were melds and not "real," but the author never really told us how they got the idea of dragons in the first place, so they didn't really fit the story.
-As mentioned above, the book is not lacking action and it moves quickly, the story is intriguing and keeps your attention. I would say that I only found my attention falling about 3-4 times in each book of the series.

Cons
-Many people on here acclaim her character development but I never really saw it. Their depth really wasn't there. For example, Tarja, hes a defender, believes what is right and wrong, and does that exclusively and by almost any means. You never really get a feel for him. The author treats the main characters almost as literary tools at times which tended to annoy me.
-The way events happen in the book rarely have much to do with the characters actually being smart, and more with luck, or a God coming in to help. The blatant use of a Deus Ex Machina in the form of one of the Gods OVER AND OVER again really starts to grate on you.
-Predictability is a major issue, the author leaves "hints" of the futures that end up coming across as beacons for what will happen. A good example is when Adrina is kidnapped. Right before hand, Damin mentions that he feels something important was unsaid, but then to add more insult to the readers intelligence, Adrina thinks something to the extent of "I'll tell him about the baby and blah blah as soon as I see him next" Or something to that extent. Its not hard for the reader to figure out, hmm, I think just maybe, she might be STOPPED from going through with her simple plan that she would not even need to mention in the first place unless something were going to stop her.
-The Author is obsessed with torture. In some form or another, there is someone constantly being administered pain throughout the whole novel. The amount of times that the main characters are captured and then inevitably rescued by something that doesn't make sense at all, but which is proceeded by a large amount of pain or torture happens almost too many times to count. The author simply loves administering pain, but while it may be RARELY entertaining it ends up doing really nothing. The author has no knack for describing torture, I was simply annoyed by it, I never felt the characters' pain. Even after R'shiel was raped (in the first book), she doesn't show much change in character and it is simply used so that the reader will hate Loclon more. Its a pity that the author obviously has never known a rape victim, they tend to be quite different after the fact. Even if you like books where the characters go through plenty of hardship and pain to get their goal, this author doesnt even do it well.
-The last chapter (no spoilers) easily proves that the author has no concept of personal growth and leaves a lingering taste in your mouth that the main female character isnt really much more grown up then she was in the first book, despite being raped, beaten, humiliated, had a terrible childhood, killed a god, killed people, lost loved ones, started a rebellion, had her brother pretty much feel total apathy for her in the end, have no purpose, etc. I'm sorry, these books just didnt seem to recieve the amount of time they should have deserved.


There are a few other things, but other then a lot of editing errors (sceptical=skeptical?) that covers the main things you should know before purchase. Don't let this scare you off from the series though, its quite entertaining and I really enjoyed reading it. Just know that if you just finished a very well written book, you may be disappointed in that aspect with this one.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminiscent of Eddings, October 27, 2005

By	ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Harshini (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 3) (Paperback)

Jennifer Fallon concludes her stunning trilogy with Harshini, a series that is as grandiose as Eddings in characterisation and as crafted as Feist in its plot. Amongst the recent mediocrity in fantasy publications this stands out as a shining example of quality authorship that harks back to the genre's pinnacle years of the late eighties.
So, in this last effort, we start with the Kairen invasion halted, R'Shiel, the Demon Child, in control once more of the Hytherian warbands, Damin Wolfblade married to the firebrand Fardonhyan princess, Adrina and Tarja is left scratching his head after being saved with a demon-meld blood transfusion. Whilst Tarja takes the defecting Defenders south, struggling to come to terms with the fact that his love for R'Shiel was geas-induced, she rips through the Hytherian nobility like a tornado showing the poise, aloofness and sorcerous exasperation that is so reminiscent of Polgara.
Whilst Adrina and Damin are finally admitting they love each other and Damin is securing this throne, R'Shiel bullies Adrina's father into aiding both Hytherin and then securing the Citadel against the invading Karien army. The reappearance of Sanctuary after Korandellan's death and the return of the Harshini sparks the climatic scenes where R'Shiel finally understands how to defeat Xaphista and proceeds to do so before tying up the malevolent loose end that is Loclon.
Jennifer Fallon's trilogy is reminiscent in characterisation and style of David Eddings' finest efforts. It is, therefore, no surprise that this fresh visit on such a winning fantasy strategy succeeds so admirably. World altering events are forced through by an omnipotent sorceress who is tasked with destroying an evil God whilst she uses the warring noble factions of the associated kingdoms to achieve her mortal aims simply by bashing their heads together to get some sense into them. However, whilst it parallels Eddings in style, it is unique in its own way. The scene depictions and plot are entirely Fallon, the action is crafted and plausible. What is ironic about this superb trilogy is that it is the main character, R'Shiel, who is the most irritating. Her naive, arrogant stumbling through the world means that little empathy is engendered for her by the end of the trilogy, particularly for a woman who had to rely on a geas to gain the love of Tarja. The supporting characters all emerge with immense credit, Adrina and Damin being the best in so many ways. Tarja, once the geas is broken, becomes the Lord Defender he was meant to be and finishes strongly. At the end, as R'Shiel' realises, the world no longer needs her and any subsequent novels set here (which Fallon must produce) do not actually need R'Shiel.
So, a sparkling trilogy that has created a world that offers far more stories than we have been served so far. Any fan of the genre must recognise the quality that Fallon has produced and hopefully more will come from her pen.