Sea. Dragons. Heirs. Incest. Fallen gods. How can you go wrong?
Written: May 23 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well-drawn, intriguing world of strange magics and people
Cons: Characters a little fuzzy near the end, left me wanting more information
The Bottom Line: Interesting world, society and politics, complex characters and detailed, original story. Nice writing. Worth reading.
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| Roov's Full Review: |
OK: so I have been away from the computer for some days engaged in various wholesome activities like dining with family, chatting with friends not frequently seen, renewing acquaintance with places once familiar to me, getting married, etc., and as a result I have sadly neglected Epinions. Happily, however, the plane ride back home provided ample time to read a new book given to me by my sister, so I have at least come out of it with some words of wisdom to relate regarding new reading material.
I should first pass along the warning given to me with the book; it's weird, and there's incest in it. This prevented my sensitive-souled sister from finishing the book at all, but I, made of sterner stuff and liking a little twisted sexuality in a novel as well as the next person, boldly determined to read it anyway.
The book is set in a fantastic world of many interesting realms and strange magics. It opens with the defeat in battle of one small realm by the armies of an expanding empire. The small land, Caradore, has long been influenced and protected by a powerful goddess called Foy, the Sea Dragon, but the wife of Caradore's slain ruler swears that the conquerors will not have access to this power and plots to drive the worship of Foy underground until a later time when the Sea Dragon can again be called to bless the land. Her eldest son (the Sea Dragon Heir of the title) is made to swear loyalty to the emperor, and Caradore becomes a part of the empire.
Two hundred years later the main story begins, following the latest Sea Dragon Heir of Caradore and his twin sister (they are very close, and this is where the incest comes in). The nobles of the land are always required to serve in the imperial army, so the land is largely managed by the women who remain at home. The story deals with the Heir, Valraven the 5th, and his sister Pharinet, as well as others who in various ways interact with the strange, mostly-sleeping power of the Sea Dragon.
Later on the book, at first told mostly from Pharinet's point of view, moves to the viewpoint of an imperial daughter given in marriage to further the plans of others; she too deals with Foy in various ways, uncovering various secret truths.
I very much liked a lot of things about this book. I enjoyed the details of Caradore's history and society and geography, as well as the news of other lands less thoroughly described but seeming equally important in their own ways even though they were outside the scope of the story. I like this sense of a whole, complete world beyond the one we inhabit in the story. It gives the book a feeling of depth and breadth that is sometimes missing in fantasy worlds, which can seem cloistered and self-centered if not enough attention is paid to the workings of the world in which the characters live.
I also like the author's take on magic and gods in this book, where both seem to be very real but at the same time to be also the creations of humans, in a curious half-scientific take on magic and religion. I was interested by other evidences of a blend of matter-of-fact science with the fantastic, as when a pregnant character feels herself at the mercy of hormones--hormones not being something you usually think about in fantasy novels, although one supposes they are as effective as in the ordinary world. It raises interesting thoughts about fantasy and the assumptions of fantasy novels, though: in a world where magic works, are humans influenced by regular hormones, or by strange and mysterious forces?
I liked her lively and believable characterizations as well. The story looks through the eyes of two different women, both of whom are strong, vibrant people with decided ideas. I found Pharinet more interesting than the princess, Varencienne, but both were fitting guides to the story. They and the other characters are all complex, interesting and human people, and the book presents several points of view regarding events and ideas without ever settling on one for sure, giving a nicely complicated picture of what happened, why it happened, and even the world in which it happened. I like this aspect a lot--again, it gives a much deeper understanding of the world of the novel than a lot of lighter fantasies manage to do.
I like Storm Constantine's elegant and creative names, which I found very foreign and evocative of strange, magical realms, but not at all flowery or stereotypically 'fantastical.' Some examples of her names (others might disagree about my interpretation) are the aforementioned Valraven, Pharinet and Varencienne, as well as Khaster, Ellony, Merlan, Bayard and Ilcretia. I have a tendency to wince a little if fantasy names get too lacy and fluffy--I can't quite think of an example offhand, but let's say, I dunno, 'Windfeather' or 'Starchime' or something--so I always admire anyone who can make up names that are original and unfamiliar but that don't sound goofy.
I greatly enjoyed Constantine's writing style, which is full of wonderful descriptions and interesting turns of phrase. She vividly portrayed sometimes unpleasant things, but never seemed lurid or overblown to me.
There's nothing in particular that I actively disliked (I took the incest in stride, as many characters in the book do; if you're especially sensitive you might not care for it or for the occasional frank sex scenes). I did find the last section, where we follow the princess Varencienne, to be a little less compelling than the earlier segments simply because Varencienne seemed a little flatter as a character than Pharinet. Still, it's in the last section that various interesting things come to light, so it by no means lets down the rest of the book.
All in all I would call this an interesting and well-crafted story, worth reading for someone interested in fantasy. It's not one of those light-hearted novels full of flitting elves, and thus it could require a little more concentration than would be needed for a casual read through a fluffier work, but it's certainly not dense or difficult. I enjoyed it, and will read more of Storm Constantine's work if I come across any.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Roov
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Location: Metro Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Reviews written: 118
Trusted by: 54 members
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