Wein, Elizabeth E. - The Mark of Solomon: The Empty Kingdom

[oyceter]

This is the conclusion to The Lion Hunter.

Spoilers for The Lion Hunter

Telemakos is now dealing with the aftermath of being caught spying in Himyar. Abreha has taken Athena away and not allowed Telemakos to see her, and Telemakos has to wear a jangly bracelet that will let everyone hear where he is at all times. And if he's caught spying again, Abreha has his death warrant sealed at his side.

I keep comparing these books to Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia books, largely because both Turner and Wein are excellent at taking seemingly larger-than-life heroes and showing the readers their vulnerabilities and flaws. And both series balance political intrigue with characterization, so it never feels like people are plotting for the sake of plotting. There are also great details on things like trade, maps, and etc. that make the politics feel real to me.

I particularly love the continuation of Athena and Telemakos' relationship, and while the ending of the book didn't exactly surprise me, it was satisfying. Also, want more Telemakos! He's just this marvelous combination of brilliance, stubbornness, and vulnerability, and I would read many, many more books on him growing into himself. Though I wouldn't argue against books on Athena as well!

I think vacation has rotted my brain, as I cannot think of anything to say except: "Go read!"

Comments

[keilexandra]

Hmm, I am torn. On the one hand, I adore MWT's Attolia books. Especially KING, which summed up all the political machinations-relationships into one delicious story. On the other hand, I hate Arthurian mythology or anything inspired by such. Other Brit folktales are fine and dandy (Kushner's THOMAS THE RHYMER was excellent), but for some reason my brain just bounces off Arthur-etc. Even Guy Gavriel Kay could not do more than mediate my hate; I'm not overly fond of the Fionavar Tapestry. Also, your reviews are ambiguous: how much is fantasy and how much is historical? And how much politics vs. family? I tend to favor the formers over the latters.

And massive spoilers are fine. I usually forget them by the time I actually get around to reading the book.

[oyceter]

I'd actually really rec these even if you bounce off Arthur, just because the Telemakos books in particular don't reference Arthur very much at all. Winter Prince does much more (and I'd rec that as well because it's really good), but you don't need to read WP to read the Telemakos books.

FWIW, I tend to bounce off Arthurian whatnot as well and got through WP largely because a) it's awesome and b) it doesn't focus much on the Arthur mythos... the main relationships are between Medraut and his mother (Mordred and Morgaine/Morgause) and between Medraut and Lleu (Arthur's son and Medraut's half-brother, no analogue in the mythos?).

The books are pretty much all historical as far as I can tell, and Wein does an incredibly good job merging politics with family in a way that I really, really liked. Telemakos' aunt and Medraut's half-sister Goewin ends up being the British ambassador to Aksum, and Telemakos' grandfather is a fairly important politician there, so his family is intricately intertwined with the politics (ditto with Medraut's story in WP). Er... I hope that helped some? I find it hard to rec Wein too strongly ;).

[ivoryink.livejournal.com]

Hmm... risky, but maybe I'll take the chance. What Telemakos book would you rec to start out with? Should ideally be able to read as a standalone.

[oyceter]

Definitely The Sunbird, which is the first one. The next two are basically one book split into two for length reasons and rely heavily on knowledge of Sunbird. Technically, Coalition of Lions is our first introduction to Telemakos, but it's all Goewin's POV and the weakest book in the Medraut-Telemakos books to date.