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Tour de Guet Suivi de Les Danseurs D'Arun. Les Chroniques de Tornor, Vol.1(la) V1 by Elizabeth A
herfleurs's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
caterina_1212's review against another edition
Blame it on the ebook format. Also the mental gymnastics of why a woman in the 1970s would write a book like this from a male perspective this way. Doesn't make sense.
wazbar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Lynn has an uncommon mastery of mood and perspective that is delightful. I recommend this unreservedly.
wunder's review against another edition
5.0
If you've become used to 700 page fantasy tomes that describe every single thing whether it matters or not, this may feel a little odd. This is a complete, fufilling story, but there is nothing extra. If Ryke doesn't see or hear it, we don't know about it. Yes, there is detailed worldbuilding, but it is all in service of the story, not displayed for your admiration.
The first part is a plot that I usually don't like, where the characters don't have any agency and follow some unknown path without a destination. Usually, we see The Hand Of The Author pushing them around, but here, we see Ryke experiencing new things and fighting against them while Errel eagerly soaks them up. But we don't get to see what Errel is learning, so we're partly in the dark. It is an interesting twist that kept me engaged.
Give it a try. See if you can leave your 21st century fantasy expectations tucked away and read this for what it is.
The first part is a plot that I usually don't like, where the characters don't have any agency and follow some unknown path without a destination. Usually, we see The Hand Of The Author pushing them around, but here, we see Ryke experiencing new things and fighting against them while Errel eagerly soaks them up. But we don't get to see what Errel is learning, so we're partly in the dark. It is an interesting twist that kept me engaged.
Give it a try. See if you can leave your 21st century fantasy expectations tucked away and read this for what it is.
rachelditty's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I picked this up on a whim after hearing about it through another piece of media. It's been a very, very long time since I've picked something up expecting it to be just another book I read, not affecting me at all, only for it to completely tear my heart in two and leave me reeling for an entire week. This book wrapped me in a blanket, ripped the blanket away, gave it back, hugged me gently, then suplexed me into my dining room table. I can't think of anything to give it other than five stars, because I think Ryke and his ending are going to stay with me for a long, long time.
The first two-thirds of this book were jam-packed with incredible tropes between Ryke and Errel, and given that this is tagged on this website as being LGBTQIA+, I was very excited to see so many romantic tropes between these two men. I really thought they had a chance. Especially after it's revealed that Sorren and Norres, two women, are in a romantic relationship and openly happy with each other. Seeing Ryke tending to Errel's wounds, sleeping together in the woods to "stay warm," sharing a bed in the same house, and generally Ryke's dedication to Errel thoughout the book was so heartwarming and tender to read about. When they got to Vanima--putting aside Errel's blink-and-you-miss-it jealousy over Sorren spending time with Ryke, and Ryke not understanding why he's so jealous of the way Errel looks at Van--I was so tempted to stop reading right there and then. If I don't read past the four of them living in a communist village and being housemates, then nothing bad will ever happen to them again. Man I should have listened to myself.
The blanket was ripped away when it was revealed that Errel didn't want to go back to Tornor, while Ryke was waiting for the moment his prince gave him the command to lead him home. Errel starts dancing with the people of the village, changing his hair for the sake of the ploy they're planning for Col Istor, and Ryke can feel some kind of rift between them that he can't identify or give a name to. It's so sad.
The blanket comes back when the plan works, and Errel takes his rightful place as Lord of the Keep, and everyone is happy. Then he gives the title away to his sister Sorren and decides to leave.
The last two pages absolutely broke me.
Ryke as a character is the pinnacle, the poster boy, for unreliable narrator. He is constantly saying throughout their stay in Vanima that he is not one of them, that he's too old to learn new things, that Tornor is where he needs to get back to, needs to get Errel back to. All the while we see Ryke adjusting to the life he says he can't adjust to--he learns how to fall and fight like them, he works the field, cares for his burns, partakes in the full moon sowing. He's doing exactly what he continuously claims he can't, and we watch him do it! He says he can't learn how to be anything other than what he's been raised to be, but we see him reach out to Errel and try to understand the Cards. We watch him try so desperately to understand the dances that the chearis do. We watch him refuse to give any thought as to why he feels bound to Errel outside his oath to Astor, why he's jealous of Van outside of his use to Errel while Ryke feels useless, why he feels aroused by another man in the village. Ryke is so blind to his own feelings that he continues to miss everyone else's around him. He doesn't understand why Norres detests him for spending so much time with Sorren, why Errel is desolate at the idea that Ryke enjoys Sorren's company so much, or why he himself feels such a strange mix of feelings for Sorren.
At first it was funny. Watching all these romantic tropes unfold between Ryke and Errel was sweet and fun to read--member of the guard protective of the royalty they're caring for, cuddling for warmth, sharing a bed, tending wounds etc.--and it was funny to laugh and wonder how Ryke didn't know he had feelings for Errel. But then Ryke says he's in love with Sorren, "I think" (p. 203), only for him to admit to himself that, "He did not think very often about loving people. He had never learned to use the word right," (p. 203), and cry himself to sleep that night because the words felt wrong coming out of him, but he doesn't know why, and suddenly it isn't funny anymore. It's just heartbreaking. It's so clear to the reader what he's feeling, but he's so confused, and scared at his confusion, and he hates being useless while the dancers are taking the brunt of the action, and it's just fucking sad. I feel so bad for him.
All Ryke wanted was to keep Errel safe and bring the prince back to claim his throne again. He just wants things to go back to how they were. But then Errel gives up his place at Tornor Keep and agrees to go back to Vanima, and Ryke is driven away because Norres still doesn't understand Ryke is not in love with Sorren, and now his entire world is different again. He's back in the north but everything is wrong. And there are instances in the story where the reader begins to wonder if Ryke even likes being a member of the guard anymore, if he ever enjoyed it in the first place. He questions why Sorren would want to live a life like his if she didn't ever have to, and has flashbacks to his friends dead on the battlefield when fighting at Cloud Keep. He second-guesses himself in Tornor when opening the gate, but pushes it away because the battle is happening. Ryke never allows himself a moment to wonder what else he could be if he just allowed himself to try, to wonder. And he had the chance in Vanima. But he missed it. He was trying so hard to go home that he never gave it a chance, and by the end it's too late.
Errel tells him to go to Cloud Keep, because [it's fair to infer that] he doesn't want Ryke back in Vanima because it made Ryke unhappy. And Errel won't stay in the keeps because it made him unhappy. And Ryke pleads in the only way he knows, offering to go with Errel, but Errel says no. He releases Ryke from the oath he swore to his father. An oath Ryke was never truly following anymore, because it wasn't for Astor that Ryke was staying with Errel, it was for Errel, but Errel doesn't know that. And Ryke doesn't fight him, because this is his prince, and fourteen years of training cannot be undone in five short months. But as a last act of defiance, the first we ever truly see from Ryke, he calls Errel "my prince," (p.247) one final time. Because this oath he's made is not one so easily released from. Because even when Errel is far from him, Ryke will still be loyal to him, and love him. Errel will always be his prince.
My heart is broken. I'm crying. I'm fist fighting Elizabeth A. Lynn behind a Perkins.
Some quotes I liked:
"'He was a good man,' said Ryke.
'He was a good lord,' Errel said. 'As a man, he was no better than any of us.'" (p. 104).
"The softness of this southern country disturbed him. He remembered how, on the visit to the grainfields long ago, he had wakened to hear the slush-slush of the wind in the grain. It was terrible at night, like a hundred dead men walking, and he had crawled to his father and thrust himself into the sleeping man's arms. He rested his cheek against the grey gelding's smooth flank, despising himself for the child's voice in his mind that whispered, I want to go home." (p. 115).
"'Ryke.'
'Uh.' Ryke sat up. He could not remember lying down. Errel grinned at him. He held the rein of the grey.
'Come on. You don't want to sleep here.'
'I wasn't sleeping.'
'What were you doing?'
'Dreaming,' Ryke said. He rubbed his eyes and took the grey's rein. The answer made perfect sense to him; it took some time before he worked out why it had made Errel laugh." (p. 122). (Ryke's whole characterization in a nutshell--what he says and thinks make perfect sense, but it takes time for him to understand why others think differently than he does.)
"Her mouth twitched. 'I come from where you come from, remember?'
'Armies don't fight like that.'
'What good are armies?' she asked
The question made no sense. He shook his head, and yelped at the pain. 'I don't understand it,' he said, meaning her, meaning Van...
'I'm too old to learn new tricks,' he grumbled.
She thought this was funny; she laughed at him. 'How old are you?'
'Twenty-seven.'
Dryly she said, 'You'll learn.'...
'Why are you doing this for me?' he said.
'Why not?'" (p. 150-151).
"His tongue felt thick. He did not think very often about loving people. He had never learned to use the word right." (p. 203).
Things about Ryke I will never get over:
He has never seen a firefly before.
He has never had a sunburn.
Only ever called Errel by his name once, and not even to his face.
The oath was sworn to Astor, but it was always about Errel. It's always been an oath to Errel.
"My prince" really means "my love" and no one can ever tell me otherwise. He just never knew it.
The blanket was ripped away when it was revealed that Errel didn't want to go back to Tornor, while Ryke was waiting for the moment his prince gave him the command to lead him home. Errel starts dancing with the people of the village, changing his hair for the sake of the ploy they're planning for Col Istor, and Ryke can feel some kind of rift between them that he can't identify or give a name to. It's so sad.
The blanket comes back when the plan works, and Errel takes his rightful place as Lord of the Keep, and everyone is happy. Then he gives the title away to his sister Sorren and decides to leave.
The last two pages absolutely broke me.
Ryke as a character is the pinnacle, the poster boy, for unreliable narrator. He is constantly saying throughout their stay in Vanima that he is not one of them, that he's too old to learn new things, that Tornor is where he needs to get back to, needs to get Errel back to. All the while we see Ryke adjusting to the life he says he can't adjust to--he learns how to fall and fight like them, he works the field, cares for his burns, partakes in the full moon sowing. He's doing exactly what he continuously claims he can't, and we watch him do it! He says he can't learn how to be anything other than what he's been raised to be, but we see him reach out to Errel and try to understand the Cards. We watch him try so desperately to understand the dances that the chearis do. We watch him refuse to give any thought as to why he feels bound to Errel outside his oath to Astor, why he's jealous of Van outside of his use to Errel while Ryke feels useless, why he feels aroused by another man in the village. Ryke is so blind to his own feelings that he continues to miss everyone else's around him. He doesn't understand why Norres detests him for spending so much time with Sorren, why Errel is desolate at the idea that Ryke enjoys Sorren's company so much, or why he himself feels such a strange mix of feelings for Sorren.
At first it was funny. Watching all these romantic tropes unfold between Ryke and Errel was sweet and fun to read--member of the guard protective of the royalty they're caring for, cuddling for warmth, sharing a bed, tending wounds etc.--and it was funny to laugh and wonder how Ryke didn't know he had feelings for Errel. But then Ryke says he's in love with Sorren, "I think" (p. 203), only for him to admit to himself that, "He did not think very often about loving people. He had never learned to use the word right," (p. 203), and cry himself to sleep that night because the words felt wrong coming out of him, but he doesn't know why, and suddenly it isn't funny anymore. It's just heartbreaking. It's so clear to the reader what he's feeling, but he's so confused, and scared at his confusion, and he hates being useless while the dancers are taking the brunt of the action, and it's just fucking sad. I feel so bad for him.
All Ryke wanted was to keep Errel safe and bring the prince back to claim his throne again. He just wants things to go back to how they were. But then Errel gives up his place at Tornor Keep and agrees to go back to Vanima, and Ryke is driven away because Norres still doesn't understand Ryke is not in love with Sorren, and now his entire world is different again. He's back in the north but everything is wrong. And there are instances in the story where the reader begins to wonder if Ryke even likes being a member of the guard anymore, if he ever enjoyed it in the first place. He questions why Sorren would want to live a life like his if she didn't ever have to, and has flashbacks to his friends dead on the battlefield when fighting at Cloud Keep. He second-guesses himself in Tornor when opening the gate, but pushes it away because the battle is happening. Ryke never allows himself a moment to wonder what else he could be if he just allowed himself to try, to wonder. And he had the chance in Vanima. But he missed it. He was trying so hard to go home that he never gave it a chance, and by the end it's too late.
Errel tells him to go to Cloud Keep, because [it's fair to infer that] he doesn't want Ryke back in Vanima because it made Ryke unhappy. And Errel won't stay in the keeps because it made him unhappy. And Ryke pleads in the only way he knows, offering to go with Errel, but Errel says no. He releases Ryke from the oath he swore to his father. An oath Ryke was never truly following anymore, because it wasn't for Astor that Ryke was staying with Errel, it was for Errel, but Errel doesn't know that. And Ryke doesn't fight him, because this is his prince, and fourteen years of training cannot be undone in five short months. But as a last act of defiance, the first we ever truly see from Ryke, he calls Errel "my prince," (p.247) one final time. Because this oath he's made is not one so easily released from. Because even when Errel is far from him, Ryke will still be loyal to him, and love him. Errel will always be his prince.
My heart is broken. I'm crying. I'm fist fighting Elizabeth A. Lynn behind a Perkins.
Some quotes I liked:
"'He was a good man,' said Ryke.
'He was a good lord,' Errel said. 'As a man, he was no better than any of us.'" (p. 104).
"The softness of this southern country disturbed him. He remembered how, on the visit to the grainfields long ago, he had wakened to hear the slush-slush of the wind in the grain. It was terrible at night, like a hundred dead men walking, and he had crawled to his father and thrust himself into the sleeping man's arms. He rested his cheek against the grey gelding's smooth flank, despising himself for the child's voice in his mind that whispered, I want to go home." (p. 115).
"'Ryke.'
'Uh.' Ryke sat up. He could not remember lying down. Errel grinned at him. He held the rein of the grey.
'Come on. You don't want to sleep here.'
'I wasn't sleeping.'
'What were you doing?'
'Dreaming,' Ryke said. He rubbed his eyes and took the grey's rein. The answer made perfect sense to him; it took some time before he worked out why it had made Errel laugh." (p. 122). (Ryke's whole characterization in a nutshell--what he says and thinks make perfect sense, but it takes time for him to understand why others think differently than he does.)
"Her mouth twitched. 'I come from where you come from, remember?'
'Armies don't fight like that.'
'What good are armies?' she asked
The question made no sense. He shook his head, and yelped at the pain. 'I don't understand it,' he said, meaning her, meaning Van...
'I'm too old to learn new tricks,' he grumbled.
She thought this was funny; she laughed at him. 'How old are you?'
'Twenty-seven.'
Dryly she said, 'You'll learn.'...
'Why are you doing this for me?' he said.
'Why not?'" (p. 150-151).
"His tongue felt thick. He did not think very often about loving people. He had never learned to use the word right." (p. 203).
Things about Ryke I will never get over:
He has never seen a firefly before.
He has never had a sunburn.
Only ever called Errel by his name once, and not even to his face.
The oath was sworn to Astor, but it was always about Errel. It's always been an oath to Errel.
"My prince" really means "my love" and no one can ever tell me otherwise. He just never knew it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
ndz's review against another edition
2.0
Lo más extraño de que haya ganado el World Fantasy Award es que no es una historia de fantasía. Ocurre en un reino medieval inventado, como tantas novelas del género, pero no tiene ningún elemento fantástico.
aneton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
linwearcamenel's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
msaari's review against another edition
4.0
Valtakunnan pohjoista rajaa vartioi Tornorin linna. Valitettavasti uhka tuleekin etelästä – paha Col Ista tulee joukkoineen ja valtaa linnan, tappaen samalla linnan valtiaan. Valtiaan poika, prinssi Errel, ei ole paikalla, mutta jää pian vangiksi. Vahdinkomentaja Ryke alistuu uuden valtiaan alaisuuteen, koska voi sillä tavoin pitää Errelin hengissä.
Ryke ja Errel onnistuvat lopulta pakenemaan Tornorista, kiitos avuliaiden viestinviejien. Vaan mihin tie heidät vie ja pystyvätkö he nousemaan Col Istaa vastaa ennen kuin tämä valtaa kaikki pohjoisen linnat? Ryken näkökulmasta kerrottu tarina sisältää paljon matkustamista ja jonkin verran henkistä kasvua – Ryke on hieman yksinkertainen pohjoisen soturi, perusäijä, jolle maailma tarjoaa paljon uutta ja ihmeellistä.
Nuoren, vain 23-vuotiaan kirjailijan esikoisteos Watchtower palkittiin vuonna 1980 World Fantasy -palkinnolla. Se hämmästyttää hieman: Watchtower on miellyttävä pieni tarina, mutta ei paljon enempää – ei siis mikään unohdettu klassikko, joka kaikkien pitäisi lukea. Kirjalla on pituutta vain parisataa sivua ja Lynnin ilmaisu on muutenkin varsin tiivistä ja lyhytlauseista. Lyhyessä kirjassa ehditään taistella, elää kaikessa rauhassa, oppia elämää ja taistella taas lisää.
Lynn on kuitenkin kerännyt aikalaisiltaan kehua ja kirjaa on ylistetty muun muassa yhtenä ensimmäisistä fantasiakirjoista, joissa kuvataan homoseksuaalista parisuhdetta luontevasti ja osoittelematta. Kirjassa on myös vahvasti feministisiä tai tasa-arvoa edistäviä sävyjä.
World Fantasy Award ei siis sittenkään petä. Watchtower oli leppoisa lukukokemus, josta jäi hyvä mieli. Suosittelen muillekin fantasian ystäville, sen verran Watchtower poikkeaa tavanomaisimmista kuvioista. Jatkan mieluusti Chronicles of Tornor -sarjan muihin kirjoihin (The Dancers of Arun ja The Northern Girl). (3.8.2010)
Ryke ja Errel onnistuvat lopulta pakenemaan Tornorista, kiitos avuliaiden viestinviejien. Vaan mihin tie heidät vie ja pystyvätkö he nousemaan Col Istaa vastaa ennen kuin tämä valtaa kaikki pohjoisen linnat? Ryken näkökulmasta kerrottu tarina sisältää paljon matkustamista ja jonkin verran henkistä kasvua – Ryke on hieman yksinkertainen pohjoisen soturi, perusäijä, jolle maailma tarjoaa paljon uutta ja ihmeellistä.
Nuoren, vain 23-vuotiaan kirjailijan esikoisteos Watchtower palkittiin vuonna 1980 World Fantasy -palkinnolla. Se hämmästyttää hieman: Watchtower on miellyttävä pieni tarina, mutta ei paljon enempää – ei siis mikään unohdettu klassikko, joka kaikkien pitäisi lukea. Kirjalla on pituutta vain parisataa sivua ja Lynnin ilmaisu on muutenkin varsin tiivistä ja lyhytlauseista. Lyhyessä kirjassa ehditään taistella, elää kaikessa rauhassa, oppia elämää ja taistella taas lisää.
Lynn on kuitenkin kerännyt aikalaisiltaan kehua ja kirjaa on ylistetty muun muassa yhtenä ensimmäisistä fantasiakirjoista, joissa kuvataan homoseksuaalista parisuhdetta luontevasti ja osoittelematta. Kirjassa on myös vahvasti feministisiä tai tasa-arvoa edistäviä sävyjä.
World Fantasy Award ei siis sittenkään petä. Watchtower oli leppoisa lukukokemus, josta jäi hyvä mieli. Suosittelen muillekin fantasian ystäville, sen verran Watchtower poikkeaa tavanomaisimmista kuvioista. Jatkan mieluusti Chronicles of Tornor -sarjan muihin kirjoihin (The Dancers of Arun ja The Northern Girl). (3.8.2010)
annasirius's review against another edition
4.0
3.8
An atmospheric book with complex morality that is both progressive and diverse, given its age.
I just wish the main character was more interesting/ reminded me less of Fitz from the Farseer Books.
An atmospheric book with complex morality that is both progressive and diverse, given its age.
I just wish the main character was more interesting/ reminded me less of Fitz from the Farseer Books.