futurememory's review
3.0
I rather liked this one! Crown Duel feels completely like old-school YA fantasy, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.
The pacing is slower, the vocabulary is larger. And boy, can Mel be a frustrating character. She's very strong-willed, stubborn, and ignorant. She's entirely reactive, running head-on from one awful situation to the next, leaving little thought for long-term strategy and survival. And sometimes I wanted to bash her through the skull.
But I appreciated how faithful Smith was to her character, how she doesn't compromise on Mel as much as Mel doesn't compromise in any situation.
Without Court Duel, the book definitely feels half finished. I feel like I'll definitely enjoy the second half more.
The pacing is slower, the vocabulary is larger. And boy, can Mel be a frustrating character. She's very strong-willed, stubborn, and ignorant. She's entirely reactive, running head-on from one awful situation to the next, leaving little thought for long-term strategy and survival. And sometimes I wanted to bash her through the skull.
But I appreciated how faithful Smith was to her character, how she doesn't compromise on Mel as much as Mel doesn't compromise in any situation.
Without Court Duel, the book definitely feels half finished. I feel like I'll definitely enjoy the second half more.
drcbc's review
4.0
I can't tell you how many times I re-read this duology as a youth – it was one of my absolute favorites. I'm biased by nostalgia, but I think it holds up well. This world is populated by complex and flawed and believable characters, and full of political intrigue that's dramatic but not too over-the-top.
Spoiler
Also, Meliara and Shevraeth's slow-burn romance was formative as hell for me, and really fun to revisit.book_nut's review
4.0
A good, solid fantasy -- full of adventure, undercurrents of romance, light on the magic. Thoroughly enjoyable.
squishies's review
3.0
A lot better than the Wren series - the main protagonist, Mel, is quite likeable though rather stubborn (she does carry a "castle-sized" grudge).
Quite interested to see how Vidanric develops in the next book.
Don't know about anyone else, but I keep reading Branaric as Brainiac... bah.
Quite interested to see how Vidanric develops in the next book.
Don't know about anyone else, but I keep reading Branaric as Brainiac... bah.
simply_sam's review
3.0
This book manages to both exceed and fall short of my expectations. It's a strange phenomenon. I was expecting a fantasy with a strong female lead. In fact, I perused GR lists looking for just that. You know there are lists for everything here on GRs and several with "fantasy" and some derivative of "strong female lead" as the topic. Surprisingly this book, unbeknownst to me at the time, was in the top running on several of the lists I found. Needless to say, I had high hopes. So let's start with those criteria, shall we?
First off, fantasy. This is very light/low fantasy, not "epic fantasy" or "high fantasy" or whatever other sub category of fantasies there are. There are some fantasy elements that are mentioned briefly and sporadically, and a weird history involving portals to other places and magical special trees. None of it is ever fleshed out and it really just made for a semi-awkward reading experience. Like the portals to other worlds, they were mentioned once,maybe twice, and that was it. The Hill People who roamed behind the scenes for much of the story remained mysteries. No real explanation or background, just that they are. It just wasn't cohesive. I really felt like I was reading a period piece with random magic stuff and hard to pronounce names thrown in here and there to make it a fantasy. Now don't get me wrong, I like period pieces but it's just not what I was hoping this book would be. I wanted MORE. Maybe that's just me being a greedy reader but there it is.
Next up is our strong female lead. Hmmm. I will admit, what Meliara lacks in common sense she makes up for in gumption. She was never one to shy away from a fight or back down from a bully. She fought for her people earnestly and without reservations. But honestly, throughout the book she was always running recklessly into one situation or another. She didn't stop to think or plan ahead, she just rushed in and hoped for the best. Of course this never ended well for our young protagonist. In fact, more times than not she ended up either captured or injured or both. Fortunately, towards the end of the book she experiences some character growth and is able to reflect back on her actions and see them for what they are: decisions based on ignorance. Not quite the lead character I was hoping for but I didn't hate her. That's a plus. I am super critical of female MCs. I have this hyper awareness of faults and lackings when it comes to heroes of the "fairer" sex. I know it's not fair and it's not just, but heroines tend to bug me FAR more than their male counterparts. So the fact that Meliara, our young and often foolhardy MC, did not earn my permanent ire is actually a nice (and surprising if I'm honest) thing.
So the plot is basically Meliara (Mel) and her brother Branaric (Bran), the unofficial Countess and Count of Tlanth, try to lead a revolt against their tyrannical king. They have obtained proof that he's about to break a very sacred covenant that the kingdom has established with the Hill People having to do with the super special trees I mentioned earlier. However, before Mel and Bran can secure the allies they know they are going to need, an army led by Baron Debegri, who has his eye on their lands as his prize, begins marching in and they are forced to attack to the best of their meager ability. And, though their ability is meager their hearts are not and they hold off the troops for far longer than anticipated. Enter in the cold, aloof Marquis of Shevraeth charged by evil King Galdran with bringing these troublesome mountain people to task. And, unlike his predecessor, the Marquis seems to know his way around the battlefield. It isn't long before Mel and Bran begin the realize that this is a losing battle so thus begins the real conflict of this story.
The plus side to this book is this: it is extremely readable. Though there was some repetitiveness in storyline (like her goal was always: to escape) and the world building and "magic" system left a lot to be desired, the story moved quickly and kept me engaged. I basically read it in a day. It helped that I read the omnibus as well so after completing the first book I went straight into the second, which I liked even more than this one, but for totally different reasons.
***3.5 stars***
First off, fantasy. This is very light/low fantasy, not "epic fantasy" or "high fantasy" or whatever other sub category of fantasies there are. There are some fantasy elements that are mentioned briefly and sporadically, and a weird history involving portals to other places and magical special trees. None of it is ever fleshed out and it really just made for a semi-awkward reading experience. Like the portals to other worlds, they were mentioned once,maybe twice, and that was it. The Hill People who roamed behind the scenes for much of the story remained mysteries. No real explanation or background, just that they are. It just wasn't cohesive. I really felt like I was reading a period piece with random magic stuff and hard to pronounce names thrown in here and there to make it a fantasy. Now don't get me wrong, I like period pieces but it's just not what I was hoping this book would be. I wanted MORE. Maybe that's just me being a greedy reader but there it is.
Next up is our strong female lead. Hmmm. I will admit, what Meliara lacks in common sense she makes up for in gumption. She was never one to shy away from a fight or back down from a bully. She fought for her people earnestly and without reservations. But honestly, throughout the book she was always running recklessly into one situation or another. She didn't stop to think or plan ahead, she just rushed in and hoped for the best. Of course this never ended well for our young protagonist. In fact, more times than not she ended up either captured or injured or both. Fortunately, towards the end of the book she experiences some character growth and is able to reflect back on her actions and see them for what they are: decisions based on ignorance. Not quite the lead character I was hoping for but I didn't hate her. That's a plus. I am super critical of female MCs. I have this hyper awareness of faults and lackings when it comes to heroes of the "fairer" sex. I know it's not fair and it's not just, but heroines tend to bug me FAR more than their male counterparts. So the fact that Meliara, our young and often foolhardy MC, did not earn my permanent ire is actually a nice (and surprising if I'm honest) thing.
So the plot is basically Meliara (Mel) and her brother Branaric (Bran), the unofficial Countess and Count of Tlanth, try to lead a revolt against their tyrannical king. They have obtained proof that he's about to break a very sacred covenant that the kingdom has established with the Hill People having to do with the super special trees I mentioned earlier. However, before Mel and Bran can secure the allies they know they are going to need, an army led by Baron Debegri, who has his eye on their lands as his prize, begins marching in and they are forced to attack to the best of their meager ability. And, though their ability is meager their hearts are not and they hold off the troops for far longer than anticipated. Enter in the cold, aloof Marquis of Shevraeth charged by evil King Galdran with bringing these troublesome mountain people to task. And, unlike his predecessor, the Marquis seems to know his way around the battlefield. It isn't long before Mel and Bran begin the realize that this is a losing battle so thus begins the real conflict of this story.
The plus side to this book is this: it is extremely readable. Though there was some repetitiveness in storyline (like her goal was always: to escape) and the world building and "magic" system left a lot to be desired, the story moved quickly and kept me engaged. I basically read it in a day. It helped that I read the omnibus as well so after completing the first book I went straight into the second, which I liked even more than this one, but for totally different reasons.
***3.5 stars***
kwugirl's review
4.0
So as it turns out, I am a total and complete sucker for: [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926]/[b:North and South|156538|North and South|Elizabeth Gaskell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349633381s/156538.jpg|1016482] + strong young woman comes of age + strong/silent/tall love interest + secret admirer/courtship by letter a la You've Got Mail + magic + court politics. TOTAL SUCKER. Whatever, I still loved it.
I liked the second half with the court politics and intrigue (Court Duel) better than the first half of battles, but the first half is necessary for setup. There are a few characterizations that seem a bit forced to support the second half (Mel's brother Bran, mainly).
I liked the second half with the court politics and intrigue (Court Duel) better than the first half of battles, but the first half is necessary for setup. There are a few characterizations that seem a bit forced to support the second half (Mel's brother Bran, mainly).
metaphorosis's review
2.0
I first encountered Sherwood Smith in an excellent anthology ([b:Firebirds|40160|Firebirds An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction|Sharyn November|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309211431s/40160.jpg|17234924]), where I was taken with her story "Beauty". Purely on the strength of that story, I went right out and bought the related double novel, [b:Crown Duel|8612613|Crown Duel|Sherwood Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1279746420s/8612613.jpg|4398231]. I'm sorry to stay the story was far better than the book. In fairness, I note that the story was written several years later.
This first book was disappointing. For one thing, some of the language is careless. Early on, a pair of characters are described as having hip flagons. Flagons? Flasks are traditional here. A flagon is large pretty much by definition, generally not watertight, and basically not suited for the hip. There are a few others like this; not a lot, but enough to throw me off as a reader, and to weaken my confidence in the author. Some continuity flaws don't help.
The story itself is determinedly Young Adult, though the protagonist's age is never clear. That's no problem; I like YA. But even writing about a teenager doesn't excuse some of the weakness here. For example, on the run, fearing torture and death, repeatedly ill, just past escaping a trap, and literally surrounded, Mel nonetheless decides to play a childish prank. Young is one thing. Dumb is another, and not one that most readers are looking to relate to.
Even before that point, the story has its flaws. Mel is injured, gets sick, gets rescued and partly healed, gets sick, gets rescued and partly healed, gets sick ... you see where this is going. It's just not the most inventive of plots.
There were opportunities here for some interesting growth and reflection, as Mel and her idealism confront cold hard reality, and realizes there's more to the world than she knew. Unfortunately, that brief realization is about as far as she goes. The characters are likeable and Mel is mildly fun, but there's no real depth anywhere.
All in all, disappointing. I admit that the short story left me expecting a lot, but this isn't even close to what I hoped for. If I hadn't bought this as a double novel, I wouldn't have gone on to [b:Court Duel|596308|Court Duel (Crown & Court, #2)|Sherwood Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052963s/596308.jpg|16280489].
This first book was disappointing. For one thing, some of the language is careless. Early on, a pair of characters are described as having hip flagons. Flagons? Flasks are traditional here. A flagon is large pretty much by definition, generally not watertight, and basically not suited for the hip. There are a few others like this; not a lot, but enough to throw me off as a reader, and to weaken my confidence in the author. Some continuity flaws don't help.
The story itself is determinedly Young Adult, though the protagonist's age is never clear. That's no problem; I like YA. But even writing about a teenager doesn't excuse some of the weakness here. For example, on the run, fearing torture and death, repeatedly ill, just past escaping a trap, and literally surrounded, Mel nonetheless decides to play a childish prank. Young is one thing. Dumb is another, and not one that most readers are looking to relate to.
Even before that point, the story has its flaws. Mel is injured, gets sick, gets rescued and partly healed, gets sick, gets rescued and partly healed, gets sick ... you see where this is going. It's just not the most inventive of plots.
There were opportunities here for some interesting growth and reflection, as Mel and her idealism confront cold hard reality, and realizes there's more to the world than she knew. Unfortunately, that brief realization is about as far as she goes. The characters are likeable and Mel is mildly fun, but there's no real depth anywhere.
All in all, disappointing. I admit that the short story left me expecting a lot, but this isn't even close to what I hoped for. If I hadn't bought this as a double novel, I wouldn't have gone on to [b:Court Duel|596308|Court Duel (Crown & Court, #2)|Sherwood Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052963s/596308.jpg|16280489].
alyssasaurus's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
acidsunshinee's review
4.0
I really fell in love with the characters in this one. They pushed me to get through it.