A review by alesia_charles
Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard
5.0
Apparently I'm in the minority here, but I burned a pan in the kitchen and put off important work because of being engrossed in reading this book. And this despite initial grave doubts about the whole secretly-a-princess plot (which had been rather overdone, don't you think?).
I found the world-building fascinating - so similar to Zelazny's Amber universe, but also distinctly its own - and the tactic of having Christine hidden in a world that's almost-but-definitely-not our own makes her permanent relocation from it easier to take than might otherwise have been the case (clever, I think).
The semi-omniscient viewpoint was not a problem for me, and using it enabled the author to present scenes out of strict sequence that made a lot of things clear to the reader, even though many of the characters never actually knew the details (or in one case, refused to acknowledge them). This is overall one of those books that's as much about the world as about the characters, and it hit the right balance between those for me ... although it did hold off on explaining exactly what Heroes are for long enough to make me impatient.
While most of the villains were a bit over the top (Casimir is clearly a sociopath, while Evered is merely scenery-chewing irrational) I thought the character of Mathellin added an important note of complexity to the villains' side - and in fact, even the villains were presented as having limits to their villainy. Or at least faint twinges of guilt.
The good guys have the damaged Christine and the knight Quentin (who's the only slightly tarnished other side of Mathellin's coin, actually), plus the sorceress Melogian and, for a time, King Edisthen. Although the latter did not hold the point of view very much, those were key scenes and added an unexpected layer of pathos to the story.
The plot, of course, starts with setting the scene in the place Christine has been hidden, and then lurches abruptly into a lengthy chase across the multiverse featuring only Christine, Quentin, and Mathellin. When they finally reach Chrysanthe, everything slows down again, naturally. Christine and Quentin (who's been away for nine years) are trying to settle in. The rest of the cast have to be introduced and the war plot set in motion (rebellion against Edisthen by the sons of the previous king and one of three duchies). Melogian spends a fair amount of time explaining the world to Christine and we also learn further key information about how the world works from backstory scenes about her. This is probably the part that most frustrated some other readers, but I enjoyed the elaboration of the characters and the world as an alternate form of plot; and it was also the only way to eventually make everything make sense.
I was very impressed by Meynard's solution to the problem of Edisthen's [spoiler], the seeds of which had been present all along; likewise, the climax of the story - with the rebellious forces at the very gates of the castle - had obvious elements but also unexpected ones. Perfect.
I still don't know if the pan I burned is going to be salvageable, but I'm quite sure (I checked) that Casimir raised seven demons, not the six that appeared for the war. I don't know if that portends a sequel, or is just an error ... nor am I sure that I'd enjoy a second book about Chrysanthe as much as I did the first, since most of this world's secrets have been revealed. But we'll see, perhaps.
I found the world-building fascinating - so similar to Zelazny's Amber universe, but also distinctly its own - and the tactic of having Christine hidden in a world that's almost-but-definitely-not our own makes her permanent relocation from it easier to take than might otherwise have been the case (clever, I think).
The semi-omniscient viewpoint was not a problem for me, and using it enabled the author to present scenes out of strict sequence that made a lot of things clear to the reader, even though many of the characters never actually knew the details (or in one case, refused to acknowledge them). This is overall one of those books that's as much about the world as about the characters, and it hit the right balance between those for me ... although it did hold off on explaining exactly what Heroes are for long enough to make me impatient.
While most of the villains were a bit over the top (Casimir is clearly a sociopath, while Evered is merely scenery-chewing irrational) I thought the character of Mathellin added an important note of complexity to the villains' side - and in fact, even the villains were presented as having limits to their villainy. Or at least faint twinges of guilt.
The good guys have the damaged Christine and the knight Quentin (who's the only slightly tarnished other side of Mathellin's coin, actually), plus the sorceress Melogian and, for a time, King Edisthen. Although the latter did not hold the point of view very much, those were key scenes and added an unexpected layer of pathos to the story.
The plot, of course, starts with setting the scene in the place Christine has been hidden, and then lurches abruptly into a lengthy chase across the multiverse featuring only Christine, Quentin, and Mathellin. When they finally reach Chrysanthe, everything slows down again, naturally. Christine and Quentin (who's been away for nine years) are trying to settle in. The rest of the cast have to be introduced and the war plot set in motion (rebellion against Edisthen by the sons of the previous king and one of three duchies). Melogian spends a fair amount of time explaining the world to Christine and we also learn further key information about how the world works from backstory scenes about her. This is probably the part that most frustrated some other readers, but I enjoyed the elaboration of the characters and the world as an alternate form of plot; and it was also the only way to eventually make everything make sense.
I was very impressed by Meynard's solution to the problem of Edisthen's [spoiler], the seeds of which had been present all along; likewise, the climax of the story - with the rebellious forces at the very gates of the castle - had obvious elements but also unexpected ones. Perfect.
I still don't know if the pan I burned is going to be salvageable, but I'm quite sure (I checked) that Casimir raised seven demons, not the six that appeared for the war. I don't know if that portends a sequel, or is just an error ... nor am I sure that I'd enjoy a second book about Chrysanthe as much as I did the first, since most of this world's secrets have been revealed. But we'll see, perhaps.