Judith TarrBesprekingen

F/SF

The book focusses on Meredith, a 16 year old American girl who fancies a summer break looking after her white horse (who is hopefully pregnant), turtle watching and hanging out with her friends. However, her mother – recovering from cancer – sends her to Egypt to help Meredith’s aunt in a dig. There she becomes aware of two other people: Meru who lives 4000 years into the future and Meritre who lives 4000 years in the past (as a singer for the female pharoh). All are tied together through a sickness/plague and they have to help Meru save the future from a plague.


I got this Young Adult book through Librarything’s Early Reviewer batch, and opted for it based on the summary. I was pleasantly surprised that a YA fiction book was easy to read and not patronising (something I specifically dislike about YA books).


This book suffered slightly in being the last book of 2012, during a busy Birthday and Christmas period, which meant it became the first finish of 2013 instead. The start was a little shaky, where I feared Meredith was going to be a stroppy teenager (and she was, just a little). However, when the other two characters came in, the telling became much better, and Meru in particular was realised well and a natural expansion of our current reliance on the web. The progression of the story was good, and the dealing with death (all three characters have people close to them who die).


The book ended quite quickly, and leaves the line open for other stories (I would be almost disappointed if Tarr HASN’T written more books in this series - it opens up so many opportunities to continue this world…..

The book focusses on Meredith, a 16 year old American girl who fancies a summer break looking after her white horse (who is hopefully pregnant), turtle watching and hanging out with her friends. However, her mother – recovering from cancer – sends her to Egypt to help Meredith’s aunt in a dig. There she becomes aware of two other people: Meru who lives 4000 years into the future and Meritre who lives 4000 years in the past (as a singer for the female pharoh). All are tied together through a sickness/plague and they have to help Meru save the future from a plague.


I got this Young Adult book through Librarything’s Early Reviewer batch, and opted for it based on the summary. I was pleasantly surprised that a YA fiction book was easy to read and not patronising (something I specifically dislike about YA books).


This book suffered slightly in being the last book of 2012, during a busy Birthday and Christmas period, which meant it became the first finish of 2013 instead. The start was a little shaky, where I feared Meredith was going to be a stroppy teenager (and she was, just a little). However, when the other two characters came in, the telling became much better, and Meru in particular was realised well and a natural expansion of our current reliance on the web. The progression of the story was good, and the dealing with death (all three characters have people close to them who die).


The book ended quite quickly, and leaves the line open for other stories (I would be almost disappointed if Tarr HASN’T written more books in this series - it opens up so many opportunities to continue this world…..

Personally, I found this to be a most enjoyable book focusing on the power of the Church and Kings in a medieval England still inhabited by the fair elven folk.

I particularly enjoy the characterisation of Richard I, and love the relationship between the King and main character.

165/28

One of my all time favorite books. I loaned it to a friend and her husband threw it away. I looked for a new copy for years and found it again as soon as the internet was invented. Thanks Al Gore!

This author has horses and it shows. This is a great love story and a well done story about horses. I'm a life long horse owner and it really pushes my buttons when an author does the horse stuff wrong.

The hero is a spoiled young man who does a very bad thing. He is punished and he learns and grows. The heroine is very strong having been raised as a son.

The hero redeems himself at the end.

Bit of a SPOILER

The only thing that creeps me out a bit is the guy having a foal with a mare while he's a stallion. But he does acknowledge that the mare at least was willing.

Other than that a great love story with some really good feel for the time of the first crusade.

This is a wonderful book. Sort of a magical telling of the time of the crusades. With the original assassins and genies thrown in. Good jumping off point for learning about history. I looked a lot of stuff up after I read it to find out the real story.

The best part of this story however is the language. Reading this book is like reading poetry. Judith Tarr presents the English language in all its beauty without beating you over the head with how clever she is. You can tell a story or you can tell a story with words that evoke images as brilliant as a stained glass window.

Slow-moving novel of Antony and Cleopatra, told through the viewpoint of one of Cleopatra's priestesses. Grounded in historical reality, it still emphasizes the storied love affair, but is also wound through with the ponderous military and political gamesmanship so essential to the saga.½

20th century woman to Roman frontier 170 AD meets M Aurelius

Melisende, princess of Jerusalem after the First Crusade, was married to a man she neither desired nor felt she needed, because the 12th Century was not a time when a queen could rule on her own account. And yet, she did.

Jerusalem and the surrounding European-ruled kingdoms of Outremer (derived from the French for "overseas") after the First Crusade are a rich and unfamiliar setting for a story. This book's author gives the titular queen and her immediate family some space, connecting fictional characters to those fascinating historical figures. As a result the book's protagonists can easily show the reader the alleys and outskirts of the vividly described setting as well as the inhabitants of same. The author's implicit criticism of the militarism, racism, and sexism of the time is all the more effective for being manifest in who the reader meets and what they do.

Both the real people and the fictional come to life in this story of intrigue, romance, and character-driven drama. Their moral depth and verisimilitudinous conversation kept me interested, and I am more than a little sad to see that this book doesn't have a sequel.


Vocabulary:

accidia - More often spelled "acedia", meaning sloth or more generally a lack of interest.
antiphon - A scripture said or sung before and after a canticle, psalm, or psalm verse as part of the liturgy
arrant - being notoriously without moderation
atabeg - A hereditary title of nobility of a Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince.
badinage - banter
chatelaine - wife of a castellan, more broadly the mistress of a household
collops - originally an egg fried on bacon, more broadly it means a portion of something
cortege - retinue
equable - unchanging, uniform
estampie - a Medieval dance and its musical accompaniment
excoriate - criticize severely
frowsty - stale, warm, and stuffy
fusty - stale, damp, and stuffy
gambeson - a padded quilted jacket worn under or as armor
garth - an open space surrounded by cloisters. More broadly, a yard or garden.
hieratic - of or concerning priests
houri - a beautiful young woman, specifically one of the virgin companions of the faithful in Muslim paradise
hoyden - a boisterous girl
hypocaust - a hollow space under the floor of an ancient Roman building, into which hot air was sent for heating a room or bath
infelicities - unfortunate, inappropriate remarks
insouciant - indifferent
louvers - Angled slat vents in a door, shutter, or roof.
mooncalf - a fool
paynim - an archaic word for heathen, specifically applied to Muslims
portress - woman porter
posset - A drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or other alcoholic liquor and typically flavored with spices, drunk as a delicacy or as a remedy for colds.
probity - the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency
reiver - raider or reaver, specifically one that traveled on a river
salubrious - healthy
scrofulous - diseased
supernal - heavenly
surfeit - surplus
trammel - Something impeding activity, progress, or freedom or one of seven distinctly different tools.

I decided to read this book based on the author's article where she talks about certain problems with C.S Lewis' The Horse and his Boy. She says

"Aravis reminds me of why I wrote A Wind in Cairo, which is partly about correcting the issues I saw in The Horse and His Boy, and mostly about girls and horses. And the Crusades. From the other side."

And lets face it, that sounds plain awesome!
And I loved the book. I think that if I had read it as a teenager it would have been one of those books I read and reread and then reread some more.
Tarr's writing is just so easy to read, and it is so evocative. You feel as though you are in the middle of the scenes.
But, there is a huge issue at the heart of this book. And that is, the crime Hasan is being punished for is rape. And I know a lot of people won't want to read the story of a rapist's redemption. It is a very understandable reaction.
I was very very worried that it was going to be a romance story between Hasan and the woman he rapes ((another unfortunate part is that she remains unnamed throughout the book)) but that is very definitely not on the cards. The reaction of the Hajji ((the woman's father)) when he discovers what Hasan has done is, thankfully, outrage, anger, and disgust at what Hasan has done. There isn't even the slightest hint of victim blaming.
Still, the story does revolve around Hasan learning just what a dick he has been and learning and growing.
But! but it is also the story of Zamaniyah and she is brilliant. I loved her character so much. After her brothers were killed in war he father decided that his only surviving child should be raised as though she were a boy. He doesn't try to pretend she is male, she dresses as a boy and is educated as a boy. She is aware of all the benefits this brings her, but it also makes her an outsider, both to other women and to men. They all seem to distrust her. I really liked the way Tarr wrote her. She wants to do her duty, to do as her father commands, but she also knows that she cannot go on that way forever, and she isn't really sure what she herself wants.
Despite the fact that Zamaniyah is being raised in a world of men Tarr introduces other women into the story. Some have just fleeting parts to play, others stick around for longer, like Wiborada, who is a Frankish prisoner/concubine. Her story is another that I'd love to see more of, but you can't have everything in a book.
I do wish that Hasan has committed some other lesser crime. But then again, would a lesser crime have warranted being turned into a horse? And the crime he committed is never swept under the covers or minimised. Hasan is made to learn just what he did and how wrong it was. It takes time, and his journey isn't smooth, but he does come to an understanding why his rape was so terrible.

This was a very good book. Well written, well done. I didn't care for the protagonist but I did like the story.

Good story. Its tough to find a book set in ancient Egypt that isn't focused just on the pharaoh and royal society, but this one did a good job of giving a little bit of a look at the more common man. Slow to start, but It drew me in as the story progressed.

Ok. Yes. This book was really amazing. It was filled with so many emotions that were wonderfully described. I also really love the way that "love" worked in the book. There was love of so many different kinds but they were all treated with the same respect. I really loved that.

Good, deep story with many separate "acts", i can't pinpoint what exactly it lacked to be 5*.

Meritre is a Temple Singer in the Temple of Amon, four thousand years ago. The recent plague that has killed so many is finally ending, but it's going to take one last victim before it's over.

Meredith is a teenager in our day, planning a summer of riding with her friends and caring for her recently bred mare, when her mother announces that as her sixteenth birthday present, she's going to Egypt to take part in a dig with her archaeologist aunt.

Meru, four thousand years in the future, has, along with her friend Yoshi, qualified for starpilot training. Unfortunately, Meru's mother, who has been chasing down the source of a mysterious plague hitting many planets, has secretly returned home--and died, leaving a package keyed so that only Meru can open it.

These three young women are connected, in some sense the same person, and a little scarab pendant enables them, unexpectedly, to communicate with each other. Each of them is confronting larger forces than they know, and the connection between them is key to finding the solution.

The girls each live in very different worlds, despite all those worlds being our own Earth. It's not just the technology levels that are different; they all live in very different family structures, and different expectations for their behavior and future lives. Yet they are also very closely connected, and find the connection helps them deal with their individual problems as well as their shared problems.

All three young women, and their friends, are wonderfully portrayed, clear, and complex, and likable. All three worlds feel believable and lived-in. The narrator does a great job, and has an excellent voice for these characters.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

A historical fantasy set in the reign of Richard the Lionheart.

Brother Alfred (‘Alf’) is a humble monk and theologian at the monastery of St Rhuan in Ynys Witrin. He came as a foundling and as been there for nearly 70 years and still looks like a youth of 17. During a storm, he slips out and returns with an injured traveller; he was on an embassy to a Marcher Lord who tortured him instead.

Nursing the traveller back to consciousness, Alf discovers the Marcher lord is trying to provoke war. The Abbot sends Alf on a journey to the North to meet King Richard and warn him of what is happening.

The story is Alf’s journey from the sanctuary of the abbey to the world - which he doesn’t know at all. Along the way, he comes to understand what he likely is - one of the Fair Folk, for all he only world is that of the monastery.

Recommended.

Alf and Thea have returned to the Kingdom of Rhyanna where he has risen to the position of Chancellor. However, the Pauline Order has raised an inquisition on the Kingdom, and is preaching crusade against the kindred. On the eve of the Legate’s arrival, Thea is delivered of twins and they are wrest away along with Anna Akastas into the hands of the Order in Rome. Trying to defend them, Prince Alun, the heir to Rhyanna is killed.

Alf, Nikki and Jehan travel to Rome to retrieve them and lift the Interdict and Crusade. The price is perpetual exile from the world.

After leaving Anglia, Alf and Thea go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and eventually decide to visit Thea’s family in Nicea. Unfortunately, they all died of the plague shortly after Thea left years ago. Quarrelling, Alf and Thea split up; Alf falls into the hands of a Byzantine noblewoman and is taken into her household in Constantinople. The City is under siege by the Fourth Crusade.

The story centres on Alf and Thea’s developing relationship, Alf’s friendship with the Alkestos family, and the sack of Constantinople.

Recommended.

As it happens, the Alamut Duology is a prequel to The Hound and Falcon Trilogy. A historical fantasy set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem around the Battle of the Horns of Hattin.

Prince Aiden and his beloved, Morgiana, have received their long-desired dispensation to marry. However, there are those who decide that Morgiana is a threat to the Kingdom and create a forgery - the dispensation has been changed to an anathema.

Morgiana and Aiden quarrel, and she flees the Kingdom. War intervenes, and then the disaster at Hattin.

Recommended, but again a few OCR errors in the text.

A historical fantasy set in the reign of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. It falls between books 1 and 2 of The Hound and the Falcon.

Prince Aidan of Caer Gwent (one of the Fair Folk) has come to Outremer to take the cross and to visit his sister’s son. He has been assassinated; his wife, Lady Margaret, is a member of the House of Ibrahim and Sinan of Alamut has decided the House would be useful to their cause. In pursuit of this, he also murders Lady Margaret’s son by her first husband and threatens her daughter.

Swearing revenge, Prince Aidan escorts her daughter to Aleppo, and draws out the assassin - the Slave of Alamut - who is one of the Fair Folk herself.

This is the story of Prince Aiden’s quest for revenge and the two women he comes to love - Joanna, Lady Margaret’s daughter, and Morgiana, the Slave of Alamut.

Recommended, but note there are some OCR errors in the text (which don’t detract from the story).

A historical fantasy set in the reign of Richard the Lionheart.

Brother Alfred (‘Alf’) is a humble monk and theologian at the monastery of St Rhuan in Ynys Witrin. He came as a foundling and as been there for nearly 70 years and still looks like a youth of 17. During a storm, he slips out and returns with an injured traveller; he was on an embassy to a Marcher Lord who tortured him instead.

Nursing the traveller back to consciousness, Alf discovers the Marcher lord is trying to provoke war. The Abbot sends Alf on a journey to the North to meet King Richard and warn him of what is happening.

The story is Alf’s journey from the sanctuary of the abbey to the world - which he doesn’t know at all. Along the way, he comes to understand what he likely is - one of the Fair Folk, for all he only world is that of the monastery.

Recommended.

Starting in 1129, this is set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem where the Princess Melisende, heiress of Baldwin II, is marrying Fulk of Anjou. It tells the story of Richeldis, who has travelled to Outremer in Fulk’s company, who is trying to find her brother and persuade him to return to France to take on the family estate. Unfortunately, her brother has other ideas, having sworn never to return. Richeldis becomes one of Melisende’s ladies, and her confidante. Richeldis’ story is interwoven with that of the Kingdom; she marries and settles in the kingdom (having sworn not to return without her brother), and the story ends when Baldwin III ends his mother’s regency.

This is set in more familiar Tarr territory; that of The Hound and Falcon trilogy and the Alamut duology. However, like the preceding book in the series, this is a straight historical novel with no hint of magic.

Recommended

This is the only one of this series I have had in a print copy; in fact, until I ran across the Kindle editions I wasn't aware it counted as part of a series.

Set in 970 and beyond, it deals with the marriage of Princess Theophanu of Byzantium to the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto II. The book's focus is on one of Theophanu's companions, her widowed cousin Aspasia, who accompanies her to Germany and ends up as teacher to the children of the court. This is a straight historical novel, with no fantastic elements, unlike the first instalment in the series.

Recommended.

A historical novel with fantastic elements chronicling the love affair between Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. I hesitate to characterise it as historical fantasy (book 2 in the series which I've owned for many years isn't), but the magical thread is there although discreet.

Dione, the Voice of Isis, a distant cousin of Cleopatra, forms part of her court. She is the mother of two sons; the elder lives with his father (who divorced Dione), and is rather strait-laced, the younger, who is very wild, lives with his mother. Starting after Cleopatra flees Rome following Julius Caesar's assassination, the story ends with Cleopatra's suicide.

It makes an interesting read; I read Gillian Bradshaw's take on Caesarion while back, but this book covers a longer time period.

Recommended.