If you like politics in every shade of grey imaginable this is for you. There are a few old characters, Ryshad and Cas and Allin and Temar, and a whole host of new ones. Unfortunately, the newer additions to the cast are rather boring. The characterizations ae flat and have little depth outside of their role in the tale. There is no action and the conclusion was outright boring.
I can't say I enjoyed this as much as the others in the series. ( )

There are a lot of fantasy novels competing for everyone's attention, but what I like most about this set is the way the characters are written. So much of fantasy deals with black and white - these books create a world where the motivations behind individuals and states are far less obvious, motivated by very human instincts of survival, greed, pride and power. Even love is examined without sentimentality.

The protagonists are grown-ups - not full of the angst of the teenager. The youth of D'Alsennin is obvious beside the experience of Ryshad Tathel , now a chosen man. We follow Ryshad into a world where his instincts, upon which he depended in previous books, are now hampered by rules. Not only is his rank as chosen man questioned and defended, but his loyalty to the house of Olbriot is also challenged. Where Ryshad was once willing to be an owned man, a pawn in his master's plans, we now see him motivated more by his own ideals and aspirations. Noble qualities like loyalty and honour are put under the spotlight.

This book deals with status, authority and power, and the choices the individual can make. The politics are believable, and in this book, the social hierarchy is displayed in close detail, down to the court finery required for formal wear.

Fashion is an important motif in this book - the beliefs of the old settlers now in Kel Ar'Ayen are seen by many in the Tormalin Empire to be outmoded - their faith is antiquated. In modern Tormalin, disputes are waged through the law courts, argument winning cases rather than a search for truth, as was the ancient way. Religion is superstition, rather than a source of power. Much is made of the importance of the superficial in Tormalin: of the clothes worn, the jewellery that may be worn by nobles and merchants to distinguish ranks. When masks (and mazes) are removed, the underlying reality reveals people motivated by greed and position, fear and ambition.

The plot is complex, and reflects the closer examination of the personalities and politics on show. Whereas in the earlier stories the motivation was more plain to see, the characters seemingly more straightforward, this latest book brings us really close to the action, so we can watch the heart of the Empire and its machinations. The denouement is a classic twist, which will tease any reader who thought the author of the first three books was dealing in simple issues.

As another reviewer has already said - the best test is whether the reader wants more. After this book, I most certainly do. ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/169290.html

This is a bit different from its three predecessors in the Einarinn series, with battles on the high seas against strangely magical opponents replaced by a political drama, set in the capital city and watching the machinations of the great houses against each other. One of McKenna's successes is that her world possesses a certain depth; every character has an almost tangible hinterland of family and friends. The Empire she portrays is a breathing, developing and somewhat fragile polity. (She's less convincing on the languages but nobody except Tolkien has ever done well on that score.) The book reminded me a bit of Feist's Rise of a Merchant Prince (one of only two by him that I've read) but is much better - characters less wooden and generally more sympathetic. You wouldn't want to start reading McKenna with The Warrior's Bond but it's certainly enough to get me to buy the fifth and final one in the series. ( )

The Tales of Einarinn #4