Books III
Current mood: working
Category: Writing and Poetry

Currently reading:

"Julius Caesar" by Philip Freeman

Just Finished:

'Imperium' by Robert Harris

The story of how Marcus Cicero, a “new man” to the Romans what we would call a political outsider, became consult. It was an election story only which disappointed me greatly because most of the interesting stuff that happen to Cicero happened after he became consult.
 
For example: near the end of his term as consult Catilina who stood against Cicero for consult fermented a rebellion and planned to kill most of the senators and take over, but he was found out. He left the city and positioned himself to the north of Rome with a force of supporters. His supporters in Rome were the arrested a few days before they were suppose to act, and in their first big showdown, Caesar and Cato argued over whether to execute them or not. Cato won and the prisoners were executed but this story does not cover anything as dramatic as that.

It does cover the trial of Gaius Verres who Cicero prosecuted for actions while governor of Sicily. Verres did every thing he could to remove anything of value from the island which is only notable because of how Cicero conducted the prosecution by putting the system on trail as much as Verres. In fear that he may lose, Verres fled Rome before a verdict could be handed down.

I did like how the author mixed in things from Cicero’s writings and speeches into the dialogs.

The story itself was told by Tiro, Cicero’s slave and private secretary, who was really Cicero’s slave and private secretary and the inventor of short hand as well as publishing a few books himself one of which was about the life of Cicero. Fortunately for the author that book was lost so there is no way to call him for his inaccuracies, but it was a good read. I just wished it was a bit longer.

'World Mythology, Third edition: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics' by Donna Rosenberg. (Yes, a text book and there is no Prof in sight. funny thing about this one, it says Thrird Edition on the cover, but Second edition on the Title page.)

Interesting things I noted or did not know while reading this text book:

This book, as well as another text book a read a while back, “The Ancient World at War” edited by Philip de Souza, both state that there was a time in human society when War was not a part of it. In both books, they do give some fairly compelling evidence, but I have a hard time believing it.

Polynesia creation myth has a woman as the first human being, but she was create by a male god, Tane, and he loved her, and “from their love, a daughter called Hine Titama, the Dawn Maiden, was born. Tane loved Hine Titama as well, and from their love, children were born who became the first men and women.” which seems to make the women an object of male desire, but at least that is better that the source of all the evil of the world. Of course that brings up another point, the gods seem to love incest since it is a very common theme for myths regardless of the culture of origin, but I digress.

I did not know that the Inuit main god is a goddess, Sehna (She Down There), of a very cranky disposition, and is only appeased when the shaman goes down and does her hair.

The original Lion King was Sunjata, meaning “out lion” and later titled King Mari Djata the Lion of Manding born of the Lion and the Buffalo, or for the arrogant white guy not understand the culture, The Lion King. Once again, Disney taking a perfectly good story, and just made shit up as they go!

Ever since college when a Biology professor annoyed me by comparing the creation myth from the Bible to current scientific theory, I have always had this question running around in the back on my head: Is current sciences influenced by ancient myth?

Yes, even though I do tend toward a scientific explanation of life and the world, finding the “afterlife” one of the best jokes on the world, I keep seeing older stories in the scientific answers.

For example: Most creation myths have a time where nothing exists except sky and water in a time of complete darkness.

So that gets me a thinkin’, the only thing we really know about DNA is that it is really good at copying itself, (and don’t bitch at me about the Human Genome project, because only tells us what individual parts do, not what the molecule as a whole does) so, is there such a thing as memory in DNA? Could it be possible there is a memory separate from our own consciences that remembers a time when an ancient, much less complicated, copy of itself existed in a bacterium near a deep sea volcanic vent hundreds of millions of years ago in every cell in our bodies? Just a thought, and yes, it is this type of thought that keeps me awake at night.

Another example: the Chinese myth on the creation of the universe has the entire universe contained in an egg filled with chaos and eternal darkness until the first being, Pangu, formed and broke the egg.

There is the eternal darkness again but how is that so different than the Big Bang theory? A point of infinite mass and infinite heat suddenly explodes creating the universe. Was there a consciences formed prior to the bang which pushed over the edge? No one can answer that question, yet, but to me that just seem to be the human tendency to use itself as the yard stick it measures everything by, therefore there had to be some thought to the process. So, are we picking up some memory from the atoms in our bodies or is “science” just trying to prove an old idea?

Ok, that last bit is ridiculous, but it does kind of explain the lack of logic behind intelligent design. People want to see SOMETHING there, being unable to measure by anything other than the human yard stick, therefore it is there. Besides, personally, I lean toward the steady state theory of the universe, but that would be a major digression.

Of course my biggest complaint is: Regardless of the originating culture, the gods are always way too human. Why would a god, any god even the God, care if a certain faction wins a fight, or has enough to eat? Humans care about these things, so their gods must, therefore the gods, any god or even the God, could only possible focus on us, right? Am I the only one that sees religion and the gods as just too small to be taken too seriously? But I am digressing again.

But then again, all my thought on this would be a digression of one sort or another. None the less it is a lot of fun going back a re-visiting some old myths and read one I had not seen before, and it does seem to give me a lot to think about.

'The Children of HÚRIN' by J.R.R. Tolkien.

'The Children of Húrin' By J.R.R. Tolkien.

If you have read the Silmarillion then you already know the broad outlines of the life of Túrin, Húrin's son because it was completely laid out in there. But for those who don't know:

Túrin (TOO-rin) was a small child when his father, Húrin the Lord of the men of Dor-lómin of the House Hador Goldenhead, was captured during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. After fight a desperate rear-guard action to cover the retreat of King Turgon of Gondolin (where Sting and Gandalf's sword came from), Húrin was the last man alive from the Dor-lómin contingent and was finally brought down alive and carried to Angband, the home of Morgoth. There Húrin defined the will of Morgoth who desired to know the location of the hidden Kingdom of Gondolin so that in his malice against all the Noldor he could finally crush them. (It may have helped that he did not know the way there even though he had been there before.) Morgoth sat Húrin in a stone chair on a high place of Thangorodrim, the mountains above Angband, of where Morgoth set his power upon him so that he could not die, and he could see and hear with Morgoth's eyes and ears upon the lives of those Húrin sought to save. In this way Morgoth tortured both Túrin and Húrin.

Túrin's mother, Morwen, fearful of her son's early death, or worst, life as a thrall to the Easterling men who controlled Dor-lómin after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, send Túrin to live with the Fair Folk in the land of Doriath the Kingdom of Thingol. Morwen herself could not go because she was pregnant and fearful to travel in the winter in her condition. Thingol accepted the boy as foster son, a status rarely given to the sons of Men, where in time Túrin, under the guidance of Beleg Stongbow, became a great warrior fighting on the northern borders of Thingol's kingdom and as these stories always go, someone jealous of Túrin's status provoked Túrin into causing his death.

Fearing the Doom of Thingol because the Elf that died was an advisor to Thingol and elven bias, Túrin fled Doriath. When the Doom of Thingol came, Túrin was cleared and Beleg Stongbow was sent forth with the sword Auglachel to tell Túrin that he could return to Doriath. Meanwhile Túrin had fallen in with outlaws and in time killed their leader and in doing so became their leader. Beleg Stongbow finds the band at a time when Túrin was away scouting an orc force which had taken a number of Woodsmen and, more importantly to outlaws, much plunder but Túrin was discovered and spent many days fleeing orcs so as to save his band.

Meanwhile, the band held Beleg captive without food or drink until Túrin's. Túrin released his and healed friend but was not overjoyed at the news of Thingol's pardon because he had found another way to fight the forces of Morgoth and that was his only passion. Beleg returned to Thingol report on Túrin's reply but promised to return to him so they could continue the fight together.

The following winter, Beleg returns to find Túrin had built up his following until he presented a threat to the forces of Morgoth and Orcs feared to travel in the lands of men, but Morgoth sent spies, and learned of where Túrin's hideout was and sent a strong force against it where the outlaws died, Beleg was wounded and Túrin taken. (I am skipping a lot here.)

Once capable of travel, Beleg followed the orcs. In the land once know as Dorrthonion when peopled by men and elves, Beleg meets Gwindor, son of Guilin an elf who escaped Angband where he and many others have been serving as a slave in the mines of Morgoth since Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Gwindor reluctantly helps Beleg save Túrin from his captivity but Túrin upon awaking after much abuse from the Orcs jumps up and finding his hands free, attacks takes the sword Auglachel from Beleg and slays Beleg Strongbow.

'Thus ended Beleg Strongbow, truest of friends, greatest in skill of all that harbored in the woods of Beleriand in the Elder Days, at the hands of him whom he most loved; and that grief was graven on the face of Túrin and never faded.'

In the shadow of grief, Túrin travels with Gwindor for many days before speaking and from Gwindor for the first time since his father joined the elves in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, Túrin gets the news that his father lives as Morgoth's captive and that a curse has been laid upon him and all his kin.

Túrin went with Gwindor back to his home in Nargothrond far to the south. There Auglachel was forged anew and came to be called Gurthang. Túrin won favor with Orodreth son of Finarfin who fell in Battle of Unnumbered Tears, King of Nargothrond and through this he was influence the elves to attack the minions of Morgoth further and further from their home. Then Morgoth sent a large force of Orcs against Nargothrond with Glaurung the Father of Dragons at their head. The forces of Nargothrond was crushed in the field, the king Orodreth was slain, but Túrin managed to rally some troops in retreat to return to Nargothrond to protect those still there, but he was too late. Glaurung was already at the gates and Orcs were sacking the city and there Túrin met Glaurung.

Túrin stood before Glaurung and look him in the eye and Glaurung used the power given to him by Morgoth to take reason from Túrin and sent him running nearly mindless through the wild, and Glaurung then proceeded to clam Nargothrond and its deep cave as his own.

Túrin traveled with the power of Glaurung ruling his mind forgetting his duty to the elves of Nargothrond until he arrived in Dor-lómin, his homeland in search for his mother, and found that Morwen had traveled to Doriath the previous year. Only then did he see that Glaurung fooled him into abandoning the elves and the duties he had there.

After a time of wandering he came to the land of Brethil where another branch of men of the house of Hador ruled lead by Brandir the Lame. There, once again, Túrin built a force which stuck fear into the hearts of all the foul creature of Morgoth, but here the story takes a different turn for Morwen, knowing her son was in Nargothrond and knowing the Glaurung had attacked Nargothrond but not know the fate of her son left the safety of Doriath with her daughter Niënor and an escort of 30 elves to find what she could of her son. There Glaurung destroyed what he could of the elves and in a much greater fashion stole the mind of Niënor so that she had no memory of how she was and could not even speak, and of course Túrin found her naked in the woods.
Of course they fall in love and marry and she is pregnant with her brother's child when Glaurung attacks the men of Brethil, but Túrin meets and wounds Glaurung to the death, but before he dies Niënor ventured forth and Glaurung lifted the shadow from her mind and she realizes what had become of her. She dives into the river and kills herself. Túrin, on recovering from the poison caused by the blood of the dragon, kills Brandir who gave him the news of his sister/wife's identity and death, and then in shame falls on his own sword, Gurthang.

Morgoth, his design complete, releases Húrin to wonder alone in the lands of Men and Elves.

A map of Túrin's travels (roughly)

Blue = Dor-lómin to Doriath
Yellow = from Doriath and travels with the outlaws.
Black = travel while Orc captive.
Green = return with Gwindor.
Blue = Mindless travel
Brown = the site of Glaurung's Niënor's and Túrin's death.

'Antony and Cleopatra' by Colleen McCullough.

This book is a continuation of her Masters of Rome Series which consist of: The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women, and October Horse (which got re-titled, Caesar: A Novel in paper back for some reason) and in which she stated that she was not going to continue the series. This would just another example of authors lying to me.

But the story is one that has retold many, many times, usually badly, but told over and over none the less (a quick search on Amazon produced 611 results, and 1.08 million on Goggle) and I have also read a few version of this story, some fictional some factual, and they also seem to over or under do the death scene.

The thing with this book, McCullough deals with the whole picture, not just what was happening between Antony and Cleopatra.

The characters:

McCullough's Octavius, Imperator Triumvirate Divus Filius (son of a god), is motivated by his own concern for his dignity and love of the city of Rome, and for that love he is willing to do anything to insure his unquestioned power in Rome. Octavius is the true mover of events in his cold calculating way to insure the Glory of Rome. For example: He married his first wife, Antony's step-daughter, to keep the peace after the battle of Philippi but returned her virgo intacta (a virgin) not only because the mother, Fulvia, fermented a rebellion in Italy but because he saw her mother as a strumpet and he could not risk his dignity that the daughter would not be the same. He married his second wife, a sister in-law of Sextius Pomponius in hopes for getting Wheat prices lower in Rome. Sextius Pomponius, the son of Pompey the Great, was stealing Rome's wheat and selling it back at a greatly inflated price. Octavius did get her with child, but dumped her quick enough when Sextius did not mend his ways.

I have seen Cleopatra written as a week weepy woman, or a slightly psychotic Tyrant, who eventually was destroyed by the might of Rome and Octavius's malignant will, but McCullough's Cleopatra, Queen of Alexandra and Pharaoh of Egypt, could be called a manipulative bitch, but was really just a autocratic ruler of a nation which had no hope of standing against the military might of Rome. She was given access to one of the most powerful men of the time and took advantage of it in order to provide a kingdom for her son Caesarean. The only real mistake of Cleopatra's was not understanding the nature of Roman Politics which would allow her to rule a distant land and affect Roman Politics through Antony, but, only because she was a woman, she could never have any power in her own right within the Roman system. (Funny that, there does seem to be a lot of privately 'whupped' but publicly powerful men in late Roman Republic, Pompey the Great being one of them.) She thought she could rule from Rome and fall short of the mark.

McCullough's Antony, Imperator Triumvirate, is not a doer. He has to be prodded to do anything. He is capable, just unmotivated. For a time, Cleopatra controlled him by allowing a wild hedonistic life in Alexandra, but then he left and got a Roman wife and was fine until his fail expedition in to Parthian when he sank into despair. Then Cleopatra controlled him by letting him drink himself stupid ALL the time. Once Antony recovered himself and launched a successful campaign against Parthian allies which would have allowed him to Triumph in Rome, Cleopatra tricked him into not only giving the plunder to her and Egypt but to Triumph there also which, to the way Romans saw the world, was a great big no-no.

Cleopatra's manipulation of Antony to get him to do things her way which to the Roman mind was absolutely abhorrent, allowed Octavius to discredit Antony in Rome and launch his campaign against Egypt and secure the Empire for himself, and only at that point did he become the Augustus Caesar we hear about all too often. And that is the beauty of this book, she not only tells the tale of Antony and Cleopatra, but she also tells the tale of the Roman world at that time which is so often missing in historical fiction.

Currently reading : Julius Caesar By Philip Freeman

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Novels of Deverry and the Westlands Series: By Katharina Kerr.
Category: Writing and Poetry

Introduction to the novels of Deverry and the Westlands Series: By Katharina Kerr.

The fictional Devetii Tribe migrated from northern Gaul to escape the conquering Romans (Rhwmanes) and after many years at sea, find the land Annwn (Welsh for on where) where they settled (displacing the inhabitants in the process) and began to build their Celtic kingdom.

There are currently 14 books in the series which starts with Daggerspell. The series is the tale of one group of souls over many lives and how their fates (Wyrd) are entwined over multiple incarnations.

The author swears she had a destination in mind when she started writing this series but it is only taking her longer to get there than originally planned. Since I have been reading this series for nearly 20 years, I have this say to the author "Write faster!"

The Series list as it currently stands;

Act one:

Daggerspell (1986)
Darkspell (1987)
The Bristling Wood (1989)
The Dragon Revenant (1990)

Act two: The Westlands

A Time of Exile (1991)
A Time of Omens (1992)
Days of Blood and Fire (1993)
Days of Air and Darkness (1994)

Act three: The Dragon Mage

The Red Wyvern (1997)
The Black Raven (1998)
The Fire Dragon (2000)

Act four: The Silver Wyrm

The Gold Falcon (2006)
The Spirit Stone (2007)
The Shadow Isle (expected 2008)

I found this, the first book of a very long series, back in the early '90 while in college. It was a nice bit of light reading to offset the text books at the time. I was heavily into AD&D at the time too, and I liked the way she lays the situation out, even if it becomes little confusing at times. She keeps it concise which means a lot of commas to setup descriptive phases after any name in a sentence.

"Daggerspell" By Katharine Kerr.

The main storyline follows the life of Jill, her father Cullyn a "silver dagger" or mercenary and a shamed man fighting for coin instead of honor, Seryan who is Jill's dead mother and was why Cullyn shamed himself, the young Lord Rhodry Maelwaedd of Aberwyn, his mother Lovyan a ruling lord in her own right, and the powerful dweomerman, Nevyn (sounds like 'no one'.)

Nevyn is now over 400 years old but when he was a young man in 643, he was known as Prince Galrion the third son of four of the High King and who was never likely to become king and found in himself a great desire to study the Dweomer but he was betrothed to Brangwen (Jill) the only daughter of the Falcon Clan prior to finding this desire for the dweomer which was not an accident of fate. Although Galrion loved Brangwen, he was concerned that having a wife and children to support would slow his study of dweomer like any properly self centered prince should, but his fate, or Wyrd, was actually to bring Brangwen to the dweomer because she was his match, an almost literal soul mate, in the dweomer.

Of course, he screws the pooch by pissing off his father, the king, who did not want his son dealing in magic, so Galrion became a prisoner in Dun Deverry were he could marry his Brangwen, but would never be able to leave or complete his studies. So, he escaped.

His father was pissed at his escape, and was able to catch Galrion because the idiot ran straight to Brangwen, and in the confrontation, was named Nevyn and striped of his rank and made an exile, but he would have still had his betrothal to Brangwen because she was will to follow him, but her brother, Gerraent (Cullyn) interfered and got the king to renounce the betrothal.

The problem is why he really wanted to keep his sister at home. Gerraent who was betrothed to Ysolla (Seryan) desired Brangwen his very own sister for himself, and after betrothing Brangwen to Blaen (Rhodry) of the Boar also Ysolla brother, he acted on his unnatural lust. Again and again! Although I must say, I never really understood why Brangwen willing to bed with her brother, but she did.

They screwed their way through the summer and when Blean hearing the rumors he came to the Falcon dun confronted Gerraent and was killed for his efforts. To Gerraent's credit, he not only allowed, nearly forced, Brangwen to leave with Galrion who had been watching the dun in the hopes of stealing her away (he did know her brother knocked her up, but not that his Wyrd was to bring her to the dweomer and was willing to take her anyway) Gerraent also allowed Blean's brother to remove his head without more than a token resistant. 

BTW, Rhodda (Lovyan) is Blean/Rhodry mother in both time lines.

Brangwen sensed her brother's death and promptly committed suicide at the first opportunely which means Galrion once again screw the pooch, because he was unable to bring Brangwen to the dweomer so his Wyrd in this life would be unfulfilled. 

However, he rashly proclaimed a vow over her grave never to rest until he put things right. A vow which the Lords of Wyrd accepted and that is why in the main story line, he is over 400 years old.

There is another story line in this book which happens in 696 where Lyssa (Jill) is married to a Bard Gweran (Rhodry) and when a young rider Tanyc (Cullyn) spends too much time flirting with Cadda (Seryan) but of course he was not interested in her at all. Tanyc's desire for Lyssa was easily seen by Gweran who provoked Tanyc until he drew his sword on Gweran in the lord's hall which is not done. Tanyc was hung for it.

Nevyn was unable to attract Lyssa to the dweomer in this life, but one of her children Aderyn became Nevyn's apprentice. Aderyn was the soul whose life never started when Brangwen killed herself. By bring Aderyn to the dweomer, Nevyn unknowingly, takes his first true step of correcting his original mistakes.

Now, in 1062 Cullyn, a very jealous father who often worries that he may love his daughter too much is hired to guard a caravan which ended up going far to the west to trade with the Westfolk.

The Westfolk are the nomadic remnants of a fallen civilization that are now just a long lived, pointy eared and cat slit eyed people that can interbreed with men, and breed excellent horses which is what brought the caravan into contact with them. The People, as they call themselves, wander around the land west of Eldidd. Aderyn (Yes, the same, and he is very old now) and three of the Westfolk return with the caravan to tend some personal business which involved a murderer, who, by improper use of the dweomer, was stirring up a rebellion against the Tieryn, a middle ranking noble similar to an Earl. Of course the Tieryn in question is Lovyan.

After many interesting events which I am skipping, Cullyn is hired by Rhodry, who is the warleader for his mother, to help him put down this rebellion which was really only started to kill Rhodry since, as warleader, he would have to fight the battle because his mother could not. For some reason the Dark Dweomer wanted Rhodry dead (Yes, I know why, but I ain't saying) and in the course of fighting the rebellion Cullyn and Rhodry saved each others life, and of course, bonded.

Cullyn was badly injured in the last engagement of the rebellion and Rhodry accepted Cullyn into his warband as Captain. So the long road ended for Cullyn and he once again fought for honor instead of coin. However, Rhodry, after being provoked his brother, the Gwerbret, similar to a Duke, started to draw his sword on his brother and since he would not apologizes to him; Rhodry was exiled and took up Cullyn's silver dagger. Jill and Rhodry were already lovers, so she soon joined him on the long road which was the only life she knew, and she was more than happy to get back to it.

The thing is, after 400 year Cullyn (Gerraent) was finally able to let Jill (Brangwen) go. Of course, the beauty of it was the way the circle was drawn which is a bit mucked up by my purposely overly complicated and confusing description of what happened. Read the book, it's good.

"Darkspell" By Katharine Kerr.

Once again we join Jill and Rhodry on the long road, where Rhodry's dishonor eats at him which makes him generally depressed and a bit of a pain in the ass.

In 773, Gweniver (Jill) the oldest living child of the Wolf clan pledges her life to the priestess hood of the Goddess of the Moon. Not only that but she becomes a moon-swore warrior, serving the Dark face of the Goddess as a fighting priestess. She is fighting in the civil war which had torn the kingdom apart for the past 20 plus years. When Gweniver rode off to war, she left her mother Dolyan (Lovyan) and her sister Macla (Seryan) behind under the protection of the priestesses of the Moon Goddess.

Joining her Ricyn (Rhodry) who was one of the riders in the Wolf clan's warband, and once they joined their King, Glyn of Cerrmor, they found Dannyn (Cullyn) the king's bastard brother and Captain of his guard. Nevyn was at court also, as a simple herbman but he was once again unable to bring Gweniver to the dweomer because she was mad with her worship of her Dark Goddess.

Dannyn, driven by his lust for Gweniver, attempted to rape her (not her fault, but not ALL his fault either. He was provoked somewhat) and was banished which was a dishonor he could not take, and killed himself. Once again, Gerraent (Dannyn) was unable to untie that knot of lust and died because of it.

Nevyn, after taking a sabbatical of self pity because of failing once again, return and became the King's chief counselor until his death. Gweniver and Ricyn died fighting together against overwhelming odds a little after his return.

Meanwhile in 1063, Jill finds an object in the woods, again no accident, which was stolen from the High King by the ensorcelled Lord Camdel Master of the King's Bath. The Dark Dwoemer is in play again and they, the master Alastyn and the apprentice Sarcyn, are looking to steal the Great Stone of the West which is a shape shifting dweomer-opal that has a direct link to the mind of the king.

Nevyn is able to destroy the soul of Alastyn and turns Sarcyn away from the dark and towards the light before he is in hung, and Jill begins to realize her life is going to be haunted by the dweomer and is beginning to lean towards the study of it. If it wasn't for all the shagging with Rhodry, she was ready to ride off with him.

Really the whole story line is a setup and not really all that important to the larger scheme of things.

As a side note: A new character is introduced, Salamander who is a gerthddyn which is a storyteller but not a Bard. He is Dweomer and, probably the most interesting thing about him; he is Rhodry's half-elf half brother, O' did I mention the Rhodry is half-a-elf? Well, it appears that Lovyan hooked up with one of the Westfolk to get her last son. Devaberiel is a Bard of he Westfolk and has a perchance to bed "round ear" woman.

The story of the Westfolk does get expanded a little more, but the only addition to the larger story is that over 200 years ago, a mysterious stranger rode into camp one day and gave Devaberiel a ring that was to go to one of his three sons, and that son is Rhodry.

So, Devaberiel recalls Salamander to deliver the ring to his brother Rhodry, but that is not until the next book…The Bristling Wood

"The Bristling Wood" By Katharine Kerr.

This one starts with Salamander being amazed that his father, Devaberiel, did not spend the winter berating him for being a slacker which he is which is really surprising for a 70 something year old man, but then again the father is well over 300.

Also, we find out how, about a thousand years ago, the Horsekin, called that because the People had never seen horses before, arrived in the Kingdom of the Seven Cities and how one city at a time it was destroyed. She tells it much better than I can, but I only mention for the reference to Horsekin because the will be back later.  

Back in time, 833-845, The Civil War is still going on and we now get the story Maddyn (Rhodry) who is wounded during a battle which killed his lord which makes him a shamed man for surviving the battle but he was dieing until he was found by Nevyn who recognizes Ricyn/Blean and nurses him back to health. After a long winter of recuperation, and getting a local girl pregnant, Maddyn rides west to get away from his shame because otherwise he would be hanged for surviving the battle which took his lord's life.

On the road, he meets Aethan who had recently been flogged and exiled for bedding his lord's sister. Aethan, because of his flogging and shame, has many dark dangerous moods from a man which known for his easy manner and jests before. He is known as Gwin, an assassin and victim of the Dark Dweomer in the current time line; Just an example of how Wyrd affect the next life.

Also another character in introduced in the past, Caradoc, who in the current timeline is Blean, Rhodry's cousin and a Gwerbret of a far eastern providence. Caradoc was also King Glyn of Cerrmor, but in 833 he was a leader of a warband of shamed men who became the silver daggers.

Maddyn and Aethan finds Caradoc and join the band and after a few years of fighting in the south where the Owaen (Cullyn) joined the ban after getting teased for sleeping with one of the silver dagger's women then the band moved north and becomes the personal guard of Maryn who Nevyn had been teaching for a number of year because he had decided to make High King to end the civil war that had been unresolved for over 60 years. The story ends shortly after the introduction of Branoic who is Jill in a man's body who followed the silver daggers to the north to join. The story continues later, about 2 books later…

In the current time line: Jill is ensorcelled by a certain landless lord Perryn and kidnapped and led into the woods away from civilized life. What Perryn was doing was pouring his life force into her subverting her will and replacing it with his own. He thought he was with the woman he loved and that she loved him too, but he was really raping her and killing himself in the process.

Rhodry who was riding out to meet the King's herald while Perryn was stealing his woman, was in a rage once he found out what happen, but was made to swear an oath now to kill Perryn, beat him sure, but not to death.

Salamander, on his way to deliver the ring to his brother, was aware of the situation because he was able to scry Jill and see what was happening to her so he eventually was able rescue Jill and break the link Perryn had forged with Jill. Meanwhile, Rhodry was being mislead as to where Jill was and where she was going by a couple of operatives of the dark dweomer who wanted to kidnap Rhodry.

Salamander and Jill follow Rhodry as best they could, but he went missing to scrying when the dark dweomer agents grabbed him with purpose of lure Nevyn to the Bardekian Archipelago so that his enemies could kill him. To make things interesting, they also killed Rhodry's brother Rhys the Gwerbret of Aberwyn and since he died without an heir which made Rhodry the Gwerbret of Aberwyn.

Which bring us to the next book…

"The Dragon Revenant" By Katharine Kerr.

This is the first book with no past lives. In short, you get Jill and Salamander running around the Bardek islands looking for Rhodry who was sold into slavery after having his memory destroyed by dark dweomer. They find and get Rhodry freed, Nevyn shows up, they kill the bad guys, fix Rhodry and go home.

It was a good story and I loved following the plot line, but it seems the point to the whole book was to get Rhodry's silver dagger left on the islands just so it can come back to him 30 years later, but that would be the next book…

"A Time of Exile" By Katharine Kerr.

Rhodry has been the Gwerbret of Aberwyn for 30 years, and still appears to be a lad of 25, thanks to his elfin blood, when a Bardekian merchant appears wearing Rhodry's silver dagger. The same night, Jill appears at his gate with the news that Nevyn is dead and tells him it is time for him to 'die' too, and allow Aberwyn to pass to his son.

So, they fake his death, and he rides off into the west to meet his elven father for the first time in his life.

Then we go to 718, at the time Aderyn (see Daggerspell) has completed his training in the dweomer and performs a working to discover his Wyrd which told him to go west. So, go west he did and met the Westfolk, or the People as they call themselves. He begins wondering the grass lands with an alar, a group of elves who decide to travel together of an indefinite period in their migrations of the grasslands, and help them, as a healer, fight a little war against the "Round-ears" which the Elves and their longbows won easily.
 
And the story continues from 719 to 918 and not only does he join the People and becomes a respected leader but more importantly he meets Dallandra who, after a time, he marries (The wedding consisted of him moving his gear into her tent) and who was also had the dweomer. Since the Westfolk are the remnants of a destroyed civilization, their lore in the magical arts was mostly lost, so Aderyn began teaching the Westfolk the lore better known in the east.

But of course things could not be that simple, Dallandra had taken to talking the Evandar with hair the yellow of daffodils, lips as red as sour cherries, and eyes turquoise-blue who was one of a race known as the Guardians and because so little was known about them she felt she had to talk to him. They, Dallandra, Aderyn and Nevyn, reasoned that the Guardians must be souls who had gotten lost on there way to being born and became powerful beings trapped in the Inner Spheres who would in time, fade away. Dallandra took it into her head that she should guild them to cross over to the world of the living, become a cosmic midwife of sorts. Since Evandar was constantly after her to visit his world, she figured she could go there few a few days to see if she could make to happen.

To Dallandra, she was there for seven wondrous days, but in the physical world, a little under 200 years past. During that time Nevyn was able to seat the High King, and Nevyn decided to go to Bardekian Archipelago with Maddyn (Rhodry) after the Civil Wars. Aderyn was granted a life long enough to see Dallandra again by Evandar, and trained a number of elves in the dweomer to begin building a network of dweomer masters among the Westfolk much as it is in the east, when Dallandra returned. She returned because she figured out Evandar's trick of not telling her the time flowed differently and she was pregnant. The child was Aderyn's and he was happy enough for the child, but he felt Dallandra pitied him because even though he now had an elven life span, he did not retain the elven youthful appearance. Through Pride and the lack of having Nevyn to talk to, Aderyn pushed Dallandra anyway and she eventually returned to Evandar's country.

In 918, Nevyn returns from Bardek after some 60 years of studying the dweomer. He arrived just in time for Eldidd to rebel against the High King in Dun Deverry and to once again crown a king in Eldidd. Long story short, the rebellion resulted in the death of the rebels and the first Maelwaedd to become Gwerbret of Aberwyn. Rhodry was there in the body of a young silver dagger named Maer who lived through the rebellion to die in the Westlands through a strange accident. Cullyn was a rebel lord Danry who dies after the fighting at the hands of Leomyr (Gwin from "The Dragon Revenant" which I did not go into much) because he was going to betray the rebel cause.

And finally, back to the current time line where Rhodry finds life after holding the reins of power for so many years, very nice. He even forgets his name from time to time, but of course this part of the story is meant to tie up Maer's story. Throughout Maddyn's and Maer's story there is a blue sprite, one of the Wildfolks who most people cannot see and who fell in love with him. Through some improper tapering of a young Guardian, the sprite was transformed a life size, Wildfolk are about 6-8 inches tall (I think), creature that sucked the life out of men, a Celtic succubus. Jill and Aderyn with the help of the Lord of the Wildlands, a fully conscience creature where the Wildfolk are not truly conscience, captured the sprite which will be healed. And finally after a period of recovery, Rhodry met is father.

Remember the ring Salamander carried to Rhodry? It was made of dwarven silver (I think 'dwarven silver' is magically created stainless steel) with Roses on it. Well, as it turns out, the reason the Guardians had the ring to give to Rhodry was that they got Aderyn to get it from Maddyn who received as a gift from the Queen which is not a story told in this book…

"A Time of Omens" By Katharine Kerr.

This book starts with Jill planning her own trip to Bardek in a effort to find another group of people who fled the Great Burning of the elven cities by going south, but in her research she fines references to the Civil War and there starts a flashback to her past life during that time.

In 843, Maryn the prince marked by Nevyn to become High King of all of Deverry and Eldidd becomes King in Cerrmor with the death of King Glyn II who died without a male heir. However to clam that crown, he must get himself from the far northwestern kingdom of Pyrdon through the territory of two hostile kingdoms to get to Cerrmory lands on the southern coast. They pull this off by disguising Maryn as a member of troop of silver daggers who had become his personal guard.

There was a battle on the way south where the attacking force mistaken Branoic (Jill in a male body) for the marked prince and tried to kill him, and since Branoic was suppose to be watching over the prince within the troop, Maryn spend his first battle defending Branoic. Four silver daggers were killed in the fight one of which was Aethan (Gwin), a death which Maddyn (Rhodry) took very badly.

Shortly after the battle, they made it in Cerrmor where Maryn married Bellyra, Glyn II oldest living child, and clamed the crown of Cerrmor.

At that point, Jill returns from her flashback to 1096 and realizes that there was someone she should take to Bardek with her.

With Salamander in tow, Jill travels around the islands looking for some clue if there is still or ever was a lost tribe of the Westfolk. Salamander once again plays the magical street performer while going from town to town and island to island while Jill looks for rare books which might point her on her way. Of course with Salamander, it was not that simple because he found Marka who was Alaena in the Dragon Revenant, a rich Bardekian widow who was given the slave Rhodry as a courting gift and who in turn gifted Rhodry to Salamander when he came looking for him. In the Dragon Revenant, Salamander, instead of leaving the islands with Jill and Rhodry, stays and called upon Alaena and became her lover until she died by a fever.

Now in finding Alaena's soul reborn in Marka, there was nothing Jill could do to stop him from marrying her and in the course of courting Marka, Salamander became the leader of a troupe of street performers which eventually forced Jill to go her own way.

Meanwhile Dallandra was aware of Jill's quest, and she asked Evandar if they existed and for his own curiosity went to find out and found that they did exist and had built another city on islands far to the south, and through the magic of Evandar's lands, Dallandra transports Jill there and after a long period of study (they still had a university, of sorts, there) brought her to Deverry. Of course with the time flow differences in travel, suddenly it is 1112.

Rhodry had been enjoying quite years wondering the plains when Alshandra, Evandar's ex-'wife' (the whole marriage/family thing is a bit confused here) appears demanding that ring of Rhodry's. You see, Dallandra succeed in getting one of the Guardians, Elessario, in crossing over. Alshandra now blamed Dallandra, Evandar, and any one near them for the loss of her child and she know Evandar enchanted the ring for a reason. So, Rhodry returned to the lands of men and life as a silver dagger to be where Alshandra would not follow.

Of course, Evandar has been keeping busy himself, not only finding the southern elves but accidentally give Rhodry a bone whistle (much, much later found to be a dragon bone whistle) which makes Rhodry again the target of Alshandra. Alshandra had been styling herself a goddess to the horsekin, men, dwarves and recruited beings from both the Dark and Bright Courts of Evandar's lands. She sent one of her followers from the Dark Court, a badger headed fellow, to get the whistle which did not work out for him because Evandar had gotten a weapon from his brother, a Vulpine looking follow name as yet unknown and the leader of the Dark Court, which Dallandra later gave to Rhodry which he used to kill the badger headed fellow.

Now in 1116, Rhodry has been riding the long road with Yraen (Maryn), the third son of the current High King who became a silver dagger for no reason but because he wanted too, and Elessario is safely in the womb of Carra (Bellyra) who was knocked up by a prince of the Westfolk, Daralanteriel. Carra conveniently stopped at the inn where Rhodry and Yraen were staying. They were escorting Otho, a dwarf and the silver dagger's smith, and since Rhodry knew the father and they were all heading the same way, he volunteered their services to get her to Dar who was in Cengran. It was a very good thing too, because Alshandra is convinced that she must kill her in order to get Elessario back.

With Jill's help, they make to Cengran, the northern most human city of any size that appears to have more than a few dwarves living in it, but a long the way they found evidence of a raiding party which was killing the all pregnant woman it found. After informing the local Gwerbret and again with Jill's help, they find and destroy the raiders, the leader of which was a Gel da'Thae or horsekin (remember the mention from book 2?) but that is where the next book picks up...

"Days of Blood and Fire" By Katharine Kerr.

This one starts out in the spring of the year 1116, with no past lives, just when the last one ended, but now we are in Cerr Cawnen a place hundreds of mile west and north of Cengran where there is a young boy Jahdo, the rat catchers son, who stumbles his way into escorting Meer, a Gel da'Thae (Horsekin) Bard, who was searching for his brother in the east. Meer needed a companion because he was blind since the Gel da'Thae scoop out the eyes of those children selected to be Bards just as they cut off the middle 2 fingers of those selected to be warriors to insure they would not be able to do any other craft.

Jahdo and Meer traveled to the western border of where they are promptly captured by Rhodry and Jill. Of course due to the history they know, Jahdo and Meer thought they were capture to become slaves. The people who live in Cerr Cawnen once lived in the lands now called Deverry, and were made bondsmen by Deverrmen when the conquered the lands. For many generations they would escape with the help of the Westfolk to the Rhiddaer where Cerr Cawnen was founded on an island in the middle of a volcanic lake. Cerr Cawnen is a free town without lords but rather with a council of elected speakers and they have peace treaties with the western tribes of the Gel da'Thae. Hence the reason Jahdo, once chosen, had to go.

The Gel da'Thae I think I should explain a little: close to 7 feet tall, their hair line starts in a V at the the point the eye brows meet and runs in a tall spiky mane over the top of their heads and down their backs. They breed horses a full 18 hands tall, and have certain mannerisms which are definitely horse-like. A thousand years ago, when they were driven from there northern homelands by the arrival of the Derevvy invalders, they did destroy the 7 cities of the Westfolk, who they now see as the Children of the Gods and they now see the destruction of the cities as a great and terrible sin of their people. The Gel da'Thae are the western tribes who still live in those cities whereas the Horsekin are more the wild tribes that live to the north. The tribes in the south were all killed by plague shortly after the conquering of the cities.

In 1116, slavery no longer existed in Deverry because during the civil war what few bondsmen that were remaining escaped or set themselves up as freedmen and continued farming. Since the raiding party they had just destroyed was leaded by a Gel da'Thae, they were considered, at worst, spies, but since Meer was a Bard, he was accorded due respect but prisoners they were. Instead of a cell, they got a room in the dun, but they were still prisoners.

But then there is the matter of the ring, and Jill has figured out in her travels that the letters scribed inside the ring is not only a name, but the true name of a dragon; Arzosah Sothy Lorezohaz. Of course, now Rhodry needs to go capture the dragon, I mean really? Did you expect anything else? The ring had gotten as least a mention in every book from book one. In his dragon hunt, Rhodry's adventures include: lots of walking which something new for a man who has ridden all his life, visiting dwarven city, Lin Serr, receiving a talisman to hide him from dweomer and a new name Rori, visiting dwarven city and there finding and losing a new love in life, and O' yeah, capturing a dragon and riding her.

Meanwhile, Jill tries to talk to Meer about the lore of his people and to gain his trust, but he just is not going to easily trust the Slavers of lore, or the people killed his brother, but once the siege started and the only demand made by the besiegers was to hand over Carra, a pregnant woman, he denounced them all as blasphemers and then gives Jill what she wanted.

O' yeah, Dallandra's has been unconscious most of this time in Evandar's country after being captured by Lord Vulpine, Evandar's brother, but she manages to escape and then Evandar after eons was finally able to ring his brother's name from him. So then Shaetano, lost what little control he had over is brother which gives Evandar complete control over both the Dark and Bright courts.

Dallandra returns to the world to help Jill with Carra's baby and the siege as Rhodry is riding his dragon back to Lin Serr to relieve it from a siege of the Horsekin, and Evandar was doing whatever a powerful being with very little conscience do once he has set all his pieces into play…

"Days of Air and Darkness" By Katharine Kerr.

This one does not have any past lives but we do go back to 1063 to Rhodry and Jill's first year on the long road which introduces a new soul. This time it is Rhodry who flashes back when he sees a human sized Raven flying.

It starts out simply enough, after his first hire as a caravan guard they were in a little town Caenmetyn where they were approached by a merchant who was looking to hire a murderer. Silver daggers may be shamed men, but murderer for hire or thieves they are not. So after giving the merchant a verbal shove out of the door, and getting some more information volunteered by one of the thieves in the tavern with them, Jill and Rhodry decide they need to check it out.

The merchant's target, well not really the merchant's target but his lover's, was one Tieryn Dwaen who the year before used the law to have one Lord Beryn's son hanged who after a drunken brawl killed Tieryn Dwaen's father. Although Lord Beryn was none to happy with Dwaen for having his only heir hung, it was his wife, Mallona who was trying to murder Dwaen for it.

Mallona was a dabbler in Dweomer which can be dangerous and with her child dead; she was using her undereducated dweomer and her extensive knowledge of poisons. Well, long story short, they run all over the countryside, accidentally forced Tieryn Dwaen into marriage, and Rhodry ended up putting his silver dagger into Mallona's back which settles the matter.

Now, back in 1116, Mallona's soul has been reborn into Raena's body and she is Alshandra's High Priestess to the Horsekin and the Horsekin had laid siege to Cengarn in the hopes of killing Carra and her baby. There is one attack on the city before the relieving force arrives in which Meer is killed. Meer went down to the walls and began to curse the Horsekin which was working wonderfully the Horsekin and their slave army stopped before the walls unwilling to be cursed by a Bard, but Lord Tren, the brother of a man Rhodry killed, under Raena's direction, put two arrows into the bard's chest. Jill took Jahdo, Meer's aid, into her service.

In the south, an army of about Deverry 1200 horsemen was preparing to head north to relive the siege, but they knew they would be out numbered and so hesitated in moving. Once they finally started moving, they picked up other allies. First another 500 horsemen, then, a force of 700 dwarven axmen from Lin Serr, then Rhodry with his dragon and another 500 archers of the Westfolk who were all gathered together by Evandar.

Evandar had been spending most of his time in a fruitless search for Alshandra, but she was spending all her time avoiding him. So he gave it up as a bad job and brought the armies together, laid a spell over all the horses so that they would not be frightened of the dragon, and with that little spell, insured the victory of the reliving army over the Horskin which also set the trap where Jill fought and destroyed Alshandra, but was killed herself as a result of the fight. Raena escaped back to Jahdo hometown, Cerr Cawnen, which is where the next book picks up…

"The Red Wyvern" By Katharine Kerr.

With this book I do not remember anything that happens from here on, it will be like reading them for the first time all over again.

With this book the story changes, well it had been changing, but now it makes a more dramatic departure. The story that started, in 1060, with Jill, Rhodry, Cullen, and Nevyn, now, in the year 1117, everyone is dead except Rhodry, thanks to his half-elven blood. Now the story is centering on Evandar's scheming, Rhodry, Dallandra, Jahdo, Kyle and Niffa who are Jahdo's older brother and sister, Dera Niffa's and Jahdo's mother, Verrarc a junior councilman of Cerr Cawnen and Raena, Verrarc's lover.

This books starts in Lock Ness, yes our Lock Ness, but it is only a part of a scheme Evandar has which has ultimate goal of rebuilding one of the elven cities, then it was off the Dallandra bitching about living surrounded by human stink, and then off the Cerr Cawnen where Niffa is preparing to be married to her man, Demet.

But then most events in this book most take place in the year 849 with Prince Maryn finally riding against the Boar in Dun Deverry. Burcan (Verrarc) of the Boar is regent for King Olaen (Jahdo) who is a 5 year old boy. Burcan's sister, Merodda (Raena), is once again dabbling in dweomer by forcing her (their) daughter, Lillorigga (Niffa), to scry omens for her, (which just might be a part of Niffa's issue with Raena) all of which looked grim for the Boar Clan, but the idiot fight it out anyway. Lillorigga was put to fosterage with the Ram clan.

Specifically, Bellyra (Dera) who she loved as her mother, but when Merodda had her politically exiled and then killed, Lillorigga got Bellyra's husband and along with him many of the Boar's allies to turn and join with Prince Maryn.

It was also Lillorigga which gave the Prince a way into the walls of Dun Deverry, and in time allow them to take the Holy City. Burcan was killed a few days prior to the final assault and then King Olaen was poisoned a few days after the dun was taken. All the women of the dun were captured but not molested, and most were later released, except for Merodda. She would have been granted the Prince's pardon but for Maddyn (Rhodry) which force the Prince to hang Merodda which was just another link of Wyrd to pull these two souls together which is being played out in the "current" timeline.

In the current time line, Niffa (Lillorigga) is trying to figure out way she hates Raena (Merodda) so much, but is distracted by getting married but then her husband in killed by Shaetano, Evandar's brother, but Niffa is sure Raena did the killing.

Dallandra is still annoyed about living in the "stone tents" of the Round-ears, but is finding certain compensate sleeping with Rhodry even if neither one of them is in love with the other.

Evandar is annoyed by a winter which invades his lands whenever he leaves them for any time but continues his scheming anyway which gives him a reason to have to lookup Salamander who has gone quite mad through the improper use of the dweomer. Evandar also had a few encounters with the dead Nevyn which I found rather amusing, but does seem to be hinting at something else, or not.

And finally, Rhodry's lady love, Angmar (the one he found and lost while hunting the dragon) birthed twins (one of which contained the soul of her mother) both of which, it appears, will survive which is very odd in dwarven women even if she is a half-breed (Dwarf/Human) herself. Makes me wonder where she is going with introducing a set of characters that will appearently grow up near Lock Ness (O' yeah, that is how Rhodry lost her, the island where she lives "moved" itself away from the Horsekin march nearby) and are a mix of elf, dwarf, and human. But that explanation will have to wait for at least 2 books…

"The Black Raven" By Katharine Kerr.

This book is so painfully a bridge, moving the story only very slightly but filling some gaps across all timelines. I will not get into much. In short, Dallandra still does not like living with human, Rhodry is still a target of Raena's hate so Dallandra protects him with dweomer and meets Niffa in the Gatelands (where we go while sleeping), and after the Civil War part of the story, it is becoming much easier to under stand why Niffa (Lillorigga) hates Raena (Merodda) but the good news there is Niffa is starting to be able to temper her hate with reason.

In advancing his own schemes, Evandar is trying to figure out how to help Salamander in order to get his and Rhodry's father, Devaberiel, to give him lore about the great burning so that he can in turn pass the lore to a scholar with the far southern elves as payment for a map of the Seven Cities prior to the Great Burning. He did manage a trip up North to annoy Arzosah into returning, as promised, to Rhodry which was a cute encounter.

"The Fire Dragon" By Katharine Kerr.

This is the first book since I start re-reading this series that is mostly new to me. I remember starting this one back in 2001 when it was published, but I could not remember what was going on in the background, and since I knew more books would be coming, I put the entire series aside.
 
This book start with going straight to the end Civil War 850, and wraps up the story by killing the Queen Bellyra (Carra) when she committed suicide because Prince Maryn was being a stupid prick while Bellyra was suffering from postpartum depression. And killing Lillorigga (Niffa) who was the Prince's mistress but she finally kicked Maryn out of her bed after Branoic (Jill in a male body) her betrothed was killed in the final battle which secured all Deverry lands. Unfortunately, Lillorigga in defeating a dark dweomer curse directed against the Prince, managed to allow a consumption of the lungs to kill her.

Back in the summer of 1118, Arzosah rejoins Rhodry in Cengarn and with Dallandra proceeds to return Jahdo to Cerr Cawnen with Evandar's help, but upon arriving they find a group of Gel da'Thae (the civilized Horsekin) there to offer a treaty of mutual defense, but then some Horsekin show up, thanks to Raena, to offer a counter treaty. You see, Raena is still trying to kill Carra's child for her goddess even though Alshandra was destroyed, and like many zealots, she is completely mad, but due to her interference, her gave Prince Dar, of the Westfolks, a good reason to enter into an alliance with the Gel da'Thae which could mean big things later on.

But in this story, Rhodry provokes Raena into attacking him, and breaks her neck. However, she did manage to stick her blade between Rhodry's ribs, a wound which would have killed him, but for Evandar. To save Rhodry, Evandar used every bit of his dweomer power to transform Rhodry into a silver dragon which left him stripped of everything but his true form which in turn allowed Aderyn (who died in book 4 I think) to appear and collect him and take him to the place where souls go to be reborn, or in Evandar's case, born in the first place.

"The Gold Falcon" By Katharine Kerr.

Suddenly (after 5 years of sullenly waiting of this book) the year is 1159 which is now the current timeline, Nevyn has been reborn into the body of young Neb (short for Nerrobrantos) who has been orphaned along with his younger brother, Clae (Prince Maryn), when his parents died during a plague and then they were shipped off to their Uncle's farm. Then the Uncle was killed and his wife taken as a slave in a Horsekin raid.

Through luck, the boys survived the initial attack, and avoided the Horsekin warriors by sneaking through the woods, and then ran into Salamander who found himself guiltily enjoying his new found position of greater knowledge over his old master. Salamander got Neb and his little brother to a local Tieryn's dun where Neb found employment as a scribe which is a pretty good promotion from unwanted farm boy to a Tieyn's scribe, and Clae in time became a page to Gerran (Cullyn) to learn the skills needed to join a warband.

The raid that killed Neb's uncle provoked the Tieryn into riding for the border with his warband and the warbands vassals to find two destroyed villages which got Salamander thinking that the Horsekin went to an awful lot of trouble to kill the families which should be a long ways from their lands. There had been other raids by the Horsekin which all happen to any village to the west of the river, but with this line of reasoning they were unable to get the Gwerbret of Cergarn, Ridvar (who was Rhys Rhodry's brother in a past life) who is a head strong 14 year old to send to the king for troops or to raise an army to find the hidden fort Salamander was sure existed.

In the Tieryn's dun between riding to the destroyed villages and visiting the Gwerbret, a niece of his, Branna(Jill), comes to live at the dun because she was the unwanted daughter from her father's first marriage, and found Neb. They immediately took to one another. Branna has very strong memories of being Jill, but Neb, although he can use the dweomer some without thinking about it, has no memories of that prior life. Fun stuff that!

So, Salamander went hunting for the fort, but made a bunch of comments to Neb and Branna which was intended to provoke their memory of being the greatest dweomer masters that ever lived. He did find the fort, still wooden but they were building the stone walls quickly, and just barley escaped with his life. Along the way, he found a lord who was a worshipper of Alshandra. Alshandra who was Evandar's wife, styled herself a goddess and had gain a sizable following that continued to grow after her death into a fanatical bunch of unreasonable faithful. They kind of remind me of Catholics right after Martin Luther, but I digress.

So, Salamander finds a nest of Alshandra worshipers lead by Lord Honelg a vassal of the Gwerbert's and then the fort of Horsekin were building and reports this to Gwerbret Ridvar who is more or less forced to move because Prince Voran (Blaen, Rhodry cousin and Caradoc, the founder of the Silver Daggers) the grandson of the current High King) made him. But first they had to take out the nest for Lord Honelg which they do fairly quickly with the help of the dragons and the elven archers. During this action Gerren distinguish himself in battle and with the Prince's prompting, Gwerbert Ridvar makes him a Lord and he becomes Lord Gerran of the Golden Falcon.

So this books ends with everyone, through their various paths, deciding to muster to the south, in the Tieryn's territory to move and destroy the Horsekin fort.

"The Spirit Stone" By Katharine Kerr.

The Spirit Stone first takes us back in the childhood of Salamander. In the year 983 were a very young Salamander was being shipped off to live with his father because his half elven mother was getting married to a merchant and really just could not be bothered with the child. She was already leaving most of the work of caring for him to her tiny, hair lipped non-elven sister Morwen (Jill).

Nevyn was traveling the kingdom after finally finishing his Dweomer stone for the King. While in Dun Deverry to deliver the stone, he started looking for his last apprentice Lillorigga to see if she had been reborn, but while at Dun Deverry, he gets a little side tracked when meeting Lord Gwairyc who was his old enemy Garraent (Cullyn) reborn, and found him as much an asshole as he ever was, so Nevyn, in a boon granted by the king for the Dweomer stone took the Lord into his service in the hopes of teaching the soul of Garraent a lesson or two.

Nevyn proceeds to make the great Lord Gwairyc perform duties which to him were too lowly to contemplate in his previous life as a Captain of the High King's warband, but he accepts his roll well enough since it was ordered by the king, but his thoughts stay very well self-centered until they traveled to the north with merchant's caravan to Dun Drwloc. Dun Drwloc was the place where Nevyn found and trained Prince Maryn who became the first High King of the current line.

Once in the town near Dun Drwloc, Nevyn meets Morwen and young Salamander and hears the story of Lanmara (Lillorigga) who was Morwen's only friend. They called Morwen a witch, or cursed by the gods due to her hair lip and her friendship with Lanmara (understandable since Branoic (Jill) and Lillorigga were betroth in the life just prior to this one) marked her as a possible cause of her death which was from a consumption of the lungs. Morwen did not have a happy life but most people left her alone because she was Salamander's nursemaid, and she was heartbroken at the prospect of the child leaving her to be with his father's people. Lord Gwairyc did feel pity for the "ugly little thing" Morwen, and began to think of others somewhat.

Devaberiel shows up and with a little encouragement from Nevyn offers Morwen a job as the child's nursemaid which she was more than glad to take and move away from her family and out onto the plains of the Westlands.

Alastyn, killed in book two, reappears as a young man, called Torro, who has an unhealthy taste for young children which was why he was a part of the merchant's caravan. He was fated to go to Barked, but could not leave for a while hence the caravan to keep the locals from killing him. There is also the reappearance of Loddlaen, killed in book one, who was Dallandra's child, but since Dallandra was off in Evandar's lands, his father Aderyn (he died in book 4 I think but comes back later) was raising the child. The problem with Loddlaen was that he was in his mother's womb for 200 years during Dallandra's first trip in Evandar's lands and he seemed rather affected by the experience. He tended to be compulsively selfish, and more than a bit paranoid.

Morwen dies because Loddlaen began teaching her dweomer but did not properly prepare her for her first transference to her body-of-light and she died when her consciousness slammed back into her body to quickly, breaking the soul/body link. Fill with guilt and shame, Loddlaen fled and later traveled to Bardek with Torro and even later, Loddlaen returns from the islands, and steals the Sprite Stone and sets into motion the events which gets him killed in book one. Salamander did find the Sprite Stone many years later in the Horsekin fort.

Which brings us back to the present, in the year 1159, where Branna(Jill) and Neb(Nevyn), now betroth, are humping like bunnies and studying the dweomer books which use to belong to Nevyn and then Jill, and then Dallandra who send them back. Lord Gerran, still as the Tieryn's captain, the Gwerbret and the Prince, with about 1200 rides, 2 dragons and about 1000 dwarves after some very good battles, burn the Horsekin fort to the ground.

But, Salamander, after saving the Sprite Stone along with some other items that Alshandra's worshipers held as their holy of holies from the fort, allowed the a Raven shape changer, or Mazrak, to steal it from him while the Army was on its return home.

Laz Moj, the Raven Mazrak, is a half trained dweomermaster who is Alastyn, who was a master of the dark dweomer, reborn and is a human-Gel da'Thae half breed along with Sidro (Raena) also a half breed who had some Dweomer training when she was Laz's lover and slave, but when she got pregnant and Laz's mother would not allow him to clam her, in Gel da'Thae society the female is dominant, Sidro turned to Alshandra's worship and became a priestess.

Sidro's problems really started with Salamander's escape. Salamander passed himself off as a believer which got him to the fort but Alshandra's worshipers see the Westfolk as Vandar's Spawn and evil in every way. Sidro exposed his duplicity but Salamander escaped and made it look like a miracle form Alshandra, who is not believed to be dead (which she is) but just hiding because the failure of her followers. So, defrocked of her high status, Sidro was turned out of the fort to do penance as a traveling priestess where, since he had been watching her and many other things, Laz finds her and manages to return her to reason. Laz himself is a refugee because Alshandra Horsekin worshippers have taken the Gel da'Thae cities and are killing anyone with a hint of dweomer or scholarly learning and anyone else that might opposed them.

Laz, in his travels after being exiled and before returning to the western borders of Deverry, found another stone very like the stone which Salamander reclaimed from the Horsekin fort and so he mugged Salamander when he walked to far away from the returning army's camp, and then he touched the stones together and disappears, which given the author's style, is setting up a chain of events which I find very hard to believe will be wrapped in just the one book she promised!

Well, That will be all for this Blog until I get the Next book.
 

Currently reading : The Shadow Isle: Book Three of The Silver Wyrm By Katharine Kerr

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So? Where is the crime?
Current mood: cantankerous
Category: Life

And for yet another addition of MYtwoCents:

The Story:

OK, I really want to know: Where is the crime? The young adolescent male has a near permanent hard-on, so exercising things can only be a good thing especially with a more experienced female. If she is smart enough to keep from getting knocked up, the worst thing that can happen is he will be upset when he no longer getting the nookie. I will admit, the withdraw symptom, in very rare cases, can be sever and he probable should be watched for a while, but I do not see anything that could be qualified as abuse, and there would be no long term damage from the sex, from dealing with the cops maybe, but not the sex.

Hell, I consider the little punk lucky. It might be a little sad that a older woman is chasing after young boys, but I think that is more her problem and she is only hurting herself and it does not rise to a level of a crime. After all, not all self-destructive behaviors are illegal.

Since this really would not be one of my Blogs unless I at least try to my own question.

Therefore the question: Where is the crime here?

Some people would call this pedophilia which is incorrect because the technical definition of pedophilia requires the child to be pre-pubescent or younger than 13. The guy in this case was 16, so she is not a pedophile. She was riding a young, eager hard-on. Then why is she charged with second-degree felony sexual assault? I am sure she really had to fight him or slap him around to get him in bed. Stature Rape? Maybe, but I do not believe even that applies. Should the woman get counseling? Probably. Should she be charged with a crime? No. A 26 year old male having sex for a 16 year old girl? Yeah, lock his ass up, but I cannot see it as a crime in a woman doing the same.

Face it people: The Sex Laws exist to protect girls from predatory men, not boys from women. The way the laws are written they can apply to anyone. Therefore, can we really be sexist in writing the law? Maybe we should. Would it be all that silly to allow young men to screw older women? Or is it better to force them with only one option of screwing their also under aged classmates?

Why am I promoting a double standard here? As I have said the sex laws we have are to protect girls who are more susceptible to be pressured or just plain forced into doing something they may not want to do in the first place. Sex for boys it is just letting them do what they want to do in the first, last and only place.

And that is another thing: I have doing some reading and I noticed in about 20 stories over the last 5 years it was always the boy's Mother finding out through one way or another. It is when the Mother finds out that these stories make the papers. Why do you think these stories never get started by the Fathers complaining? Because the fathers either through pride does nothing or will take care of the issue "in house": He grabs the boy by the scruff of the neck and tells him to shut his fucking mouth, or to break it off, preferable both. The Mom finds out, and has to go complain to the authorities about how terrible the system is.

Could this yet another issue, in my opinion an entirely fiction issue, created by women because of other women's "misbehavior"? O' YES I believe it is!

In this case, the kid was already in trouble because he was on probation. Why do kids get in trouble? Because they are trying to draw attention to themselves, and then why do people draw attention to themselves? To get laid, so it seems to have worked for him anyway.

Can anyone offer a better explanation? Please let me know.

Currently listening : Songs By Regina Spektor

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My twocent.
Current mood: contemplative

The Sexual double standard:

(Hey, I am not judging, just trying to explain the way I see things working.)

First of all, I would like to just get it out in the open: I am a sexist. Yes! I believe that men and women are fundamentally different and only truly share a common interest in procreation for the continuation of the species. It is really because of these differences in thoughts and feelings that make the double standard. Also, while not homophobic, I do have a very strong Hetero perspective because when I think of sex: It is the women I want.

Promiscuous men are studs (I am not sure I like comparison to farm animals), lotharios (which usual implies the use of deceit or just being ruthless), or lady killers (Only literally true is a small percentage cases) which are traits to be admired in men in society where as women who choose to be promiscuous are loose (which would seem to imply like it and are therefore willing to repeat, often), sluts (An old English term for dirty), or whores (which in the oldest usage I know of means: to corrupt) which are titles to be avoided. We all know this but the real question is: Why the disparity?

Of course, I have a few thoughts on this:

First, Men fantasize about sex. That is basically how we function. It has nothing to do with the individual woman or the particular relationship any particular man and woman may have or what the woman looks like or what the woman thinks about themselves or what the woman has or has not done. It just happens!! This male preoccupation with sex is about the act itself. What makes the difference between the genders is, for women, sex is not the act it is more about the person they are with.

So then you have: Guy just doing it: Girls who they are doing it with.

Now the most common perception on male sexual activity from a 'survival of the species' prospective is that the male of the species is driven to spread their "seed" to as many women as possible which for all practical purposes may account for why men are looking to have sex or at least thinking about having sex all the time, whereas women are more worried about how well a particular man can provide for her, but neither prospective comes close to answering the question as to why, in social terms, it is a good thing for a man to screw any willing female that crosses his path without any social stigma and women cannot.

Now there are a lot of things I can talk about here: Male sexual jealousy; Male territorialism which may point toward some reasons, or the fact than it is mostly the Female that screws around (and before you bitch at me, how many times the guy is found in the bed of your "best friend"), but all of that really misses the point. The point being why is there a double standard?

Therefore, the perception of promiscuous females as somehow dirty is a function of society:

The main function of society it to make people behave themselves in a manner that allows the society to function. In the past, the role of the female in society was to make men behave. For Example: The Jamestown colony (the one that did not go missing) when the ships arrived with the second load of colonist which included women, the first load being all male and more of a military venture due to the loss of the first settlers, they found several brewers, very little in the way of crops planted or land cleared, the stockade in poor repair, men walking around drinking all the time and even bowling lanes setup in the streets. The men, who were left there with plenty of supplies to last the six month to a year before the ships could return, was in the mist of one great big rolling party which ended quickly with the arrival of their wives.

What conclusion can be drawn from this one of many historical examples: Women are supposed to make men behave themselves. Therefore, if women are suppose to make men behave, a woman succumbing to "wild ways" or, in other words, the pleasures men enjoy given half a chance, they have therefore cheapen themselves by not performing their proper function in society.

There it is: It is the woman that has greater social responsibility than the man to behave properly and therefore will occur a greater amount of social shame when behaving the same manner men do all the time.

I guess you could say: Women are supposed to be better than men. Then why is it a bigger problem when women misbehave? It is not because the men are complaining; it is because of the women who are fulfilling their roles of keeping a short leash on their men are heaping condemnation upon the women who are misbehaving.

In conclusion: It is not in itself a bad thing for women to follow the hedonistic path of life. It is other women who are not following the hedonistic path which makes it seem like a bad thing and, by controlling their men, are able to propagate that idea to a greater portion of the population. 

Questions? Comments?

Currently reading : Phule’s Errand (Ace Science Fiction) By Robert Asprin Release date: 25 July, 2006

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Books I
Category: Writing and Poetry

Ok, I was keeping this under my Books section, but since I seem to be getting more views here, I moved it to a Blog to be updated whenever I Start/Finish another book. This list represents the books I have read since about the beginning of 2006 (I think). I'll try to make the new parts obvious.

BTW, these are only the book I am carrying with me, not the, currently two, other books started at home but to bulky to carry around.

Nothing New here, just try to fix Font issues. See:

Books II or Books III

"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini.
Yes, the book that came before the movie from last summer. About the Author: graduated from High School at 15 after being home schooled all his life and then hit the best sellers list at 19 with this book. Damn punk kid! Ok, maybe I am just jealous, but still.... 

Just Finished:

"The Sheriff of Nottingham" by Richard Kluger.
So, the question suddenly becomes, who was the Sheriff of Nottingham? In all the Hollywood iterations of the Robin Hood story, the Sheriff has become the nameless repository of all that is evil and wrong with the world.
 
But what does History have to say about Robin Hood? Well, not much really, since the historians cannot seem to agree if he existed or agree on the time because written accounts did not appear until much later, and because there is little or no contemporary documentation, just like Arthur and, now I think about it, Christ.
 
Anyway, it is generally agreed that the events that became the legend of Robin Hood happen during the reign of King John (curiously, the only one of that name) (1166-1216) the youngest brother of Richard the Lionheart who was known as "Lackland" (Yes, Braveheart had it wrong) until he assumed the throne about a year Richard's death (1199) after a nice little tussel with his nephew and later as "Soft-sword" when, due to his perceived military ineptitude, he lost most of the British holdings in France.
 
With the lost of the French lands, John had many unemployed soldiers who were French by birth that moved to the island. One of these soldiers was Philip Mark who was the Sheriff of Nottingham from 1208-1224 and is the main character of this story.
 
So as not to give anything away, I will not go into details of the story. The book was well written, covering many of the events of the day and gives very plausible explanations of why the events happened the way they did with only a few exceptions, but to be fair the exceptions were mostly in the purely fictional elements of the story.

Previous books:

"1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" By Charles C. Mann who is an American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics.

First, this is not a history. Well, it is, but probably would not qualify as a scholarly work even with the 52 page Bibliography because it way to readable, and it is clear by the end of the book, he has an agenda. The thing is Charles Mann is not a Historian, so he does not write like one which makes the subject much easier to read through, but when he starts telling first person stories about places he has been is pursuit of knowledge of the indigenous cultures, it get a little annoying.

Simply put his agenda is: The land that the early settlers found was not unpopulated virgin soil, but a land created by humans who were destroyed by European diseases before any colonist arrived, and that the idiots who are publishing text books to get their story straight which just happens to be a pet peeve of mine too. I would really love to go into a diatribe of exactly how screwed up the text book industry is but that would really miss the point of this blog. So, I will limit myself to one example from the book.

We all know the story of how the Pilgrim landed at Plymouth Rock, and after a hard winter where over half of the remaining (109 made the landing) Pilgrims died, was helped by the local Indians to plant maize and thus led to the first Thanksgiving celebration in America. All of which is true historically speaking, but the way the story is told is very misleading.

One thing I did not know was that Tisquantum (a.k.a. Squanto) the "Friendly Indian" who was so critical to the colony's survival, had been to England and lived there because he was captured from the, now, Boston area by a lieutenant of John Smith's, Thomas Hunt, and taken to Spain to be sold into slavery but was saved by Catholic Priests who saw Indians as "true men" and was, in time, sent to London. In London, Tisquantum was taught English a kept in an Englishman's house as a talking curiosity until he was able to return. He then stayed in Newfoundland unwilling to walk his homeland because of hostile tribes. He attempted to hitch a rid south on a fishing vessel, but ended up returning to England then back to Newfoundland and then started walking home but was captured by a another tribe and then retuned to his home as a captive. Tisquantum's position became that of interpreter and he was more or less forced to live with the Pilgrims because his chief did not trust him with good reason. He also returned to a homeland where all of his family was no longer. They had died in a Hepatitis A epidemic which is estimated to have killing 90 percent of the population which left the land empty for the Pilgrims to move into and left the local leader, Massasoit, in need of an ally to prevent his neighbors from over running his territory. Hence, the pilgrim were not cut down or encouraged to leave, but allowed to live and stay as Allies.

Over all he makes his point without ignoring nor belittling the opposite view, but he does not allow opposing theories many page either, but I have to hand it to him, he did a good job overall in giving a more balanced view of the history of the Americas. I would recommend this book as an excellent alternative for the text currently used in the classrooms. 

"Teacher Man" by Frank McCourt. The Pulitzer Prize author of "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis" both of which I read years ago. Well, not read, but listen to on tape for which he was nominated for a Grammy which helped a lot in reading this book because I at least had his voice in my head while I read it. All three books are a memoir of his life. "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis" are about his, "miserable childhood in the lanes of Limerick". This one is specifically about his time as a teacher. He describes all of the angst, frustrations, and annoyances of dealing with 5 classes of uncooperative teenagers, who are always watching for mistakes, a day, everyday, for 30