Parliament of Owls

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying sequel!
Review: I loved A Business of Ferrets and have been eagerly awaiting the next installment. I was not disappointed. All our old friends are back and some intriguing new ones are introduced. We see more of the struggle of the king to make his Empire a fairer place for his subjects without losing the support of his ruling class. My only quibble was that I occassionally couldn't keep track of all of the new characters. Both my son (13)and husband though tell me that I should just try reading a little earlier in the day! They had no problems. My son paid the book his greatest compliment rereading it and the previous books immediately!

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading but flawed
Review: Now I have loved the works of Beth Hilgartner since the begining and have reviewed pervious works enthusiastically. The most recent being "The Business of Ferrets" which i felt was a wonderfull re-gearing of old ideas and new narrative focus. I reviewed it highly and eagerly awaited more. To say the second is not worth the wait is unfair, but it is a drastic change from the first in many ways and has many flaws that made it the hardest of all her books to move through. As mentioned by others the "k" "h" "j" name usage hit its peak and became a nightmare to keep track of (after a while I just made my own names for them ). The "relationship" between the two main protagonists caught me completly by suprise and then really didnt do much more then a dime romance novel whould have done with the love interest. The chess game which is at the heart of almost all the books dating back to "Murder" was almost lost here. There was intrigue but little "duel ploting" which makes the game good. Most of the time the protagonists were trying to figure out the day of the week it was and playing defensive up till a sadly anti-climatic end. The cast of charactors ballooned so much that many you cared to learn more about slid to the sidelines and others got center stage (which is a small complaint considering the plot needs to take twists to be interesting and new characters do that). I love her books and greedaly want more but I guess everyone hits one of those creations where they are possibly overworked (most number of publication in a row ever by Ms. Hilgartner) and the most publisher influence ever (possible reason for the inclusion of many firsts in this book) that led to the attempt to please all or increase diversity in readership by taking many "fantasy" standards and aplying them into her world. Lastly i got a small amount of what i call the "George Lucas syndrome" feeling with this one. The whole time I was wondering if the author even knew where the story was going or how to get there.

A great series and possibly book that just proves why editors and needed and ultimately helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Round Two of the Windbringer's Gambit
Review: Six years have passed in the empire of Bharaghlaf since we left our heroes in A BUSINESS OF FERRETS. Ferret, and her band of friends and allies must work together to stop a deadly new threat that has arisen in the kingdom. But this time, the enemies are hidden well, the threats are much more deadly, and the stakes are higher than ever.

There's a marked shift between the two books that's evident almost from the opening. Readers are no longer dealing with a group of slum-children, but adults in their own right. All of our characters have made their way in the world, gaining maturity, wisdom and skill. They are not pawns this time, but active participants, seeking out the enemy and finding ways to stop the threats against them. Owl has finished his training as a Seer and come home to Bharaghlaf, only to find himself immediately working to stop an ancient evil magic with the help of his old friends, and some fascinating new allies. Who are the enemies, who are potential? Everyone is suspect, and numerous plots are at work.

The maturity of this book proves that Ms. Hilgartner's writing skills are increasingly getting better. The relationships, emotional ties and character motivations are painted in much more vividly than the last book, and serve to tie readers into the narrative much more effectively. A great deal more attention is paid to developing characters to the fullest. Those who have read Ms. Hilgartner's older books, THE COLORS OF A DREAMWEAVER'S LOOM and FEAST OF THE TRICKSTER will recognize some of the character prototypes. These prototypes have been honed and vastly fleshed out into the characters they were meant to be.

The greatest trouble I had reading this was the even larger cast of characters and the dizzying number of similar names. It becomes difficult to tell everyone apart with the repetition of `y', `z', and `h' in nearly every name. The animal names of Ferret and her gang are the only names that stand out starkly and clearly by comparison.

Unlike A BUSINESS OF FERRETS, this second book ends with a clear lead in to a third book. I guess I will just have to wait for the third to see what happens to the characters next! ...

Happy reading! ^_^ shanshad

Rating:
Summary: Round Two of the Windbringer's Gambit
Review: Six years have passed in the empire of Bharaghlaf since we left our heroes in A BUSINESS OF FERRETS. Ferret, and her band of friends and allies must work together to stop a deadly new threat that has arisen in the kingdom. But this time, the enemies are hidden well, the threats are much more deadly, and the stakes are higher than ever.

There's a marked shift between the two books that's evident almost from the opening. Readers are no longer dealing with a group of slum-children, but adults in their own right. All of our characters have made their way in the world, gaining maturity, wisdom and skill. They are not pawns this time, but active participants, seeking out the enemy and finding ways to stop the threats against them. Owl has finished his training as a Seer and come home to Bharaghlaf, only to find himself immediately working to stop an ancient evil magic with the help of his old friends, and some fascinating new allies. Who are the enemies, who are potential? Everyone is suspect, and numerous plots are at work.

The maturity of this book proves that Ms. Hilgartner's writing skills are increasingly getting better. The relationships, emotional ties and character motivations are painted in much more vividly than the last book, and serve to tie readers into the narrative much more effectively. A great deal more attention is paid to developing characters to the fullest. Those who have read Ms. Hilgartner's older books, THE COLORS OF A DREAMWEAVER'S LOOM and FEAST OF THE TRICKSTER will recognize some of the character prototypes. These prototypes have been honed and vastly fleshed out into the characters they were meant to be.

The greatest trouble I had reading this was the even larger cast of characters and the dizzying number of similar names. It becomes difficult to tell everyone apart with the repetition of 'y', 'z', and 'h' in nearly every name. The animal names of Ferret and her gang are the only names that stand out starkly and clearly by comparison.

Unlike A BUSINESS OF FERRETS, this second book ends with a clear lead in to a third book. I guess I will just have to wait for the third to see what happens to the characters next! ...

Happy reading! ^_^ shanshad

Rating:
Summary: Really enjoying this series---
Review: This is the second in the series of, I believe, three books and both are strong with interesting and varied characters. I am enjoying it very much. Keep up the good work, Beth.