The Paladin

Rating:
Summary: Oriental "low fantasy"
Review: "The Paladin" is a stand-alone novel set in the China of an alternative world. It's more of an alternative history than a fantasy--there are no mythical creatures or magic here, although superstitions of both remain.

The story falls into two parts. In the first, a stubborn girl seeking vengeance for her murdered family arrives at the mountain home of an exiled hermit who was the greatest warlord in the Empire prior to the death of the old emperor and the takeover by an evil regent. The girl wears him down, and he agrees to teach her swordsmanship and so on, convinced that she will eventually tire and lose hope in her foolish quest. Instead, she perserveres, and he finds himself growing fond of her. Over a two-year span, she becomes a promising pupil; he finds his defenses against the world he left behind crumbling ... and how much he now needs her.

In the second part, the two leave the mountain and begin their desperate quest to assassinate the evil regent. It's enough to say that there are no surprises as the tale lumbers towards its anti-climax. In fact, I recommend stopping once they leave the mountain--the development of their bond is the true story here, and frankly, the second part is tedious. Why so?

M: Mapping. The political and strategic references that arise in their quest are so convoluted and filled with names and rulers' names that you can't understand what's going on unless you keep flipping back and forth to the map at the front.

S: Swordplay. The pair train and train, and the girl learns wonderful fighting patterns and how to make a stronger man's sword slide off her own, and yet, when they finally get into fights, the action is basically described by the swordmaster's count of bodies: "one-two, three, four and five." The training scenes are far superior.

G: Grammar. Perhaps it was intentionally done to give the story a "different" (Asian?) feel, but the grammar/style is very unorthodox and often forces the re-reading of passages. Dashes, italics and fragments are everywhere (often thought-fragments), slowing the scan constantly. (I tend to read quickly, but reading this book was often like running through a rice paddy--in ankle weights.)

Finally, most of the story is told from the man's viewpoint, and he's simply not likeable. Of course, a character doesn't have to be likeable, but his constant irritability and "damn" this-es and thats ultimately prove tedious. (If he is a paladin or samurai, he surely missed his etiquette training.) His repetitive lusting for the girl--though very realistic given the time/place context and often well described--may also seem creepy to some readers. (He's forty; she's sixteen.) His retired warhorse, in fact, is the most pleasant character present--and I can't understand why we're never even given one look at the man through the girl's eyes.

The first part of the novel is worth reading, especially if you like realistic characters and Oriental culture. Beyond that, I can only recommend this book as a library loan. I understand, however, that The Dreaming Tree by Cherryh has a very good reputation and is worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Conan and Red Sonya pale into insignificance - a must read!
Review: For those who were enthralled with "The Chronicles of Morgaine", this is a must read. If you've never had the pleasure of reading one of C.J.Cherryh's heroic fantasy novels, start with "The Paladin". As always, Ms. Cherryh creates a fantasy world of incredible depth and rich detail. "The Paladin" evokes images of ancient China or Japan with all of the expected feudal policital intrigue. Shoka and Taizu, are an interesting role reversal on Morgaine and Nhi Vanye from the chronicles of Morgaine. All round a good read!

Rating:
Summary: Read my original copy ragged
Review: I loved this book, I will always love this book. (And now I'm buying it again) Because, unlike much of the books in the genre it doesn't hit you on the head with senseless brutality, but puts a little more thought into the art of martial "arts." And it has humor. It brings this big breath of the real world into these characters with its humor. It has plenty of action, has plenty of do-or-die and save the world kind of stuff without being silly. But what really makes it, is that the characters grow and find redemption, which is ultimitely more important. I've kept it around long after other ones have gone into the garage sale box.
It ought to be a movie.

Rating:
Summary: Best of Cherryh?
Review: I realize this book was written 14 years ago...so sue me. I'm late. "The Paladin" is a sterling example of Cherrye at the peak of her art. She uses terse dialog and concise action to convey not only an exciting adventure story, but also a poignant story of two damaged people discovering a life beyond bitterness in each other.

Taizu is little more than a child, and she has fought-- not always successfully-- the dangers of both travel and brigands in order to find Saukandar, a warrior who was once the Emperor's closest advisor and who now resides in seclusion. She wants his help to make her a warrior, so that she can seek revenge against the politician who slaughtered her family. He wants her to leave him alone-- then, he simply wants her. They are separated by years, by class, and by motive, and by the end of the book, they are inseparable. Saukandar's journey from grumpy old man to irrascible and wily fighter is believable and real, as is Taizu's growth from ragged urchin to demon warrior. Between the two of them, they prove to be more than enough to save their Kingdom from corruption-- and themselves, from loneliness more aching than death.

Rating:
Summary: The dichotomy of legend and man
Review: I realize this book was written 14 years ago...so sue me. I'm late. "The Paladin" is a sterling example of Cherrye at the peak of her art. She uses terse dialog and concise action to convey not only an exciting adventure story, but also a poignant story of two damaged people discovering a life beyond bitterness in each other.

Taizu is little more than a child, and she has fought-- not always successfully-- the dangers of both travel and brigands in order to find Saukandar, a warrior who was once the Emperor's closest advisor and who now resides in seclusion. She wants his help to make her a warrior, so that she can seek revenge against the politician who slaughtered her family. He wants her to leave him alone-- then, he simply wants her. They are separated by years, by class, and by motive, and by the end of the book, they are inseparable. Saukandar's journey from grumpy old man to irrascible and wily fighter is believable and real, as is Taizu's growth from ragged urchin to demon warrior. Between the two of them, they prove to be more than enough to save their Kingdom from corruption-- and themselves, from loneliness more aching than death.

Rating:
Summary: An in-depth look at a grouch and his student...
Review: I was disappointed in this book. I did finish it but I was turned off by the "hero" of the book, the master warrior Saukendar. His pupil, Taizu, is much more appealing and competent than he is. She is truly impressive and dedicated while he spends much of his time complaining about how he's out of shape, that Taizu is suicidal, that it's too much trouble to leave his hut in the mountains and save the country and so on. All of that complaining really turned me off. Unfortunately, the story is told from Saukendar's point of view so we get way too much of his introspective griping. This story is based on an oriental culture but our hero comes nowhere close to a samurai's ideals other than he's unequalled with a sword. (I don't know why since he doesn't seem to practice at all in the two years of training Taizu.) A stoic hero, he is not.
The action is good but it is brief. The focus of the book is the relationship between Saukendar the grouch and Taizu the dedicated. Why the young girl agrees to marry the middle aged "paladin" is beyond me because there is really no love in their chemistry it seems.
The last portion of the book was muddled but perhaps it was because I was skimming it to see how it all came out (pretty much as expected). Eh, at the end I was disgusted enough to write this negative review. Look elsewhere for likeable heroes.

Rating:
Summary: One of C.J.Cherryh's finer works.
Review: In search of the means of revenge the scarred, peasant girl, Taizu turns for help to the reclusive sword master, Shoka, on his mountain retreat. Shoka refuses her request as he does all others, his skills not for hire. But Taizu persists and Shoka acquiesces, reckoning it unlikely that she will master the sword, or even if she does, time will have mellowed her outlook and she will be content to remain as his companion. Two years pass, and although Taizu has gained skill with the sword, and she and Shoka have shared his bed, her hunger for revenge is undiminished. So Shoka is left with no alternative but follow her.

During their cross-country progress, news travels fast. And as well as attending to Taizu's demands Shoka becomes the figurehead for a rebellion against Lord Ghita and his allies who have taken control of the Chiyaden throne.

This book is similar to The Goblin Mirror, Cuckoo's Egg, and Rimrunners in its easy to read style whist retaining her use of intense viewpoint to embellish the characterisation in a way which doesn't tend to overwhelm the plot like some of her more densely written books can, to the point of tedium: Fortress of Eagles being a good example.

The Paladin, whist not having the breadth of scope of some of her other works, is nonetheless, significantly better than the majority of her rivals' fantasy-genre offerings, with its tight, straightforward prose, and its clever developments of what at face value would be considered of little significance. But this is a C.J. Cherryh trademark: a sort of, when a butterfly flaps its wings in Peking, what's the consequences, sort of thing. Which, for me, is one of the main reasons why I look forward to reading her work as much as I do.

They say 'never judge a book by its cover', but I think the Brian Salmon (for Mandarin UK) artwork is a better match for the story than the current one. Taizu looks a lot more like the peasant girl she's said to be.

Rating:
Summary: LEGENDS RETOLD.. CHECK YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AT THE DOOR.
Review: Like Rusalka and the sequels, Paladin is based on one of the classic stories of a fascinating culture. This time, like Cuckoo's Egg, the source is the warrior culture of medieval Japan, and the story is the moral tale of the retired courtier and swordmaster. The resemblance ends there.. this one ends the way you always wanted it to. People and the right, not duty, and not tragedy, come out on top. Cherryh never forces a happy ending on a story..but Taizu does. Always. Good for her! Shoka keeps trying to follow his cultural programming to be a classic tragic hero, the peasants to be victims, the lords to domineer..but she won't let it happen. Taizu gets her revenge, ghita gets what's coming to him, and Shoka gets his life back, and his revenge on Taizu for making him take it..Paladin is worth reading just for the innuendo Shoka pumps into his conversation with the merchant. Paladin is the story behind Taizu's legend, not Shoka's. It should have been the central myth for some culture, somewhere.

Rating:
Summary: LEGENDS RETOLD.. CHECK YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AT THE DOOR.
Review: Like Rusalka and the sequels, Paladin is based on one of the classic stories of a fascinating culture. This time, like Cuckoo's Egg, the source is the warrior culture of medieval Japan, and the story is the moral tale of the retired courtier and swordmaster. The resemblance ends there.. this one ends the way you always wanted it to. People and the right, not duty, and not tragedy, come out on top. Cherryh never forces a happy ending on a story..but Taizu does. Always. Good for her! Shoka keeps trying to follow his cultural programming to be a classic tragic hero, the peasants to be victims, the lords to domineer..but she won't let it happen. Taizu gets her revenge, ghita gets what's coming to him, and Shoka gets his life back, and his revenge on Taizu for making him take it..Paladin is worth reading just for the innuendo Shoka pumps into his conversation with the merchant. Paladin is the story behind Taizu's legend, not Shoka's. It should have been the central myth for some culture, somewhere.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favourite books
Review: Paladin is one of my all time favourite books. I've read it dozens of times and it's as good now as when I read it the first time. CJ Cherryh can really tell a great tale. Buy this book, and buy all her Chanur books too. They're great.

Mark E. Cooper
Author of The Warrior Within (ISBN: 0954512200)