The Complete Ivory : Includes Gate of Ivory; Two-Bit Heroes, & Guilt Edged Ivory

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Summary: Action packed, fun read!
Review: I bought the first book of this series, "The Gate of Ivory", a few years ago and really enjoyed it. However with college, and several moves in between the first and subsequent books, I never got around to reading the whole series. I grabbed this omnibus edition as soon as it hit the shelves! I just finished reading it and have to say I still enjoyed the first book as much as I did the first time I read it several years ago. The only difference was this time there was more story to enjoy. The second and third books are every bit as good as the first. The books are a full of adventure, magic, murder, thievery, and romance.(Not neccessarily in that order.)

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Summary: A good find
Review: I found The Complete Ivory on a shelf in the bookshop, thought it looked good and bought it. I'm glad I did. The three novels in this book are all well-written, enjoyable stories with interesting characters.
In the first, The Gate of Ivory, we meet Theodora. She is a scholar from the planet of Athena, stranded on Ivory after being robbed one night. Ivory is a barbaric place compared to sedate and intellectual Athena, and is the only planet to have sorcerers - magic truly does exist there, despite the scepticism of offworlders. Desperate to make enough money to buy her passage home, the story opens with Theodora telling fortunes in the marketplace. She finds herself hired to "read the cards" of Ran Cormallen, a wealthy and powerful sorcerer . . . and becomes drawn into the internal struggles of the Cormallen family. Please don't think, from that description, that this is some sort of family saga in the slushy romance vein, because it's not. The focus is very squarely upon Theodora, and her reactions and adjustments to the strange new environment her association with Ran has brought her. When a shocking crisis strikes Ran, she finds a strength she did not know she had, and is instrumental in bringing an end to the difficulties plaguing her employer and his family.
Two-Bit Heroes and Guilt-Edged Ivory see Theodora on Ivory once again, getting caught up in more adventures with Ran - I don't want to give away any more of their storylines than that.
I did have a few quibbles with these books. Magic is never explained to my satisfaction, though Egan may have kept it so low-key deliberately - it is a feature of the plots, but far from being the be-all and end-all of her stories. I would have preferred some more depth to the stories too, both in terms of the setting (a map would have helped), and in the emotional power of some of her scenes. But these are just quibbles. Egan writes imaginative, lively stories populated by quirky and engaging characters who truly are affected by what goes on around them - and Theodora, who narrates the books, is refreshingly individual.
Well worth reading.

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Summary: What a hoot!
Review: I just spent my entire weekend reading and chuckling over this series. I, too, would like to read more about Theodora and Ran. I hated to have it end the way it did. Don't be afraid to tackle this book, even if it's as big as WAR AND PEACE. You'll like it.

Rating:
Summary: A fun romp!
Review: I recently discovered Doris Egan's Ivory works when I picked this 3-book volume up on a whim. I'd never heard of the author, had never read anything by her.

Wow, what stories I had been missing! These rollicking romps through Ivory are packed full of fun and intrigue. I'm glad I found you, Ms. Egan!

Rating:
Summary: A fun romp!
Review: I recently discovered Doris Egan's Ivory works when I picked this 3-book volume up on a whim. I'd never heard of the author, had never read anything by her.

Wow, what stories I had been missing! These rollicking romps through Ivory are packed full of fun and intrigue. I'm glad I found you, Ms. Egan!

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I'm not really sci-fi reader. I like fantasy better. Occasionally sci-fi and fantasy are mixed well, like in the Ivory books. Doris Egan really does a good job creating a balance between futuristic and magical. The characters are also really well developed. Ran and Theodora are a unique, likable couple. In particular, I like the fact that they're relationship was well balanced. It's not always Ran saving the day, as it tends to be in some novels. Theodora is smart enough to think for herself (it's romantic when Ran saves her, but it's also nice that she saves him once in a while, too-see what I mean about balance? Well, it just works out nice). The plots of all three stories are pretty good, too. Very original. I thought the third book got a bit vague towards the end, but it tied together alright. Overall, I would say it's definately worth reading. It's not the BEST book I've ever read but it's good. I'd give it five stars but I have to save that for my favorites :)

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Summary: A Text on Alien Culture and Encounters by Theodora of Pyrene
Review: The Ivory series is one of my favorite trilogies and I was thrilled to see them back in print, for those who missed them the first time around. It's hard to described the Ivory series exactly. There are magical elements. Ran Cormallon for instance, is a sorcerer, and magic does play it's part, but it's almost used almost off-handedly, since to the Ivorians, it is an everyday fact of life. For rational, Athenian scholar Theodora of Pyrene though, it's a uncomfortable thorn in the side of her scientifically based world-view. In any case, magic isn't really the main issue, nor are the science-fiction elements (interstellar liners, life on other planets, etc.) The real focus of these books is on following the adventures (and occasional mishaps) of Theo, a detached scholar, trained in myths and folklore, stuck on the backward planet of Ivory. Bribery, murder and a psychotic level of distrust is the norm, as is sorcery. Half the fun of the ride is reading about her coping with numerous challenges and seeing a new and exotic culture through her eyes. It's so enjoyable because Theodora of Pyrene is as individualistic and as interesting a voice in SF as you're likely to meet. She has a wonderfully wry way of looking at things and if sometimes she identifies a little too closely with anyone and everyone she meets, say outlaws for instance, well she can be forgiven seeing as she's just a tymon - or foreign barbarian without manners.

The first book introduces Theo and her plight. She's stuck on Ivory, telling fake fortunes in the marketplace and trying to figure out how many years she'll have to work before making enough to earn her passage home. Imagine her joy when she's offered a wealthy commission by Ran Cormallon- but it's not without it's dangers! The book follows Theo as she's has her nice, neat world-view changed, learns to live in her own body, meets a wanted outlaw, and discover some truths about herelf she maybe would prefer not to. A cultural tour de force through an alien land.

Books two and three continue Theo's adventures, although she's half-married to Ran (local custom) and adjusting her worldview to a permanent stay on Ivory and debating whether Ran is really the same species. Could they have kids? Book two is a favorite, as Theo and Ran, only partially married, are shanghied into helping a notorious band of outlaws. Only Theo could integrate herself so well in so little time with a ruthless band of thieves and murderers - they like her stories. When she tells them all about Robin Hood, the Northwest sector and outlawry will never be the same.

The third book is probably the weakest of the three, but still enjoyable, as Theo and Ran work a little closer to home. They are plunged into solving a murder-mystery. Friends from their outlaw days make an appearance and poor Theo will have to suffer through her allergy to cats. Make that an 'aversion to' since on Ivory they don't understand allergies. And of course, Theo makes more inappropriate friends, much to Ran's despair. But all's well that end's well and Egan leaves the third book open-ended enough to suggest sequels, however I wouldn't get my hopes up.

If you were charmed by Theo and enjoyed the Ivory series as much as I did and are clamoring for more, I highly recommend Egan's other book, writing as Jane Emerson, called City of Diamond. It might not be in print anymore, but it's a great book and worth picking up if you see it. I hope more people will find Egan/Emerson's books. Maybe increased sales will lure her away from tv writing and back where she belongs, telling more stories about Ran and Theo, or Tal and Adrian....

Rating:
Summary: High Adventure
Review: There is a touch of the Empire Novels of Isaac Asimov (the mystery and intrigue of warring aristochratic factions), of the weird cultures of Jack Vance (can you imagine...a demi-sauvage backwoods planet whit "the Net"(in a book written in 1989!) and...a hint of the uncanny magic of Storm Constantine (go in the "Library" and see!). I'd have appreciated a more detailed description of Ivorian culture. Still, Doris Egan is a deligthful writer. I've loved Theodora and Ran. I hope to see more! Only I find that the concept of "magic" working only on a planet and not working anywhere else is absolutely implausible.

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Summary: Great Gods of Scholars!
Review: this is one of the typical exclamations of the heroine, Theodora, when she finds herself in deep trouble in the alien, exotic and baroque world of Ivory, where, by the way, she is living by no design of her own --she was deserted there by her travelling companions, after having been abduced and robed. Theodora, alone and helpless in the Ivoran mercyless society, tries to save money to pay her journey back to her original planet (the orderly, rational, scholarly Athena) while, and this is really tough,keeping the Athenan moral standards. The story that ensues is a delightfully funny tale of discovery and misunderstandings, the clash of two very different ethical systems which we witness while Theodora gets deeper and deeper in trouble. BUT this is only the first of the novels in the trilogy, because the author does what I had never thought could be done: while never losing the witty sense of humour -you'll keep chuckling like crazy- that characterizes the narrator/protagonist and makes her so endearing, the second novel is a high adventure story, complete with outlaws; and the third novel is a murder mystery with our dear Theodora (now definitely living in Ivory) as a reluctant sleuth. In this trilogy there is humour, adventure, ethics, love, scholarly pursuits, magic, interplanetary trips... Kanz! Why hadn't I heard of it before? A page-turner, definitely worth reading.