The Fall of The Kings

Rating:
Summary: superb fantasy
Review: Over five centuries ago the Northern King, his army, and the wizards traveled to the Kingdom of the South for a marriage that would bind the two lands into one union. Over time the king and the wizards fell out of favor with their nobles and were killed. The Council of Lords became rulers of the land and any talk of wizards or magic is considered treason. For two hundred years the nobles ruled without any serious threat to their authority but now rumors come to their attention of the restoration of the monarchy.

The council sends spies to the University to see if anyone has done anything that could be considered heresy. Two names keep cropping up in the investigation. History Professor Basis St. Cloud who thinks that magic once actually existed and Theron Campion, heir to the Duchy of Tremontaine. These two men are fated to play a prominent role in events that will usher in a new age of thought.

Ellen Kushner and Della Sherman combine their talents to create a work that is sublimely rich in characterizations and a perspective similar to medieval Europe. The political infighting at the university adds a sense of the ridiculous to this very serious epic drama. The characters, fully developed and complex creations, are prisoners of their place in society, which makes them all the more interesting when they step out of their station in life. THE FALL OF KINGS is an experience not to be missed.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Better than Swordspoint, but..
Review: The reviews for Swordspoint and The Fall of the Kings glow, but give the wrong idea. This is a very rich world, with a good plot and lots of tantalisingly familiar legends, academic argument, sensuality and magic, but the authors mentioned in the reviews: Georgette Heyer, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, Dickens.. probably wouldn't have come close to this. They would have set their work in a similar society; but that would have been all, and anyone hoping to see echoes of their work would have come away disappointed.
The academic arguments were a bit too erudite for me, and I'd've enjoyed the story more if there had been less of that and more about Basil and his students, or the Tremontaines, or even about Arlen and Galing. My favourite character was Jessica, and she turned up only towards the end of the book. Hopefully she gets her own story later.

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite work of alternate history,a perfect novel
Review: This book is fabulous in all senses. From the description of the University's ambience to the unveiling of the mystery of the city's history, to the fascinating charachters of Basil St Cloud, Theron Campion and his mother, the devious anti-revisionist
Crabbe (by the way Crabbe is also the name of one of the minions of Malfoy,Harry Potter's enemy),Nicholas Galing and all the others.But oh, the sumptuous writings, the splendid descriptions of the parties of the nobility, whit a dialogue almost Wildean in its witticism, the obsessive power of artifacts...all is superb. The passages in which Basil St Cloud is first obsessed by luscious and archaic dreams, then awakens and peruses a strange old book who he believes is the origin of the dreams...well,you have to read it. You are reminded of Vandermeer's Book of Ambergris.But The Fall Of Kings is an absolute masterpiece, in a class of his own.

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite work of alternate history,a perfect novel
Review: This book is fabulous in all senses. From the description of the University's ambience to the unveiling of the mystery of the city's history, to the fascinating charachters of Basil St Cloud, Theron Campion and his mother, the devious anti-revisionist
Crabbe (by the way Crabbe is also the name of one of the minions of Malfoy,Harry Potter's enemy),Nicholas Galing and all the others.But oh, the sumptuous writings, the splendid descriptions of the parties of the nobility, whit a dialogue almost Wildean in its witticism, the obsessive power of artifacts...all is superb. The passages in which Basil St Cloud is first obsessed by luscious and archaic dreams, then awakens and peruses a strange old book who he believes is the origin of the dreams...well,you have to read it. You are reminded of Vandermeer's Book of Ambergris.But The Fall Of Kings is an absolute masterpiece, in a class of his own.

Rating:
Summary: I give it points for the gay sex...
Review: This book was...interesting...

Certainly it kept me reasonably entertained, if only because there was so much in the 500+ pages of history and characterization to choke down and digest. While the characters were likeable and kept me reading, the plot was often obscure (at times overly so), and at times dragged along the borderline of tediousness. It was Theron & Basil that intrigued me, and pulled me through the seemingly hundreds of pages of rather bland history lessons - the ancient world of wizards & kings was regurgitated throughout the chapters, and at excessive length - and in the end I was disappointed as the authors veered from their focus on the characters to the convoluted "plot" that never seemed to reach its climax.
I ended the book feeling cheated, having spent so much time reading over facts and details and history lessons I was led to believe would all play some integral part in the book's ending, only to have the rug pulled out from under me in a pathetic 10-page wrap-up. Nothing was solved, and as it turns out all of those facts and details and history lessons were read for nothing. Useless information, and a useless finish to a somewhat promising book.
All I can attribute this to is that the authors dropped the ball on the characters. Shame shame, seeing as I enjoyed them so much...

In the end, I would recommend this book and I wouldn't recommend this book. I originally bought it because of the gay-friendly subject matter, but really - while the book certainly alludes to several ellicit liasons between Theron & Basil, and briefly describes them on occasion - nothing physical is delved into deeply, and it is the emotional development of these two characters that had me turning pages while the overall plot lagged. If you are a fan of pretty boys getting physical, and fantasy and a dose of fictional history is your bag, by all means go for it. But if you prefer a more light-hearted romp with a more satisfying crunch to it's ending, I'd suggest turning your sights elsewhere.
For me, this book shall retreat to the back of my bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: I give it points for the gay sex...
Review: This book was...interesting...

Certainly it kept me reasonably entertained, if only because there was so much in the 500+ pages of history and characterization to choke down and digest. While the characters were likeable and kept me reading, the plot was often obscure (at times overly so), and at times dragged along the borderline of tediousness. It was Theron & Basil that intrigued me, and pulled me through the seemingly hundreds of pages of rather bland history lessons - the ancient world of wizards & kings was regurgitated throughout the chapters, and at excessive length - and in the end I was disappointed as the authors veered from their focus on the characters to the convoluted "plot" that never seemed to reach its climax.
I ended the book feeling cheated, having spent so much time reading over facts and details and history lessons I was led to believe would all play some integral part in the book's ending, only to have the rug pulled out from under me in a pathetic 10-page wrap-up. Nothing was solved, and as it turns out all of those facts and details and history lessons were read for nothing. Useless information, and a useless finish to a somewhat promising book.
All I can attribute this to is that the authors dropped the ball on the characters. Shame shame, seeing as I enjoyed them so much...

In the end, I would recommend this book and I wouldn't recommend this book. I originally bought it because of the gay-friendly subject matter, but really - while the book certainly alludes to several ellicit liasons between Theron & Basil, and briefly describes them on occasion - nothing physical is delved into deeply, and it is the emotional development of these two characters that had me turning pages while the overall plot lagged. If you are a fan of pretty boys getting physical, and fantasy and a dose of fictional history is your bag, by all means go for it. But if you prefer a more light-hearted romp with a more satisfying crunch to it's ending, I'd suggest turning your sights elsewhere.
For me, this book shall retreat to the back of my bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: Fall of the Kings
Review: This is an excellent work of historical fantasy.

The writing is graceful, with no telltale "collaboration" signs. It's not quite as tightly written as Swordspoint, and here and there an unnecessary scene has snuck in, but it's still well written and structured. A high level of tension is maintained, and there are scenes of great beauty and sensuality. (And some paintings I'd love to own.) Worldbuilding questions I had about the last book are answered, and the portrayal of historical scholarship is clearly informed by real-life experience (I think I took classes with Crabbe at UCLA).

The characters are deeply flawed--Theron immature and hedonistic, St. Cloud obsessive and driven--but ultimately human, and I found them sympathetic. Their mutual descent into madness, but a madness that is intertwined with truth, is skillfully handled. Theron's sluttishness did make me want to smack him--but if you're engaged enough to want to smack a character, the writer has done her job. I also found many of the minor characters appealing.

The very end faltered a little. I wanted a touch more of St. Cloud's POV at a crucial moment, I needed Galing to have been developed a little better earlier on, and I'm left hoping for a sequel, because the kingship theme feels unfinished to me. In addition, I wanted some ecological or economic trouble to be arising--why does what happens, happen *now*?

I enjoyed this book a great deal and highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Just Read It!
Review: This novel is exceptional it's witty, sexy, smart, and delicious. This is the best book I've read all year and I've read a lot of books this year. If you want reader heaven; read this book. I can't recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: I've read better
Review: True, the concept of this book was slightly brilliant. The connection to an ancient history was delightful, although that aspect of the main characters' relationship flirted with prophecy. The characters Kushner created were fantastic, albeit debatably one-sided, and the relationships between characters could sometimes before dragged-out melodramas (i.e. "Basil, I can't make it tonight, I must attend a frilly noble party." "Theron, why were you late coming to make love to me tonight?" "Frilly noble party, remember?" Followed by some bickering, a week or so of ignoring/pining after each other, and then make-up sex). Mostly, there was very little relationship development and a great deal of character development.

Oh, and Theron and Basil seemed to have a romance based solely on sex.

The last sorcerer alive is a bit of an over-used situation, but I did happen to adore the character of Theron. Kushner needs to focus in on a single thread better, as the many, many sidestories only get in the way of what's actually going on or complicate it unnecessarily. The exessive amounts of plotting and intrigue got a bit tiresome.

The ending was, without competition, the WORST I've ever read. Kushner spent the entire novel, yes, even all the boring conspiring, building to this moment of crowning and bonding, ect., only to have one of the main characters die and the other shipped off (notice that, even though seemingly head-over-heels in love with Basil, Theron didn't really seem to give a (...) that he'd died). The bad guys win. I'm a lover of bad guys, and there's nothing wrong with them winning, but when it's repulsively anti-climatic and completely backwards from the entire plot and purpose of the book, it's just angering.

Unless you want to be frustrated and a little bored, put your money to better use. If you want intrigue and (...) lovers, go read the Nightrunner series. There's more action and the characters are just as brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: intriguing, complicated and engrossing
Review: What a lovely book, rich and layered, set in an alternate universe witout the usual cliches, it feels familiar and strange at the same time. I loved Swordspoint and Thomas the Rhymer, and this is a great successor. The people, heroes and anti-heroes alike, are treated sympathetically through the course of the book, and even the minor characters are intriguing and surprising. I'm not usually a fan of atmospheric novels, but this one worked beautifully. It also has enough plot and witty dialog and character development to keep me reading until *way* past my bedtime.