Rating: 
Summary: A girl's adventure
Review: Not as well-written as Book of the Mad, & not as mythologically invasive as Tales of the Flat Earth... but still a wild adventure. Aradia is extremely easy (at least for me) to identify with, & her courage enriching. If I didn't already have this book, I would definitely acquire it.
Rating:
Summary: A girl's adventure
Review: Not as well-written as Book of the Mad, & not as mythologically invasive as Tales of the Flat Earth... but still a wild adventure. Aradia is extremely easy (at least for me) to identify with, & her courage enriching. If I didn't already have this book, I would definitely acquire it.
Rating: 
Summary: Lee Has Written Many Better Books,Don't Bother With This One
Review: Of this 450pg book only the first and last 50 pages were captivating. This was one of the first of the 25 books I've read by her & also one of the worst. The vague international intrigue was more tediously portrayed than riveting. Choose a different book by Lee, for she's so prolific that you needn't read a bad novel just to experience her sumptuous prose.
Rating: 
Summary: Tanith Lee's masterpiece
Review: Tanith Lee has written many a fantasy novel aimed at the younger (middle school age) female reader. With 'The Black Unicorn' and 'The Gold Unicorn', she created an easily understood and adventurous story that goes from beginning to end--and nowhere else.
'A Heroine of the World' is almost incomparable to her other works in its scope, message, and audience.
Our heroine, Aradia, begins the story as a young girl in a country that is almost the Deep South and almost a 'Europe that never was'. However, when the city where she is born crumbles, she follows a lowly but loving general to his home country, a place that is not quite a Russian city in its glory days. Through trials and tribulations, she goes then to a fantasy of the Mediteranean to an almost-Italy, then ends the story in a prison. But the real point of the novel is not the amazing and often change in setting, but that Ara unwittingly is following the man whom the reader feels could maybe be the real hero of the story, the love of her life.
Aradia changes names throughout the story, signalling the great changes her character makes as she grows up and moves on. She lacks the angst many other teenage heroines display, and has an uncommon source of strength.
This is one of my favorite novels, partially because I have never again found anything like it. Although it was never recieved very well, I recommend it to the discerning late-teen or adult reader who is looking for that "something special" in fantasy literature.
Rating:
Summary: Tanith Lee's masterpiece
Review: Tanith Lee has written many a fantasy novel aimed at the younger (middle school age) female reader. With 'The Black Unicorn' and 'The Gold Unicorn', she created an easily understood and adventurous story that goes from beginning to end--and nowhere else.
'A Heroine of the World' is almost incomparable to her other works in its scope, message, and audience.
Our heroine, Aradia, begins the story as a young girl in a country that is almost the Deep South and almost a 'Europe that never was'. However, when the city where she is born crumbles, she follows a lowly but loving general to his home country, a place that is not quite a Russian city in its glory days. Through trials and tribulations, she goes then to a fantasy of the Mediteranean to an almost-Italy, then ends the story in a prison. But the real point of the novel is not the amazing and often change in setting, but that Ara unwittingly is following the man whom the reader feels could maybe be the real hero of the story, the love of her life.
Aradia changes names throughout the story, signalling the great changes her character makes as she grows up and moves on. She lacks the angst many other teenage heroines display, and has an uncommon source of strength.
This is one of my favorite novels, partially because I have never again found anything like it. Although it was never recieved very well, I recommend it to the discerning late-teen or adult reader who is looking for that "something special" in fantasy literature.
Rating:
Summary: the magic fades
Review: This book draws the reader in during the first hundred pages or so with a stunning and beautiful exposition. The world is colourful and innovative, and the characters interesting. However, somewhere in the middle this spell starts to subside. For some strange reason several passages annoyed me to no end, as I watched Aradia travel from place to place like it was a travelogue. The plot has no focus; the first half of the book would have made a better story on its own, since I found myself able to accurately predict every soap-opera occurence which happened thereafter. It's too bad such good prose, crafty dialogue and vivid imagery had to be inserted into such a plot, cause in the end it's really all just a bunch of stuff that happens.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting storytelling
Review: This book weaves a magic spell drawing the reader into the uncertainty of the child trapped in a besieged city. I think the book's drifting structure reflects how Aradia lets Fate propel her. She eventually learns the danger of it as she tries to make sense of a chaotic world. A haunting story which enchants the reader. It's complexity is rewarding - don't let the sceptics put you off.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This complex, sweeping saga of a girl's jourrney to find a place and herself is one of the best fantasy books I've every read despite, or because of, its unusual nature. I read it in one sitting--and it's a hefty tome! The almost-19th century Russia is vivid and compelling, as are Ara's struggles and decisions. A naturally passive girl comes to become and courageous and fierce woman. Very human, very real.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This complex, sweeping saga of a girl's jourrney to find a place and herself is one of the best fantasy books I've every read despite, or because of, its unusual nature. I read it in one sitting--and it's a hefty tome! The almost-19th century Russia is vivid and compelling, as are Ara's struggles and decisions. A naturally passive girl comes to become and courageous and fierce woman. Very human, very real.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievably boring.
Review: This has to be one of the worst books I've ever read. The blurb on the back cover made it sound exciting, with a fortune teller showing the main character that she had a vital part to play in the future of the world. First of all, the fortune teller didn't come into the picture until almost 100 pages into the book. Then, the fortune she read was so vague and confusing, I couldn't even tell what was meant by it. Finally, not only was the blurb on the back of the book in no way relevant to the story, but neither was the title. Nowhere in the entire book can the main character be considered heroic. She never actually DOES anything. She just allows herself to be swept along by events. Throughout the story, nothing she does is important in terms of affecting anything in terms of "the world". Not only that, but she is just an annoying character. She is always whining about her plight, yet she never even tries to better it. She is a very static character throughout the story. Not once does she stand up for herself.I think what I liked even less about the book is the fact that there was no semblance of a plot. For 450 pages, the author goes on an on with, as far as I could tell, no ultimate goal in mind. Due to this, there is no climax or resolution, unless you consider a resolution to be, "they rode of into the sunset and lived happily ever after". If this book is any indication of Tanith Lee's writing style, I will never pick up another one of her books again.
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