Fortress Of Eagles

A fantasy written by Carolyn Janice Cherryh in 1998
Reviewed edition by Harper Prism from 1998
A paperback has 480 pages
ISBN 0-06-105710-X

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The book picks up the lives of Tristen and Cefwyn at their return to Guelen, after the battle with Hasufin that ended the first volume of the series. The life of a king does not sit too well with Cefwyn, whose long stay in the southern provinces of Ylesuin estranged him from the northern barons. Worse, his upcoming marriage with Ninevrise is favored neither by the barons nor by the Quinalt priests. And his friendship with wizardspawn Tristen does not help things either.

Desperate in his effort to marry Ninevrise, Cefwyn decides to send Tristen back to Zeide, a new lord of Amefel. In return for this, he gets the Quinalt Patriarch to support his wedding. The plan looks good, except when Tristen arrives at Zeide, he finds the gates barred and the Amefel nobles in an uprising ...

Review

When I first opened Fortress In The Eye Of Time, I was amazed by its language. I can't quite put my finger on what it was that felt so nice about the text, but when I was reading the opening scene where Mauryl summons Tristen, I could almost feel the cold wind scattering the Shadows in his room at Ynefel. And I must say Fortress Of Eagles follows the tradition. Actually, after half a day of reading computer manuals and technical papers, it's a balm for my nerves :-).

Sadly, there are also things left to be deserved. Perhaps most notably, the disarming naivety of Tristen and the bewilderment other people feel when confronted with it seem to be wearing thin. Also, the story does not have the compact feel of the first volume, as if it were just a regrouping in preparation for more sequels (if you don't know what I mean, read volume 7 or 8 of Wheel Of Time).

Still, I liked the book and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Rating good, because I save the very good one for Fortress In The Eye Of Time, if I ever get time to go back and review it.

Rated as good by Ceres on 1999-07-24

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