The Griffin or the Agate

Jo Walton makes a fine sophmore showing with The King's Name (sequel to her debut, The King's Peace). Character development is clearly Ms. Walton's forte, as even her minor characters have a richness that is often lacking in shorter novels. A cleverly written introduction in the form of a recently discovered ancient manuscript allows readers who missed the first installment to catch up quickly and smoothly.
     Continuing the saga started in The King's Peace, the land of Tir Tanagiri is on the verge of civil war. Sulien ap Gwien is our heroine -- a warrior, and a king in her own right (Tir Tanagiri is made up of different kingdoms, each with their own king, recently united under one High King), though she'd prefer to just be a warrior. She is married to her duty and comes off as almost asexual, though not emotionally cold. Her first duty is to the high king, and that loyalty, and the painful sacrifices it requires, serves as the overwhelming theme of the story. Ms. Walton doesn't make the slightest attempt to soften the horrors of civil war, and doesn't focus on the intrigues and doublecrosses that accompany internal strife (although they are not overlooked, either). Instead, this is a book about the ugliness of war and how it affects both those that must ride into battle and those that must stay home. The reader is presented with a stark picture of the hardships of war and the particular lack of glory that comes from fighting your fellow countrymen.
     While the story is beautifully written, the poetry that accompanies each chapter is not. Stilted and often out of meter, it is almost painful to read, particularly next to the excellent prose. To add insult to injury, it adds nothing to the story and appears to be completely gratuitous. The paper saved by leaving out the verse at the beginning of each chapter could have been used to add a map, something that is sorely missed when trying to follow battle plans and troop movements throughout the book.
     Overall, this is a clean and well-executed novel, with fabulous characters and beautiful descriptive passages. Though a bit shorter than I prefer my epics, the richness of the story and the characters more than makes up for the lack of verbiage -- and the poetry.   §

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