Daughter of Regals and Other Tales
by Stephen R. Donaldson
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever (Collections and Selections — 2.5), The Complete Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (Collections and Selections — 2.5)
On This Page
Description
A short story collection from the New York Times bestselling author—available in trade paperback for the first time. “Donaldson proves that he is as adept at the short story as he is at the novel" (Denver Rocky Mountain News), in this superb collection. The famous outtake from The Illearth War, “Gilden-Fire,” headlines eight tales of mystics and unicorns, angels and kings—all written with the dazzling style and imagination that have made Stephen R. Donaldson one of the top show more fantasists of the day. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
An anthology of novellas and short stories, one of which is material excised from the Thomas Covenant trilogy. They’re mostly fantasy, one could described as urban fantasy, and one science fiction.
In all honesty, I prefer these to his longer works, especially the Thomas Covenant stories. Also, the women in these stories come across as active rather than passive (my issue with Mordant’s Need and A Man Rode Through), especially in the title story.
Recommended
In all honesty, I prefer these to his longer works, especially the Thomas Covenant stories. Also, the women in these stories come across as active rather than passive (my issue with Mordant’s Need and A Man Rode Through), especially in the title story.
Recommended
This collection would be worth buying just for "Gilden Fire", the novella that was omitted from the Covenant series, for good reasons, but the story is fantastic. The other stories are nearly as good, featuring Donaldson's usual excellent writing and unique concepts.
This book is well worth reading for the first story alone... next to Gaiman's 'Chivalry', 'Daughter of Regals' is my favourite fantasy short story. It has everything a fantasy novel should have - magical people, magical beasts, a well-written main character and supporting cast, and all the politics that should go with any governmental system - all condensed into a very readable 86 pages. It's gripping, and its format lends it extra pace.
Of the other stories in the volume 'Sir Visal's Tale' and 'Animal Lover' compete for second place, while 'The Conqueror Worm' is perhaps the best known - and possibly the most predictable. As with 'Daughter of Regals', though, the short, pacey style of it doesn't let you lose interest before the painful show more conclusion. show less
Of the other stories in the volume 'Sir Visal's Tale' and 'Animal Lover' compete for second place, while 'The Conqueror Worm' is perhaps the best known - and possibly the most predictable. As with 'Daughter of Regals', though, the short, pacey style of it doesn't let you lose interest before the painful show more conclusion. show less
As a whole, this anthology is varied - it's pretty much half science fiction, half fantasy, with some of the fantasy stories set in some sort of fantasy medieval-like world and some of the fantasy stories set in more contemporary times. All the stories in this trilogy were first published in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"Daughter of Regals":
In this fantasy novella, a young woman is trying to get through the evening that will determine whether or not she is a Regal. If she can manage to pass the test (sitting upon a stone that no one who isn't Magic could even touch), then it will be proved that she is a Creature (a being that sometimes looks like a human, but that could also look like a dragon, phoenix, or some other being) and show more therefore the next Regal. If she does not pass the test, then those around her will kill her. Before she can even begin the test, however, she must delicately weave her way through all kinds of dangerous political machinations, dealing with each of the rulers who have come and expect her to fail.
When I first started this story, my main response was "huh?" but I eventually got over that and accepted that I would never really understand what Donaldson means by "Real" and "not Real." As one who usually reads things by female authors, I expected this story to go a lot differently than it did - a female author would've written things so that the handsome young man who is so attentive to the plain young woman would turn out to be the Creature, saving and marrying the young woman when she fails the test. This isn't what happens, but I won't say what does happen - although my ending would've been more predictable, I think I might've enjoyed it a little more, which isn't to say that I disliked Donaldson's ending. I'm just a romantic, and I wanted a little romance for her - she's intelligent, careful, and seems a little lonely.
"Gilden-Fire":
This is actually an outtake from Donaldson's The Illearth War, so I'd suggest reading that book if you haven't already. I haven't actually read that book, so I was a little lost as I read this story. This is apparently part of a character named Korik's mission to Seareach. As he and his party travel Grimmerdhore Forest, they worry that something is wrong with the Forest and the trees (which, I gather, are somewhat sentient). In the end, the entire party must deal with a pack of dangerous wolves. I spent quite a bit of time confused during this story. However, I may eventually read the books in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series - some of the characters in this outtake interested me.
"Mythological Beast":
In the future Donaldson presents in this science fiction story, everything that might upset people has been eliminated. Everyone has little biomitter that reassures them that they are okay. Unfortunately, one morning Norman wakes up and his biomitter appears to obviously be wrong - how could he be okay when he's got a hard, horn-like lump on his forehead? As his symptoms begin to get worse, Norman starts investigating things.
It's a simple story, but I still enjoyed it. Although I can't say I agree that the world would ever get this placid, there are some aspects to the future Donaldson has created that are a bit chilling in the connections they have to what's going on in the world today. No one in Norman's world reads (Norman is one of the few people who knows how to read, because he works at the National Library), and no one questions anything.
"The Lady in White":
In this first-person fantasy story, a blacksmith/wheelwright/ironmonger named Mardik tells the story of the Lady in White and how she bewitched him and his brother. After Mardik's brother saw her and went to visit her home in the woods, he returned blind. At first, Mardik wanted to avenge his brother, but after Mardik saw the Lady in White, he, too, was bewitched. Mardik attempts repeatedly to get to her, determined to have her as his own. The ending of this one is weird - make of it what you will.
This story reminded me a little of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. Just as the beauty of the Snow Queen draws in and changes the boy in the fairy tale, the beauty of the the Lady in White draws in and changes the men in Donaldson's story.
"Animal Lover":
In this science fiction story, it's sometime in the future, and one of the biggest forms of entertainment and ways for people to let out their aggression in a controlled manner is hunting. Special Agent Sam Browne is unusual, in that he feels disdain for these hunters and protectiveness for the animals - on his off days, he likes to go into hunting preserves and smuggle out animals so that they can be taken to a zoo (where, unfortunately, they don't fare much better). Sam's boss, knowing his interests, gives him a case involving a hunting preserve with an unusually high percentage of human deaths. Sam has to try to infiltrate the preserve enough to figure out what's going on and stop it.
This is an exciting story, but, at the same time, it's almost B-movie cheesy in the way it handles genetic engineering fears - not too surprising, since it was first published in 1978, but that knowledge didn't make me stop snickering at some of the visuals (like rabbits with hand grenades).
"Unworthy of the Angel":
A man who can remember nothing from his past, not even his own identity, encounters a young woman in need of help. He eventually convinces her to introduce him to her brother, so that he can figure out exactly what's going on and what he must do to save her life. Basically, in order to get his sculptures known and seen, the woman's brother agrees to a gallery owner's conditions that he create all his sculptures out of a strange, evil black clay. He unknowingly is causing his sister's death with his efforts.
I enjoyed this story, although it was obvious well before the end of the story what the supposedly amnesiac man was.All you have to do is read the title for a nice big clue.
"The Conqueror Worm":
A young married couple are fighting in their house. The man is upset and is accusing his wife of sleeping with other men, while the woman is upset over what she sees as his unreasonable jealousy. While the two fight, they keep encountering a disgusting, 10-inch long centipede that gets closer and closer to the woman.
Although I didn't think this was the best story in the anthology, the creepy-crawly aspect really stuck with me. The centipede may or may not be a metaphor for the husband's sexually-oriented anger - several of the people in my book discussion group caught this possibility as they read, too, so I'm apparently not the only person to think this.
"Ser Visal's Tale":
A bunch of young boys sit around Ser Visal as he drinks and tells the tale of events surrounding a young nobleman (I think he was a nobleman - anyway, he had a decently high station) and a witch. Think Salem Witch Trials - any woman accused of witchcraft gets imprisoned and tortured, and, of course, all women who are declared witches are found to be guilty. Dom Peralt was a drunken party animal who owned no slaves, unusual for this society. One day, as he is making his drunken way around, a slaver forces him into a situation where he must buy a slave. Dom Peralt does and immediately sets her free. He passes out from drunkenness and wakes up to discover that he has been jailed for consorting with a witch - the woman he freed. Dom Peralt tries to figure out if there's a way for him to survive this situation. He doesn't want to die, but some seemed to determined to make him appear guilty, and he doesn't want the young witch to die in his place.
Although I didn't like how the story was going when I first started it (Ser Visal seemed like an overly pious bastard, and Donaldson took his usual leisurely time getting around to the exciting parts of the story), the story really grew on me. Ser Visal was not, in fact, the overly pious bastard I thought he was - his slips of the tongue, emotions, and actions reveal that he hates the injustices that are rife in his society. If you can get past Donaldson's verbosity, this is a very thoughtful story. The one bit that bothered me was that there seemed to be a few loose ends that were not necessarily covered by Ser Visal's final revelation.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
"Daughter of Regals":
In this fantasy novella, a young woman is trying to get through the evening that will determine whether or not she is a Regal. If she can manage to pass the test (sitting upon a stone that no one who isn't Magic could even touch), then it will be proved that she is a Creature (a being that sometimes looks like a human, but that could also look like a dragon, phoenix, or some other being) and show more therefore the next Regal. If she does not pass the test, then those around her will kill her. Before she can even begin the test, however, she must delicately weave her way through all kinds of dangerous political machinations, dealing with each of the rulers who have come and expect her to fail.
When I first started this story, my main response was "huh?" but I eventually got over that and accepted that I would never really understand what Donaldson means by "Real" and "not Real." As one who usually reads things by female authors, I expected this story to go a lot differently than it did - a female author would've written things so that the handsome young man who is so attentive to the plain young woman would turn out to be the Creature, saving and marrying the young woman when she fails the test. This isn't what happens, but I won't say what does happen - although my ending would've been more predictable, I think I might've enjoyed it a little more, which isn't to say that I disliked Donaldson's ending. I'm just a romantic, and I wanted a little romance for her - she's intelligent, careful, and seems a little lonely.
"Gilden-Fire":
This is actually an outtake from Donaldson's The Illearth War, so I'd suggest reading that book if you haven't already. I haven't actually read that book, so I was a little lost as I read this story. This is apparently part of a character named Korik's mission to Seareach. As he and his party travel Grimmerdhore Forest, they worry that something is wrong with the Forest and the trees (which, I gather, are somewhat sentient). In the end, the entire party must deal with a pack of dangerous wolves. I spent quite a bit of time confused during this story. However, I may eventually read the books in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series - some of the characters in this outtake interested me.
"Mythological Beast":
In the future Donaldson presents in this science fiction story, everything that might upset people has been eliminated. Everyone has little biomitter that reassures them that they are okay. Unfortunately, one morning Norman wakes up and his biomitter appears to obviously be wrong - how could he be okay when he's got a hard, horn-like lump on his forehead? As his symptoms begin to get worse, Norman starts investigating things.
It's a simple story, but I still enjoyed it. Although I can't say I agree that the world would ever get this placid, there are some aspects to the future Donaldson has created that are a bit chilling in the connections they have to what's going on in the world today. No one in Norman's world reads (Norman is one of the few people who knows how to read, because he works at the National Library), and no one questions anything.
"The Lady in White":
In this first-person fantasy story, a blacksmith/wheelwright/ironmonger named Mardik tells the story of the Lady in White and how she bewitched him and his brother. After Mardik's brother saw her and went to visit her home in the woods, he returned blind. At first, Mardik wanted to avenge his brother, but after Mardik saw the Lady in White, he, too, was bewitched. Mardik attempts repeatedly to get to her, determined to have her as his own. The ending of this one is weird - make of it what you will.
This story reminded me a little of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. Just as the beauty of the Snow Queen draws in and changes the boy in the fairy tale, the beauty of the the Lady in White draws in and changes the men in Donaldson's story.
"Animal Lover":
In this science fiction story, it's sometime in the future, and one of the biggest forms of entertainment and ways for people to let out their aggression in a controlled manner is hunting. Special Agent Sam Browne is unusual, in that he feels disdain for these hunters and protectiveness for the animals - on his off days, he likes to go into hunting preserves and smuggle out animals so that they can be taken to a zoo (where, unfortunately, they don't fare much better). Sam's boss, knowing his interests, gives him a case involving a hunting preserve with an unusually high percentage of human deaths. Sam has to try to infiltrate the preserve enough to figure out what's going on and stop it.
This is an exciting story, but, at the same time, it's almost B-movie cheesy in the way it handles genetic engineering fears - not too surprising, since it was first published in 1978, but that knowledge didn't make me stop snickering at some of the visuals (like rabbits with hand grenades).
"Unworthy of the Angel":
A man who can remember nothing from his past, not even his own identity, encounters a young woman in need of help. He eventually convinces her to introduce him to her brother, so that he can figure out exactly what's going on and what he must do to save her life. Basically, in order to get his sculptures known and seen, the woman's brother agrees to a gallery owner's conditions that he create all his sculptures out of a strange, evil black clay. He unknowingly is causing his sister's death with his efforts.
I enjoyed this story, although it was obvious well before the end of the story what the supposedly amnesiac man was.
"The Conqueror Worm":
A young married couple are fighting in their house. The man is upset and is accusing his wife of sleeping with other men, while the woman is upset over what she sees as his unreasonable jealousy. While the two fight, they keep encountering a disgusting, 10-inch long centipede that gets closer and closer to the woman.
Although I didn't think this was the best story in the anthology, the creepy-crawly aspect really stuck with me. The centipede may or may not be a metaphor for the husband's sexually-oriented anger - several of the people in my book discussion group caught this possibility as they read, too, so I'm apparently not the only person to think this.
"Ser Visal's Tale":
A bunch of young boys sit around Ser Visal as he drinks and tells the tale of events surrounding a young nobleman (I think he was a nobleman - anyway, he had a decently high station) and a witch. Think Salem Witch Trials - any woman accused of witchcraft gets imprisoned and tortured, and, of course, all women who are declared witches are found to be guilty. Dom Peralt was a drunken party animal who owned no slaves, unusual for this society. One day, as he is making his drunken way around, a slaver forces him into a situation where he must buy a slave. Dom Peralt does and immediately sets her free. He passes out from drunkenness and wakes up to discover that he has been jailed for consorting with a witch - the woman he freed. Dom Peralt tries to figure out if there's a way for him to survive this situation. He doesn't want to die, but some seemed to determined to make him appear guilty, and he doesn't want the young witch to die in his place.
Although I didn't like how the story was going when I first started it (Ser Visal seemed like an overly pious bastard, and Donaldson took his usual leisurely time getting around to the exciting parts of the story), the story really grew on me. Ser Visal was not, in fact, the overly pious bastard I thought he was - his slips of the tongue, emotions, and actions reveal that he hates the injustices that are rife in his society. If you can get past Donaldson's verbosity, this is a very thoughtful story. The one bit that bothered me was that there seemed to be a few loose ends that were not necessarily covered by Ser Visal's final revelation.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
Donaldson's first collection of short stories, this edition includes Gildenfire, an outtake from Thomas Covenant. Daughter of Regals is the best in the bunch, those with the blood can shpaechange into creatures of power, but kingdoms need rulers who can make the right decisions. Some of the other tales get darker.
I enjoyed this collection of stories. It's been quite awhile now since I've read them and I mainly remember the odd angel story - the angel with no memory. It was a bit disturbing thinking there were angels out there with a 24 hour memory.
I first became acquainted with Donaldson when I read "A Man Rides Through" and "The Mirror of Her Dreams". Loved those books! Then I read Thomas Covenant and I felt it got off to a slow start but that Donaldson eventually became a better writer as the series progressed. Then I read these short stories to help me get through my Covenant withdrawal.
After that, I picked up a science fiction story by Donaldson and read about 2 or 3 pages and put it down.
I have not revisited him since then. I probably should.
I first became acquainted with Donaldson when I read "A Man Rides Through" and "The Mirror of Her Dreams". Loved those books! Then I read Thomas Covenant and I felt it got off to a slow start but that Donaldson eventually became a better writer as the series progressed. Then I read these short stories to help me get through my Covenant withdrawal.
After that, I picked up a science fiction story by Donaldson and read about 2 or 3 pages and put it down.
I have not revisited him since then. I probably should.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Introduction -- Daughter of Regals -- Gilden-Fire -- Mythological Beast -- The Lady in White -- Animal Lover -- Unworthy of the Angel -- The Conqueror Worm -- Ser Visal's Tale
Contents: Introduction -- Daughter of Regals -- Gilden-Fire -- Mythological Beast -- The Lady in White -- Animal Lover -- Unworthy of the Angel -- The Conqueror Worm -- Ser Visal's Tale
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
93+ Works 54,752 Members
Stephen Donaldson, 1947 - Novelist Stephen Donaldson was born on May 13, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio to James R. Donaldson, a medical missionary, and Mary Ruth Reeder, a prosthetist. His father was an orthopedic surgeon that worked with lepers in India. He lived in India between the ages of three to sixteen and while listening to one of his father's show more lectures on leprosy, he conceived the legendary Thomas Covenant. Donaldson attended the College of Wooster, Ohio and graduated in 1968. Afterwards, he spent two years being a conscientious objector doing hospital work in Akron and then attended Kent University where he received an M.A. in English. Donaldson's publishing debut was with "Lord Foul's Bane" (1977), which was the first book in the fantasy trilogy entitled The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. It was named best novel of the year by the British Fantasy Society and received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, in 1979. He followed with the sequel series The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, also set in The Land, starting with "Daughter of Regals," and then the Mordant's Need series with "The Mirror of Her Dreams" and "A Man Rides Through." Donaldson is also the author of the Gap Into series of science fiction adventure that began with "The Real Story" and followed with "Forbidden Knowledge," "A Dark and Hungry God Arises," and "Chaos and Order." In addition to the awards he received for his first novel/series, Donaldson has also received the Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Novel for "The Wounded Land" in 1981 and for "The One Tree" in 1983, the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Novel for "The One Tree" in 1983, the Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Collection for "Daughter of Regals and Other Tales" in 1985, and the Science Fiction Book Club Award for Best Book of the Year for "The Mirror of Her Dreams" in 1988 and "A Man Rides Through" in 1989. He also received The College of Wooster Distinguished Alumni Award in 1989, the WIN/WIN Popular Fiction Readers Choice Award for Favorite Fantasy Author in 1991, the Atlanta Fantasy Fair Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1992 and the President's Award, The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts in 1997. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever
3 works (Collections and Selections — 2.5)
The Complete Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
10 works (Collections and Selections — 2.5)
Belongs to Publisher Series
Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy (06/4225)
Work Relationships
Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Daughter of Regals and Other Tales
- Original title
- Daughter of Regals and Other Tales
- Original publication date
- 1984-04
- People/Characters
- Brodwick (Mage); Cashon (Mage); Chrysalis; Damia (Queen of Lodan); Kodar; Ryzel (Mage) (show all 10); Scour (Mage); Thone (King of Canna); Thornden (Count of Nabal); Korik Bloodguard
- Important places
- The Three Kingdoms
- Dedication
- To Stephanie, who never fails of magic.
- First words
- I wish I could claim that the stories in this volume were written as part of a continuing effort to conquer new literary territory. (introduction)
Through a small, narrow window high up in one wall of the manor's great ballroom, I watched the last of the lesser guests arrive. ("Daughter of Regals")
As sunrise echoed the fire of farewell which High Lord Elena had launched into the heavens from the watchtower of Revelstone, Korik Bloodguard and his mission to Seareach wheeled their Ranyhyn, tightened their resolve about t... (show all)hem, and went running into the east. ("Gilden-Fire")
Norman was a perfectly safe, perfectly sane man. ("Mythological beast")
I am a sensible man. ("The Lady in White")
I was standing in front of Elizabeth's cage when the hum behind my right ear told me Inspector Morganstark wanted to see me. ("Animal lover")
Let no man be unworthy of the Angel who stands over him. - unknown
...And stumbled when my feet seemed to come down on the sidewalk out of nowhere. ("Unworthy of the Angel")
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.
- Edgar Allen Poe
Before he realized what he was doing, he swung the knife. ("The conqueror worm")
The prospect of a tale from Ser Visal drew us as a flame draws moths, though only the most timid goodwoman - or the most rigorous Templeman - would claim that there was any danger in stories. ("Ser Visal's tale") - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)When I had dismissed my Mage and counsellor, I took on my other form and went out into the world to make the acquaintance of my fellow Creatures. ("Daughter of Regals")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But he had reason to know that what lay ahead would be worse. ("Gilden-Fire")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And there was no fear in her eyes at all. ("Mythological beast")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)For he has gained his heart's desire, and I - why, I am Mardik the blacksmith, wheelwright and ironmonger; and despite all my failures I have been given a gift worthy of treasuring, for I have been kissed by the Lady in White. ("The Lady in White")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"The hell they will." ("Animal lover")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)My bare feet didn't make any sound as I left the room, crossed the foyer, and went out into... ("Unworthy of the Angel")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Before he realized what he was doing - ("The conqueror worm")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He was as steady on his feet as a sack of grain as he walked away. ("Ser Visal's tale") - Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Contents: Introduction -- Daughter of Regals -- Gilden-Fire -- Mythological Beast -- The Lady in White -- Animal Lover -- Unworthy of the Angel -- The Conqueror Worm -- Ser Visal's Tale
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 1,411
- Popularity
- 16,673
- Reviews
- 13
- Rating
- (3.62)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 16