Watchtower

This first book in the Chronicles of Tornor trilogy can be read as a standalone. The other two books seem to follow different characters.

The book starts when Tornor Keep is taken by an enemy and the main character, named Ryke, starts to work for the him as a soldier. The prince, Errel, is captured and forced to be a jester. They both try to escape and find a plan to go back and put the prince in command of the keep again.

This is a character driven story with little plot and some world building. There aren’t many action scenes and the fights are over pretty quickly.

I liked the characters, but they could have been a bit more fleshed out (especially Norres). The bits of world building were interesting and I liked that there was a w|w show more couple and a bi main character. I wish both of the women in the relationship had the same care when it comes to characterization, but since the story is told from the perspective of Ryke I can forgive that.

I liked that the prince was interested in an art similar to Tarot and trusted the cards as a way of predicting the future too.

Ryke mentions his family here and there, but I never got a sense of who they were and it gives the impression that he doesn’t care that much for them. This character is a bit sexist at first, but the text shows that it’s out of ignorance and doesn’t make him that unlikable.

I was expecting that a romantic relationship would develop between Ryke and Errel, but that didn’t happen. There is only sharing the bed moments and unshakable loyalty from Ryke to his prince and then… the ending!

This book has a surprisingly feminist ending and this was the first time I saw a main character that had 2 unrequieted crushes and no other love interest! I kept seeing reviews about how this book is not original by today’s standards, but this was really unique. I would like to know where people saw something executed like this before.

This short book is mostly focused on dialogue and learning. The plot isn’t that original, but some decisions of the author at the end pleasantly surprised me. I am still surprised by how much I enjoyed this book first published in 1979 and how well it holds up by today’s standards, even though it took me some chapters to get into it and there is at least an outdated word. show less

The story of Ryke, a soldier of Tornor Keep, a harsh castle in a wintry land. When the fortress is taken by raiders, Ryke stays loyal to his prince (now lord, since the old lord was killed in the battle), and contrives a way for them to escape the fort with the help of two neutral messengers, Sorren and Norres, whose gender and identities are secret....
They travel to a secret valley, named after a mythical land of always-summer, where an exiled soldier, Van, is teaching small groups of followers a martial art that is somewhere between judo and capoeira, infused with a new spiritual philosophy of balance. They set out to re-take the keep - but harsh lessons are in store before each of the characters learns that their path in life may not show more be what had always been expected of them.

It's a short book, but for a first novel, excellent. Still, I feel if Lynn had written this later in her career, she probably would have fleshed out both the characters and the complex details of their world to a greater extent. show less

Enjoyed most of this fantasy which is self contained although it is volume 1 in a trilogy. Lynn presents the male viewpoint well, with the story (third person) being the experience of the soldier, Ryke, whose whole life is turned upside down when an invasion results in the death of his lord and most of his comrades. Ryke is spared and has to swear fealty to the leader of the invaders, to spare the life of the son of his dead lord, who is then forced to act as a court jester. The story narrates their eventual escape and obtaining of revenge, although things turn out very differently from how Ryke imagines or even wants. There is a fairly subtle theme of same-sex relationships in the story, with a twist at the end. Lynn also writes show more fighting scenes well. The only place where I felt the story flagged a bit is when Ryke and his lord's son reach safety and become part of a community based on farming and a form of unarmed combat which also lends itself to group dancing. show less

A good story and interesting characters and themes but some stilted dialogue and prose.

Although it's been a long since I first read the book I still keep a good impression of it. It's an original fantasy in wich things turn to be different than we expected and in wich we find a plausible way for a woman to play a crucial role in this adventure that takes place in a men's world. It's also quite refreshing the cheari way of life, a sparkling light in midst of the darkness of war. Perhaps this is not a masterpiece, but only the first fantasy novel of a (by then) young writer, but I surely would have missed it if I had not read it.

Tiptree Award retrospective shortlist

Krieger beschützt Prinzen nach verlorener Schlacht um die Burg und die beiden Männer fliehen zusammen.

Starker Anfang, wird dann aber immer öder, während man eine soziale Utopie vorgeführt bekommt und ich das Gefühl nicht loswurde, in einer politischen Lehrstunde zu sitzen. Das Gelaber über Tarotkarten wurde mir dann auch irgendwann zuviel. Die Übersetzung ist leider ziemlich schrottig, viel zu wörtlich und macht daher teilweise überhaupt keinen Sinn. Das ändert jedoch inhaltlich nichts daran, dass der Erzähler, Ryke, erst ganz zum Schluss mitbekommt, wie es um seine Gefühle für Errel bestellt ist, und dann trennen sich ihre Wege. Für mich unbefriedigend auch wenn sicherlich schön geschrieben.