Vazkor Son of Vazkor (1978)

I read this after reading The Birthgrave, which is the order both of the story and the publishing. I can't say if the references to the first book are distracting to someone reading this book first. I think there are some references that seemed more about connecting to the first book than about it's own story.

The ending feels incomplete. I suspect the third book in the trilogy was written as a part of this book. The ending isn't as bad as the ending of The Birthgrave. I think if the ending was meant to feel like an ending, a different aspect of the story line would have been emphasized.

Lee creates a lot of interesting characters. Sometimes she fleshes out nice dynamics between them. In this book I think, counter-intuitively, that the need to tell as story for a book in a trilogy gets in the way of of these characters. I think if it were possible the characters would have given us a different book than the one we got. One difference would be the pacing, which I think was uneven.

These issues with the book though are more about me wanting more of some of the characters and more of what I suspect is Lee's stream of consciousness. ( )

Tuvek is the son of a tribal leader and somewhat of an outcast due to his mother's "out-tribe" status. Growing up, he began to notice his body could heal itself and that he required very little nourishment. More powerful than the men of the tribe, he is viewed as potentially dangerous competition. Once his mother becomes pregnant again, he learns he is not a true member of the tribe and he sets out to discover his real parents and true heritage, learning more about his strange powers along the way.

This novel is told from Tuvek's point of view as he comes to terms with his powers and his history and struggles to understand his real parents, both of whom are missing from his life. He has dreams and visions and swears vengeance against his mother, who he believes wronged his father. His hatred for her shapes who he is and with his incredible powers he becomes a very arrogant character. I didn't find Tuvek (who also goes by many names, like his mother before him) to be as intriguing of a character as Uastis because he was a little one note. Tanith does showcase more of the world Tuvek and Uastis are in though Tuvek's journeys and I enjoyed reading about the different locals he encountered. ( )

Tuvek is the son of a tribal leader and somewhat of an outcast due to his mother's "out-tribe" status. Growing up, he began to notice his body could heal itself and that he required very little nourishment. More powerful than the men of the tribe, he is viewed as potentially dangerous competition. Once his mother becomes pregnant again, he learns he is not a true member of the tribe and he sets out to discover his real parents and true heritage, learning more about his strange powers along the way.

This novel is told from Tuvek's point of view as he comes to terms with his powers and his history and struggles to understand his real parents, both of whom are missing from his life. He has dreams and visions and swears vengeance against his mother, who he believes wronged his father. His hatred for her shapes who he is and with his incredible powers he becomes a very arrogant character. I didn't find Tuvek (who also goes by many names, like his mother before him) to be as intriguing of a character as Uastis because he was a little one note. Tanith does showcase more of the world Tuvek and Uastis are in though Tuvek's journeys and I enjoyed reading about the different locals he encountered. ( )

This goofily-named book is the sequel to Tanith Lee's first adult novel The Birthgrave. It takes place one generation later, having for its narrator a man who appears in the earlier book only as an infant. The mood is consistent with the first book, both being in large measure meditations on personal destiny and self-discovery. The level of numinosity is lowered somewhat, though. The juxtaposition of savagery and decadence, with intimations of ancient powers, is all par for the sword-and-sorcery course, but Lee does good work with it.

I wonder how this story would read to someone not already informed by the first volume. This book seems to call out for a sequel in a way that the first did not.

The Birthgrave was very good but this sequel just seemed incredibly over-the-top and I abandoned it half way through. ( )