Subject: REVIEW: _A_Tapestry_of_Lions_ by Jennifer Roberson

From: [email-masked] (L.A. Melloy)
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 05:44:56 GMT

Well since someone kinda asked me to, here are my opinions of _A_Tapestry_
of_Lions.
*SPOILERS*
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That should be enough....

For anyone who hasn't read Jennifer Roberson's _Chronicles_of_the_Cheysuli_
[henceforth, titles will not be underlined, but you'll know what are titles])
I would advise reading them.  For a brief overview, the eight books in the
series span approximately 100 years of history of the magical Cheysuli
(translated in their language as "children of the gods"), a people who
bond to animal familiars, called lir, and can shapeshift into that form.
The driving force of the Cheysuli race is the fulfillment of a prophecy of the
Firstborn, that "one day a man of all blood shall unite, in peace, four
warring realms and two magical races".  The eight books relate the trials
and tribulations of many characters, all attempting to fulfill this prophecy.
The writing in most of the books is very good: tight and descriptive.  The
reader knows that by the end of the series, the prophecy WILL be fulfilled,
but Ms. Roberson makes the how VERY interesting, and not always how you
would expect it.

For anyone who has read Roberson's other seven books in this series, it was
a good wrap up (much like "All the Weyrs of Pern" was for McCaffrey's 
_Dragonrider_ series), but overall, I don't think it was NEARLY as well written
as the first six books of the series (Shapechangers, Song of Homana, Legacy of
the Sword, Track of the White Wolf, The Pride of Princes, and Daugher of the
Lion), and even below the seventh book, Flight of the Raven.  It seemed that
Ms. Roberson tried to cram everything she wanted to tie up about the Cheysuli
prophecy in one book because she had said she would, even though it probably
belonged in two.  The first book in the series, Shapechagers, was probably
only 200-300 pages long.  A Tapestry of Lions was over 500.

The story is about Kellin, Prince of Homana (where the stories are set in, and
one of the "warring" realms, though by this time all the "warring" realms are
at peace).  Kellin is the final link before the coming of the Firstborn,
Cynric, who will be his son.  For now, Kellin is an angry, bitter young man.
His mother, Shona, was brutally murdered and Kellin ripped from her womb by
the Ihlini (the other magical race, and mortal enemy of the Cheysuli).  His
father, Aidan, abandoned both son and crown to become a prophet for the coming
of the Firstborn.  Raised by his grandparents, Kellin rapidly loses several
people close to him due to his role in the prophecy, and denies everything that
he can become close to:  friends, kin, and even lir.

The plot details the many things Kellin goes through, from losing his
beloved uncle Ian to "the Lion", the symbol of the Homanan kingship, to
the fights while slumming, to his denial of lir and the bestialness when he
does finally get one.  He confronts his father about abandoning him, only to be
sent to Valgaard, the Ihlini stronghold, on a quest from the gods.  It is
there that the means to fulfilling the prophecy comes about (which it is).
The book ends with the "warring" realms, all ruled by Kellin's great uncles,
giving over their kingdoms to Homana to rule, since none of them have heirs,
the birth of Cynric, and the resulting events marking the realization of the
Firstborn.

Many of the episodes related are disjointed, too brief, and do not really 
affect the reader (excepting the death of Ian, who was a character in all but
the first two books, and the surprising death of another character), but both
of these are due to knowing the characters from previous books, and not because
of anything presented in this one.  The back cover preview is VERY misleading,
speaking of Kellin being lir-less, and yet you can tell by the front cover he
does get a lir, since he wears the ornaments that only warriors with lirs
receive.

The success of the first seven books is due to HOW Ms. Roberson tells the
story, since the end result is already known.  This book fails on this count.
You never really learn to care what happens to Kellin, like you did with the
other numerous characters in her books.  He is just a spoiled brat, with
no redeeming qualities, despite all the hard knocks Ms. Roberson gives
him to gain our sympathy.

Overall, I think this was a lousy book, but it DOES finish up the story.  I
did like the Epilogue, though.  For anyone who has read the other seven books,
it can stand on it's own (to a certain extent).  If you really want to see the
good stuff, read just that.

-- 
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Leigh Ann Melloy  |  "I would like us to come together and build......
[email-masked]  |                a chopstick." - From the movie _Mr._Baseball
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