PG16- Blood Trillium (v,some b)
PG13- Black Trillium (v)
May is a well-regarded fantasy writer and editor, but I have only read one and 1/3 of her books, so I can't give a clear idea of her work overall. I thought her style was interesting enough, but it failed to grab me as strongly as that of my favorite authors. That may not be her fault, however, because she was writing in a world partially created by other people, which always seems to strain a writer's abilities. I'm certainly willing to give her another try in a different series.
The world of the three moons is varied and large, with magic running rampant. The "Vanished Ones" once lived there, and they left many old ruins in the country of Ruwenda, whose main castle is said to have been built by them. Ruwenda is a peaceful country, a bit eccentric, but kindly to its human and non-human inhabitants (known as Oddlings). The Oddlings mostly live in the ubiquitous swamps, and they have different tribes, some kindly disposed toward humans, some not. Ruwenda's predictably covetuous neighbor Labornok has tried several times to invade, but is always turned back in the narrow mountain passes by magical forces. Yet now, Labornok's king has a powerful mage of his own, and the Archimage who has protected Ruwenda is growing old. Enter the three princesses of the Ruwendan royal family, born under magical circumstances.
While it starts off on a strong basis, Black Trillium is pulled apart by forces beyond its control. Three authors (Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton) attempt to write three characters- triplet sisters- on three seperate quests, and the results were frustrating. The premise gives rise to a good first few chapters where the army is preparing to invade and the princesses are running for their lives. Then it rapidly disentegrates into three different quests stories, pasted together. The result is the tone of a Terry Brooks novel, but more scattered in plot and theme. I almost wish the authors had found some way to cut up the middle into the three sections and only leave the beginning and end integrated, but they didn't. On the other hand, the authors did do a very convincing job of producing three different personalities. If you can stand three authors pulling in slightly different directions, you'll probably like this book. My recommendation: if you like at least two of the authors and aren't too picky about smoothness of style, try it. It's not a bad book, and it has lots of promise, especially in the setting.
While Blood Trillium does stabilize the style by having only Julian May writing, it lacks some of the depth and dignity of the first book. Haramis, Kadiya, and Anigel, having won, are now uncertain of their victory. It's 12 years later, and new problems threaten, the worst of which is that the sisters fight amongst themselves, having chosen very different life paths. Also, a new mage has appeared on the scene; the girls don't know if he's the original Orogastus or not. The first half seemed very much like the first book, but the last half starts exploring the world of the Vanished Ones, and there is where I have some problems. The ideas are wonderful, but the execution of them is confusing, slightly unbelievable, and somewhat anticlimactic. Here I am expecting a huge, slowly unravelling, sharp turn mystery, and I get a matter-of-fact description that leaves me feeling like I missed something. Parts of this book are good, but overall it left me unsatisfied.
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Last Updated: October 16, 1999
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