Inheritance By Simon Brown
Oct. 9th, 2007 06:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmoore In the kingdom of Kendra(this universe likes to gives its countries people-names) Queen Usharna is dying. A powerful monarch, Usharna has 4 children from 3 husbands. Berayma, the crown prince, is kind, generous, a good leader and as smart a pile of bricks. His father is never really mentioned. Probably because poor Berayma is rather disposable. Next in line is Areava, proud, aristocratic and too aware of duty and obligation for her own good. The only affection she ever allows herself to show is towards her younger brother, Olio, a very sweet and kind prince whose unfortunate stammer sometimes leads people to think he's slow. Their father, unfortunately, was executed as a traitor. The youngest son, Lynan, pretty much makes Berayma look smart(though, as he's the hero, we assume he gets better) and is even more aware of his mixed heritage than anyone else is, spending all his time trying to find people who knew his father. His father was Elynd Chisal, was a commoner and a slave who became Kendra's greatest general and helped Usharna win wars and eliminate slavery. Was lucky enough to become the love of her life and the king in the process. (Can you say "If you ask nice, I'll publish the prequel one day"? Yes, yes you can.)
In Kendra, the power and duties of the monarch are spread between the four "keyholders," though the other keyholders must swear fealty to the king or queen. An only child, Usharna held all four keys throughout her reign, but she distributes them between her children upon her death. This being a royal court and our hero being a prince, there are, naturally, those in court who jump at the chance to move plots forward and make their bids for power, and they find the perfect dupes in Lynan and Areava.
Never bothering to apply himself and more focused on his "lesser" blood and his father's legend than making something of himself, Lynan is not thought of as being much by pretty much anyone, notthe least of which is Areava. Though a good person genuinely concerned about others, especially those she considers to be her responsibility, Areava has a superiority complex the size of the kingdom. She has never viewed Lynan as a brother, but as a subject, one who is in a position he's not suited for due to his background. When she tells Lynan he should give his key and responsibility to one of his siblings, there's no malice or hatred to it...she really does believe the responsibilty will be too much for him. Not, of course, that that makes it right.
This attitude is used against both siblings when Berayma is assassinated by traitors(told you he was disposable) and Lynan is rather convincingly framed for the murder. It's all too easy to convince Areava, now the queen, to turn on Lynan. Lynan flees, with only two of his father's men-giant (and captain ofthe guards) Kumul, who has served as a surrogate father, and "crookbacked" Ager-and a young mage in training, Jenrosa(she was unlucky enough to be with him at the time) with him. Thinking their only chance is Chisal's people-who essentially worship Chisal and Usharna for freeing them from slavery-the rest of the book focuses on their journey there and Areava's ascension to queen and the traitors' secretly working against her.
It starts off feeling like a solid and likable but generic coming of age fantasy, but slowly shows itself to be more. One of the benefits is that it avoids the easy road. Lynan is just as responsible for his hardships as the traitors because he never tried to apply himself, to prove that they were wrong about him or to show there was anything to him but an immature boy who'd rather run around, looking for stories about his father than anything else. Until Usharna's death, he never bothered to think about responsibility or training, and was all too eager to play the "poor unloved halfcommon prince" card as an excuse. He and Berayma were not close, they barely even knew each other, which was both their fault. When he wants revenge and to "reclaim" what's his, it's because he's pissed, not out of any great sense of justice or need for revenge for his brother. While factors, they aren't dominant. Similarly, Areava is not evil. In fact, she's a very good person, just a very flawed who was able to be manipulated. She has the potential to be as great a leader as her mother, but doesn't yet have the wiasdom or open mind to do so.
One other thing that I liked was that, while Lynan crushes rather embarassingly on Jenrosa and even tries to use his status as a prince to get her to spend time with him(but no more than that) he is soundly and right put in his place for that(before knowing who he is and realizing it could lead to head lopping) by the end of the book, it has turned into friendship. While it may turn into actual love later on, I'm very pleased to be spared endless schoolboy crushing, and it keeps Jenrosa from being reduced to the obligatory damsel in distress and love interest. Besides which, she may be the smartest and most useful one of the bunch.
Plus, there's a twist at the end with some nasty possibilities, and one that will likely keep the series from following the normal path for the coming of age heroic journey.
In Kendra, the power and duties of the monarch are spread between the four "keyholders," though the other keyholders must swear fealty to the king or queen. An only child, Usharna held all four keys throughout her reign, but she distributes them between her children upon her death. This being a royal court and our hero being a prince, there are, naturally, those in court who jump at the chance to move plots forward and make their bids for power, and they find the perfect dupes in Lynan and Areava.
Never bothering to apply himself and more focused on his "lesser" blood and his father's legend than making something of himself, Lynan is not thought of as being much by pretty much anyone, notthe least of which is Areava. Though a good person genuinely concerned about others, especially those she considers to be her responsibility, Areava has a superiority complex the size of the kingdom. She has never viewed Lynan as a brother, but as a subject, one who is in a position he's not suited for due to his background. When she tells Lynan he should give his key and responsibility to one of his siblings, there's no malice or hatred to it...she really does believe the responsibilty will be too much for him. Not, of course, that that makes it right.
This attitude is used against both siblings when Berayma is assassinated by traitors(told you he was disposable) and Lynan is rather convincingly framed for the murder. It's all too easy to convince Areava, now the queen, to turn on Lynan. Lynan flees, with only two of his father's men-giant (and captain ofthe guards) Kumul, who has served as a surrogate father, and "crookbacked" Ager-and a young mage in training, Jenrosa(she was unlucky enough to be with him at the time) with him. Thinking their only chance is Chisal's people-who essentially worship Chisal and Usharna for freeing them from slavery-the rest of the book focuses on their journey there and Areava's ascension to queen and the traitors' secretly working against her.
It starts off feeling like a solid and likable but generic coming of age fantasy, but slowly shows itself to be more. One of the benefits is that it avoids the easy road. Lynan is just as responsible for his hardships as the traitors because he never tried to apply himself, to prove that they were wrong about him or to show there was anything to him but an immature boy who'd rather run around, looking for stories about his father than anything else. Until Usharna's death, he never bothered to think about responsibility or training, and was all too eager to play the "poor unloved halfcommon prince" card as an excuse. He and Berayma were not close, they barely even knew each other, which was both their fault. When he wants revenge and to "reclaim" what's his, it's because he's pissed, not out of any great sense of justice or need for revenge for his brother. While factors, they aren't dominant. Similarly, Areava is not evil. In fact, she's a very good person, just a very flawed who was able to be manipulated. She has the potential to be as great a leader as her mother, but doesn't yet have the wiasdom or open mind to do so.
One other thing that I liked was that, while Lynan crushes rather embarassingly on Jenrosa and even tries to use his status as a prince to get her to spend time with him(but no more than that) he is soundly and right put in his place for that(before knowing who he is and realizing it could lead to head lopping) by the end of the book, it has turned into friendship. While it may turn into actual love later on, I'm very pleased to be spared endless schoolboy crushing, and it keeps Jenrosa from being reduced to the obligatory damsel in distress and love interest. Besides which, she may be the smartest and most useful one of the bunch.
Plus, there's a twist at the end with some nasty possibilities, and one that will likely keep the series from following the normal path for the coming of age heroic journey.