Diplomacy of Wolves

Bear with me and let me give my bottom-line advice right now : The trilogy of The Secret Texts is a must read for anybody looking for great adventure, exotic settings and endearing characters. And if, like myself, you're curious about the genre but don't care about elves, goblins and traditional wizards, don't worry: Ms. Lisle's Secret Texts will provide you fantasy, but with an edge. Forget the elves and meet the Scarred; trade bearded wizards for dangerously powerful Dragons and cunning Wolves; and expect no damsel in distress : the heroine, Kait Galweigh, can be a tough - and deadly - cookie.What has impressed me first in these three books is the setting. I finished this serie with the impression that Matrin was real and that, given the chance, I could find my way in it: this is what I call impressive worldbuilding. Matrin also includes very distinct territories inhabited by all kinds of different (you could say esthetically challenged but very functional) people. Those features alone would make it worth the trip, but what makes Matrin all the more interesting is that there is a frightful explanation for these variations. No, you can't blame it on the weather...The characterization of the Falcon's and the Dragon's distinct magics is also admirably rigorous: You can't have nothing if you don't give anything first, and Ms. Lisle has given the Falcons and the Dragons drastically different ways of respecting this principle in the use of their magic. The result is magic you can make sense of; no annoying deus ex machina in Matrin's magical systems, and no offense done to the reader's intelligence.As for the characters, well, I liked Kait and Ry, of course. But Ms. Lisle's Secret Texts are filled with endearing second roles. No, you won't yawn your head off when Kait and Ry aren't in the spotlight. Quite the contrary; every character has a story in store that will grab your interest and your heart. And what I appreciated the most in the Secret Texts was that these characters possess strong and plausible motives, and that these motives bring about numerous moral dilemmas. If you think about petty, conventional and easy choices, well, think again. The characters are caught in juicy, enticing, complicated moral issues, and each decision comes with a price to pay. And in Ms. Lisle's books, when characters suffer, it's always to the reader's benefit...!Finally, all these characters gravitate around a story that contains a whole tank truck of unpredictable twists and turns. But again, I never felt cheated: in Ms. Lisle story as in Matrin's magic, everything makes sense. I have only one complain concerning the trilogy, but you can skip this part, as it does not concern the story in itself. It's a problem of almost every fantasy book on the shelves, namely, these covers where you can see an image of the heroes. First, you're bound to discover inconsistencies between the image and the description done by the author (for example, Kait's hair is supposed to b

DIPLOMACY OF WOLVES starts one of the best written and most enjoyable fantasy trilogies I've run across in years. It manages to realize many of the strengths of epic fantasy while succumbing to only one of its shortcomings.The single shortcoming: because it's the opener of a series, the first book doesn't offer the closure I tend to like and the ending is a cliffhanger (but a subtle one--not the irritating protagonist-hangs-by-her-fingernails-from-a-cliff ).The characters are incredibly well-drawn, especially the female protagonist. Kait Galweigh is a likable young member of a noble family who burns to escape becoming a decoration, which is the doom of her fellow Galweigh women; she gets the chance via a small-time diplomatic assignment that quickly escalates into a run for her life and a quest to save her family from their old enemies, the Sabirs. Crispin Sabir, the chief villain, is a despicable and frightening ego-maniac who will stop at nothing to destroy the Galweighs; but he's no Snidely Whiplash--he's terrible but textured, and brought to my mind nothing so much as the Borgias. The world of the story, Matrin, is shadowy place with an apocalyptic past and dark magic; its slowly-revealed history is broad and complex, and not one event feels contrived--except insofar as people within that history have contrived it. You can feel the weight of the past through the characters, which is an effect that not many fantasies manage to convey. We only get glimpses of the most interesting parts here--the dissident philosopher Vincalis the Agitator, the Wizards' War that wrecked the planet and left lingering dangers for the present, and the awe-inspiring civilization of the Ancients before the war.The best thing about the book, however, is the language. It's _alive_ in a way that very little fantasy is, and it puts a lot of fantasy writers to shame. The best way to end the review is with a particularly good quote, from a dream sequence on pages 72-73:"Then the dream metamorphosed, and she ran, wild and reckless, smelling the rich earth and the vibrant growth of jungle and forest and field, floating at incredible speeds with her feet never quite touching the ground. All the while, something terrible pursued her. The scent of her pursuer rose out of the ground and poisoned the air she breathed. Honeysuckle. Sweet Honeysuckle. It terrified her, though she did not know why. She careened along the edge of a cliff that appeared out of nowhere, and discovered in the same instant that she was running beside her cousin Danya. The two of them were girls again, exploring the grounds outside the House, and she knew without knowing how that the two of them had wakened something old and evil . . . and that the monster they had awakened wanted to destroy them. Then the cliff fell away beneath them, and she and Danya fell silently . . ."

I have been an avid reader of Science Fiction and Fantasy since the early 1960s, starting with the works of Robert E. Howard, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. I have found that most Fantasy written over the years is placed in the same Medieval setting, with an honored class of powerful Wizards controlling the forces of magic, ruled by a class of nobles with mostly noble intentions. Good and evil is very well differentiated in most of these novels, and the battle between them is a straightforward affair at best, with maybe a betrayal here or there for the element of surprise. Holly Lisle turned her back on these conventions and breaks new ground in her Diplomacy of Wolves, the first in a trilogy. The time line and technology level of the book is somewhere between the late Rennaisance and early industrial age. The base of habitation is a tropical region, unlike the Northern European based settings of most Fantasy. The political structure is closest to that of Medieval to Rennaisance Italy, with powerful Families controlling the world. Good and evil resides in all of the families, and the aquisition of power is the goal of all. Holly Lisle develops this fascinating world in great detail. Blood is not always thicker than Gold, as the plot twists around multiple betrayals between and within families. Magic (and there are several different systems involved) is both forbidden and well practiced, and the use of harmful magic comes at a terrible price. In the hands of Lisle, an accomplished author who has gotten better with time, this world comes to life with powerful imagery and wonderful prose. The characters are very well developed, with human foibles aplenty, even in the most inhuman of characters. Kait Galweigh, the protagonist, is an especially strong character whose world collapses around her in the struggle between her family and the magically powerful Sabirs. I found this novel to be one of the best Fantasy pieces I have ever read, and definitely the best I have seen in quite some time. I recommend this book to any lover of Fantasy who is tired of the same old characters in the same old settings. And even those who still enjoy the old settings of classical fantasy will find much to like in this book.

Wow! I loved this book so much I took it to school with me. The whole plot is just twisting and turning throughout the entire book. The character interactions fit in perfectly and Kait is just one amazing heroine. I suggest you don't plan on reading the first one and then waiting a while before reading the 2nd, unless you like being left with cliff-hangers! As soon as I dropped the 1st I grabbed up the second, not able to wait for more. An exciting fantasy with a great mix of magic, romance, and adventure!

On the planet Matrin, four centuries of bitter fighting between the houses of Dokteerak and Galweigh appear to be finally over with the pending wedding of an individual from each side. While attending the nuptials, Kait Galweigh overhears a treacherous plan that will eradicate her family. In spite of her efforts to save her kin, the plan works, leaving the Galweighs decimated. Kait manages to escape.Heeding a voice telepathically talking inside her head, Kait travels to a remote area of the planet, seeking the mystical Mirror of Souls, which has awakened after a millennium. On her trek, Kait is followed by an unknown enemy, who plan to add her death to their body count. As Kait struggles to survive, she learns that she has the shape-shifting ability of the detested and feared werewolf. With the help of one of her kind, Kait battles for her life as the beginning of a war of magic threatens to destroy her home planet.DIPLOMACY OF WOLVES is a great opening gamut to Holly Lisle's "Secret texts" trilogy. The story line brilliantly mixes politics, betrayal, and magic into a coherent, fun to read speculative fiction novel. Matrin feels like a real planet and the magical aspects come across as if they are a form of physics. However, what makes Ms. Lisle's novel appear to be the tale that takes her to the top of the genre (if justice prevails) is Kait, an enchanting, complex, and genuine person, who will steal the souls of readers.Harriet Klausner 11/8/98