Jinian Star Eye

It really is a bit of a problem when the world you live in decides it has had enough, wants to pack it in and basically top itself. Especially if it is your fault, being part of that whole race of humans that have caused the problems and abuse of resources, magical and otherwise that have led your world to make this decision. Jinian and company must try and somehow repair the damage and stop this happening.

Now Jinian and Peter know that Lom, the world in which they live, has decided to die. Part of it is humankind's fault, with all its abuse of the Talents, all the spiritless use of the land and its original creatures. But, another part entirely is due to the wounds administered by its own kind. Lom lost its hope when the Eesties brought down the Tower of the Daylight Bell. Now Lom grieves for what was once in its heart.Led by Ganver, one of the great Eesties, Jinian and Peter study the Maze, where Lom's memories are stored. For a long time the Oracle faction of the Eesties has deliberately trod the paths of the planet's most painful memories. And without the Daylight Bell to ring, shadow gathers and is put to hurtful work. In the world outside, Huldra the Witch and Dedrina Deadeye search for vengeance for their losses at Jinian's hands, while trying to complete the grim tasks given them by the Giants of the Backless Throne.Even though Ganver and the Maze have given Jinian needful clues, a daunting task awaits. Hudra must be defeated. The Tower rebuilt, the Bell recast, and then and only then can Lom begin to heal. But for all these things there are great prices. Many among the gamesmen will shed true tears as Jinian and the rest of her Seven gather power and bring this trilogy from Sheri Tepper's world of the True Game to its conclusion.This is an amazing book in an amazing series. Tepper finally fills in the gaps in our knowledge of Lom's true nature. With each volume we believe again that the great battle is won and what we find is that there is always a ways to go. Now we are at an end and find again that something must always replace that which dies. Over the six volumes so far we have come to understand that underneath the little mysteries are greater ones. A wealth of meaning abides in the heart of this world, and Sheri Tepper knows how to share it.

As anyone here may have noticed, I tend to review books and give them good reviews, and I will this time as well, because this is a good book. Jinian's plight and solution are somewhat surreal, but on the whole, tepper does a nice job of presenting a believable and human heroine, though I agree that Jinian does sometimes cause needless destruction with her naitivity, she makes mistakes no more often than anyother one of us. At times poignant and at other times jolly, I recommend Star-eye to anyone who likes fantasy books!

"Jinian Footseer", "Dervish Daughter", and "Jinian Star-Eye" were all published in "The End of the Game." This is a sequel to "The True Game" and tells the story of Jinian, who appeared in the third story of that book, "Wizard's Eleven". Lom, the world, is depressed -- utterly distressed, to the point killing itself -- thanks in large part to humans who engage in great Games of mass destruction. Jinian and Peter search among the memories of Lom to learn why Lom is killing itself, and what they can do to stop the final destruction. In the process, they learn about the original inhabitants of the world before man arrived, and the truth about the Oracle whom Jinian has earlier encountered.Jinian also learns about the blue crystals and some new rules of morality, that I don't quite agree with. Also, she falls into the trap that she implicitly argued against earlier on: at one point, she was compell! ed in the worse possible way, in that she thought she was doing something (ie running the roads and delivering the messages as an Eesty) solely because she wanted to. In reality, she was compelled to want to do it.In all three stories, Jinian is not the perfect heroin that she (and the author) thinks she is. On a number of occasions, she causes death and destruction with little concern. Likewise, I don't see the Oracle as the ultimate evil being. On the one hand, the Oracle was pretty much all talk and no act; it only motivated others to act. On the other hand, it seems that the Oracle, in forming the Brotherhood, hiding the crystals, destroying the Bell, was simply following the "Lesson of Chimmerdong" which is apparently that you have to do SOMETHING when there's a major problem. The humans were destroying pretty much everything good and beautiful, and Lom and the older Eesties more or less accepted and encouraged it. The Oracle tried to solve the prob! lem in its way, and wound up making things worse.