Magic Casement

This is the first volume in the first of two marvellous fantasy quartets. The first series, "A man of his word" has titles taken from Keats' "Ode to a nightingale" and the titles perfectly match the themes of the books. The lines which inspired the titles are as follows - "The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days, by Emperor and Clown .... ... The same that oft-times hath Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam of perilous seas, in Faery lands forlorn" The four books of the first quartet are The Magic Casement Faery Lands Forlorn Perilous Seas Emperor and Clown These four books tell one complete story and are best read in this order. There is a sequel quartet, set 15 years later in the same universe, which is called "A handful of men" and has its titles taken from Masefield's poem, "Tomorrow." The four books in that story are The Cutting Edge Upland Outlaws The Stricken Field The Living God All eight books are set in a world of Gods and Sorcerers, where magic abilities are conferred by the knowledge of words of power. The descriptions of magic powers and how they work are far more effectively and consistently thought through than in the typical fantasy novel, and as the hero and heroine travel through a strange and diverse world a picture both of that world and the serious threat which it faces gradualy takes shape. The Magic casement opens in the sleepy town of Krasnegar, where Inos is the only daughter of King Holindarn. Her best friend is the stableboy, rap. A divine apparition warns her to "Seek the Good" and adds "If you do not trust in love, all will be lost." Initially this message is taken as meaning that Inos must marry, and her father sends her to the Imperial capital to learn how to be a lady. But this is only the start of her travels, and strange adventures, throughout a strange, beautiful, and dangerous world. The original paperback editions of the "A man of his word" quartet had beautiful covers painted by Don Maitz, and the books would almost have been worth buying for these covers if they had not also comprised a beautiful story.

I loved this series so much. It plays with the usual fantasy cast, but they are very sincerely and beautifully developed. You have your honest young stable boy (not very good-looking, just to shatter one classic fantasy role a little) who is bent on following his childhood friend Princess Inosolan all over the world if need be to help her regain her kingdom. This all takes place in a rich, well-developed world with interesting races based on historical places in our own world. Like the imps, dark-complected people with an interest in empire-building and a very well-organized Romanesque military. The story is exciting, with great twists and interesting developments. The system of magic is unique, and I adored all the characters. I have all the books in this series and the sequel series, A Handful of Men, and I have read the first four until the pages are starting to fall out of the book. I think it is a true gem among some of the typical fantasy that's out there and I hope to spread the word about it!

Princess Inosolan is bored. Bored with the tiny kingdom of Krasnegar, bored with her Aunt Kade's attempts to give her some polish and just bored of being somewhere where nothing ever happens! However, she is simply stunned to discover that her father, King Holindarn, is sending her to Kinvale with her Aunt Kade to find a husband. Inos doesn't feel ready to marry and has never even been interested in boys that way. Well, there was Rap, the stableboy, whom she rode horses and played on the beach with, but he surely didn't count. After all, Rap wasn't a boy he was just Rap. Inos hated Kinvale when she first arrived. She wasn't good at any of the maidenly pursuits that were focused on there and she really didn't care about embroidery or anything of that nature anyway - until Sir Andor arrived...Sir Andor was everything a maiden dreams of marrying - strong, handsome, charming, witty, attentive to a woman's every wish and desire. If Inos got to select her husband, and her father said that she may, she would surely pick Sir Andor. However, before they could reach a firmer understanding on the matter, Sir Andor up and left for the winter and Inos began to despair of ever seeing him again...Meanwhile, back in Krasnegar, Rap was working hard with the horses and trying to improve his station in life from stableboy or goat herder to wagon driver, but he couldn't stop thinking about Inos. Oh, Rap well knew that their stations in life were so different that there could never be anything between them, but that didn't stop him from loving her. He just hoped that he would still recognize her when she returned from Kinvale and that they would still be friends. So Rap was thrilled to befriend Sir Andor, a visitor to the small kingdom of Krasnegar who seemed to have selected him specially to be a friend who helped to get his mind off of Inos. Rap would do anything for Sir Andor and, when he discovered that Inos was in danger, he left everything he knew behind to travel overland with Sir Andor to rescue his princess. But Rap quickly discovered that Sir Andor was not what he seemed and that he was far from being an ordinary stableboy...Magic Casement is the first book in the Man of His Word quartet and it is a wonderful kick off to a thoroughly enjoyable series. My favorite character was Rap. It is true that he was not necessary a quick thinker and that he didn't react to things in the way I visualized a hero would, be he was dogged, determined and dependable and he fought through everything to give Inos the chance to take over her kingdom and rule. Inos was also a good character, but I didn't find her quite as interesting. I found myself rushing through the parts of her story to get back to see what was happening to Rap, but I liked the way Duncan dealt with both main characters at the same time by changing perspective so that you knew what was going on wherever they were. In addition to Rap and Inos, there is a host of engaging and intriguing seco

I have read over a thousand fantasy novels, and this book starts my favorite series. I waited anxiously for each book to come out - haunting my local bookstore for weeks at a time!The book is beautiful. The main characters are lovingly developed through a plot that's surprising but consistant. The broad fantasy world is rich with history and very much alive. Duncan's absolutely unique system of magic is thoroughly enjoyable and clever.Duncan switches viewpoints in exactly the right way; you're always anxious to find out what's happening in several places at once, and he keeps you hanging.. just long enough. It took me three books to catch onto this marvelous technique. You'll love it too.My suggestion is, buy one right now. Buy one for your kids!