Silver May Tarnish

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the book. Written by Lyn McConchie, I should have expected it. Anything in conjunction with grand master Andre Norton should be good. I have read just about everything she ever wrote. I am still grieving that she is gone. The alternating view points of the protagonists is not one of my favorites to read. However, Lyn pulled it off very well. My compliments. Darn good read.

I have to say, I'm becoming a major fan of Lyn McConchie. She's proven very adept at writing what I call "comfort novels", the engaging kind of fare I love to read on a snowy winter's evening, curled up under heaps of quilts and comforters while the snow falls and the wind howls across the eaves. Her latest title, "Silver May Tarnish", is such a book. Given that Lyn has co-authored several other of my favorite Andre Norton titles, among them "Ciara's Song" and "The Duke's Ballad", she has gotten very comfortable working in Norton's world of Estcarp and Karsten. "Silver May Tarnish" is Lyn's first work set across the ocean to the west, in the land of High Hallack, more commonly known as "The Dales". Long-time Norton fans will know that she first introduced the Dales in her book "The Year of the Unicorn" over 40 years ago. Under the influence of an extraterrestrial race called the Kolder, evil men from overseas called the Hounds of Alizon introduced futuristic super-weapons to the Dales. The results was great ruin throughout the land, as Alizon laid waste to innumerable dales, smashing mighty stone keeps like fragile teacups, scorching the land, and slaughtering innocents by the thousands. Eventually the Dalefolk were able to gain the upper hand and, at great cost, expel the invaders. It is a distressing, all-too-common feature of the evening news that lands wracked by total war can take generations to recover. Even when the enemy has gone, anarchy reigns: heartless "wolfshead" bandits wander through the lands, bereft of property, craft and kin, eager only to destroy and make everyone else suffer as well. They have no thought for the future; they care only about satisfying their lusts for food, drink and women, no matter the cost. But some handle such adversity more nobly, such as the chief protagonists of "Silver May Tarnish". Lorcan of Erondale was only a boy when Alizon invaded, destroying everything and everyone he loved. He became a warrior and fought the enemy to the bitter end. Then he set out to find a new home, with thoughts of healing the land rather than further harming it. Of like mind is Meive, sole survivor of the massacre of Landale. She, however, does not leave her ancestral home, popularly known as "Honeycoombe", because of a special gift she has: a great rapport with honeybees, including a special giant sort of "winged warriors" with inch-long stingers who can handle invaders with frightful aplomb. It is inevitable that at some point Lorcan and Meive will meet up. They share a special kinship, both with each other and with the chief villain of the novel, Hogeth of Paltendale. Will Lorcan and Meive achieve their dreams of bringing life once more to Honeycoombe? Or will evil ones like Hogeth tear all their hard work down, leading to yet another mass slaughter and endless woe? As Andre Norton did in some of her own Dale novels, Lyn takes turns writing from the viewpoint of both protagonists: a few chapters at

Silver May Tarnish (2005) is the fourth Fantasy novel of the Witch World Chronicles. In this novel, the Hounds of Alizon invaded the Dales of High Hallek with their war machines, overrunning Dales and leaving behind ruins, bodies and dead vegetation. Yet the Dalesmen and their allies, the Riders of the Waste, slowly drove the invaders back until all Alizons were killed. Lancor is the youngest son of the Lord of Erondale. His family is a cadet branch of the Lords of Palendale. The two Dales foster the sons of each other for weapon training and other education required of a lord. Lancor was declared to be a child of sorrow by the wisewoman Aynera. Three sorrows were the death of his mother, then of his younger sister, and finally the death of his father and older brothers when the Alizon assault came to Erondale. Nor was this to be the end of his sorrow. Yet the wisewoman stated that he would find joy in flowing gold. After the destruction of Erondale by the Alizons, young Lancor fled with his weaponmaster to Palendale. There he worked at hunting game to feed the many refugees. Yet Lord Hogar's third son, Hogeth, became his enemy and Lancor fled the household as soon as he was able after reaching his majority. Lancor joined the Dales army fighting the invaders, becoming a scout in the troop of Lord Salden under the false name of Farris of Eldale. He becomes friends with Aran of Tildale, a man of middling honesty, but always fair to his friends. The two scouts lead the Tildale troop to many battles, including the last one at Hagar Pass. There the troop hold back the Alizons fleeing from the last battle, but only four troopers survive. Meive is a child of Landale, which is also called Honeycombe for its superb bees. At the age of ten, Meive is chosen by the queen bees as apprentice of Ithia, the wisewoman who speaks with the bees. She is trained somewhat by Ithia for the next two years and then moves into Ithia's cottage at the age of twelve for more advanced training. Her family asks for a two day delay so that they can throw a party for the departing daughter. Landale is blessed by its remote location and hidden entrance. None of the invaders approach anywhere near the Dale. After the war, bandits attack Merrowdale, a larger valley nearby. Then these bandits attack Landale, with a former resident as their guide. Everyone in Landale is killed except Meive, who has been sent away with the beehives to a distant cave. With the assistance of the queen bees, Meive lures the bandits into the cave and poisons them. Neeco, the traitor, doesn't drink the deadly mead, but he is stung many times by warrior bees and slowly dies of their stings. Meive relents after a time and gives him succor. This novel tells of the meeting of Lancor and Meive and their plans to rebuild Honeycombe. They gradually accumulate warriors and other homeless people, all approved by the bees, and settle into the keep and cots of the dale. However, Hogeth

This is very much in the WitchWorld Tradition. It goes very well with the series.

Lorcan, a young child and youngest son to the Dale owner, has loved his land very much. However, one day Alizon invaders attacked his land. The Dale army was no match for the Alizon invaders, so they retreated into a cave/passage. After many onslaughts of the invaders, Lorcan's brothers and father dies in the fighting. Lorcan and the head-of-arms master are the only one who escape to another Dale. At the other Dale Lorcan hunts for money, and he gets trained by the head-of-arms there. At the appropiate age, he joins the fight, and they win the battle against the invaders. After the battle, Lorcan travels around the land searching for followers who want to be in his Dale, and with the money that his old Dale secretly left behind for him, he is confident that he can do so. On the way in his travels, he meets Meive, a magic woman, some women with various ages, and 5 blank shields. With these people will Lorcan ever rebuild his Dale?? Or will he have the scars of battle forever, and forever be a nomad? This book was an amazing book. I loved the flow of the book, and it kept me reading, and wanting to read more. There is always some action about it, and it whisked me into an imaginary world, that could also seem real, since the characters did real things. The author gave just the right amount of detail for certain things, which made the book more interesting for me. Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews www.flamingnet.com Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations