| First, a caution: this is book 4 in a series of tightly connected plots. You can read it first, and it will still make sense, but it will mean more if you've first read Kirstein's other "Steerswoman" novels.
Rowan is a steerswoman, a kind of wandering librarian who is obligated to answer any question anyone asks of her. In return, she expects everyone to answer any question she asks of them. Rowan comes to the city of Donner investigating mysterious events (detailed in the first three books) that have led her to search for an evil wizard, Slado. Years ago, Slado served part of his apprenticeship in Donner, under a wizard named Kieran. With Rowan is her friend, Bel, an outskirter (a barbarian woman from the Outskirts). Rowan wanders the town looking for elders who might remember Slado. Bel follows Rowan to see if anyone else is following her. Rowan does find people who remember Kieran. Wizards are generally cruel and callous, and everyone remembers Kieran because he had a sudden change of heart and began treating the townsfolk nicely. No one knows why. Bel, meanwhile, discovers that no less than three people are stalking Rowan: a blind beggar, a man and a woman. Bel and Rowan set a trap for their stalkers one night. To their surprise, they find out that the man and woman were not after Rowan -- they attack the beggar instead. Rowan and Bel go to aid the beggar. They discover to their surprise that they know him. He is Will (an important character in book 1) who has been serving his own wizard's apprenticeship with a wizard name Corvus. Will says he has run away from Corvus and won't say why; Bel and Rowan assume he was physically or mentally abused by Corvus and do not press for details. Even though Will has left Corvus, he still wants to find Slado, so the three team up. Will has set up a series of charms to disable the dragons which live nearby. Wizards in Donner have traditonally held power because they keep the dragons at bay; the current Wizard of Donner is Jannick. Will and Rowan go to a woodland meadow, where the dragons are hidden. They steal one, hoping to draw Jannick out of Donner so they can break into his house and look for information about Slado. On their return, they find Jannick has come into town looking for the source of the charms. Rowan, Will and Bel end up in a room full of hostages being tormented by Jannick, who pretends to be worried about a "false steerswoman" he says has been stirring up trouble. The townsfolk keep silent, protecting Rowan. Then Jannick realizes one of his dragons has been purloined and rushes off the deal with that -- but not before laying Rowan and another villager low with a severe electric shock. Rowan barely survives, but the other man is killed. The villagers pull together and form a conspiracy to help Rowan and Will get into Jannick's house. It works, and they find some clues to Kieran's conversion but nothing about Slado. During this operation, Will is forced to call from help -- from Corvus! It turns out he is still working for Corvus, a big betrayal of Bel and Rowan's trust. Then Slado apparently realizes someone is looking for him. Will and Rowan are forced to flee. Jannick returns moments later, just in time for his house to blow up! Apparently Slado assumed Jannick was asking the questions and Jannick took the blast that was meant for Rowan and Will. In the end, Will separates from Rowan and Bel, each one planning to continue hunting for Slado with their own resources. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past What is main char. doing? - unraveling a conspiracy Magical Beings/Mental/Magical/Powers Yes magical powers: Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10 % Main Character Identity: - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - almost none How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting Terrain Planet outside solar system? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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