By Kate Forsyth
Read: ~2002, November 2009
Rating: Gripping
Hoo-! I was up MUCH later than intended last night, polishing off the last of book 6, which I read right on the heels of #5. Good reading, there. When I say gripping, I mean it. The last third especially…
The Skull of the World follows Isabeau’s ultimate quest in her attempt to learn more about her faery heritage. She will always be treated as a child by the Khan’cohban, her father’s people, until she survives a Naming Quest. Every child of thirteen must traverse the mountains to the Skull of the World, an imposing mountain full of caverns and molten rock. This period occurs at the same time as the events in Book #4.
The two storylines come together when Isabeau returns to Lucescere (or Rhysmadill–whichever it is, they’ve both been capital cities of Eileannan). Her nephews and niece, and another princeling, are happy to see her, especially as their parents are still in Tirsoillear wrapping up their war. Isabeau promises them a good birthday to come… until an enemy from the past snatches the children away. Isabeau is the only person near enough with the powers to rescue them. Alas, Lachlan’s long mistrust of her allows people to think she has kidnapped the children. When Lachlan hears of it, even he doubts… and his wife Iseult is furious.
Much action ensues. It looks as though all is to end well, but, in the last two pages, Forsyth throws us a curveball. A really, really nasty one. Don’t read this one without #6 in easy reach!! Spoilers below.
The Fathomless Caves picks up immediately where #5 left off. The Fairgean attack the celebratory feast, invading the palace itself and even reaching the royal suite. It becomes clear that they can’t put off this fight anymore. They must battle the Fairgean and defeat them, once and for all.
But this book finally makes the Fairgean into people. Prince Nila, Maya’s younger brother, is introduced. The youngest son, soft of heart, he is despised by his own father and brothers. His only real joy comes from Fand, a half-human slave girl. They have fallen in love, and must keep this vulnerability hidden. But Nila is chafing under the unfair restrictions. His boldness lands them both in deep water, and Fand becomes a tool of the Priestesses of Jor–the same women who trained Maya.
Among the humans, there is much distress. Though they have witches capable of singing the Fairgean to death, they are unwilling to do so. Iseult and Lachlan are cold to each other, the culmination of years of mistrust. Iseult is insulted by Lachlan’s inability to trust, or even act kindly towards, her sister. In a moment of frustration, he has admitted that the two women are so alike–if he is not to hate Isabeau, what else can he do? This wound seems too deep to heal. Worse, they need the Righ and Banrigh to each lead a separate group of troops to the final battlefield–meaning that Lachlan must release Iseult from her geas to be near him always. Another wound. Isabeau travels with Lachlan, who takes to the bottle. You can guess how that goes.
Isabeau has dreamt of Iseult and Lachlan’s lovemaking–she’s a little in love with him herself. SHe’s held back this long, but with Iseult and Lachlan fighting, Iseult possibly never returning, will she have the strength of will to resist? And what of Dide, the handsome jongleur whose torch still burns for her? And if she chooses a lover, what will that do to her studies?
Of course, we cannot forget Maya the Ensorcellor or her daughter Bronwen. Maya winds up with the human army and this is the part that made me love her for all time. The first time I read the books, I was as convinced as anyone that she was evil. But here she shows herself to have pride, dignity, and a wicked sense of humor. Who else would tell the Righ, her worst enemy, that, yes, she would like some tea, thank you?
Then there are Mermerdean waiting to collect on their deal with Meghan o’ the Beasts…
Basically, this book wraps up everything in the series. And not neatly. Not neatly AT ALL. The circumstances are awful–poor conditions, no supplies, a war of slow attrition, and finally an act of magic that could destroy the whole continent. This last is written incredibly well. That’s why I was up so damn late.
I do believe this books are better than the four that come before. Forsyth does have some persistent flaws that irk me.
1) She’s not terribly good at recapping what happened previously. It always stands out, and it’s VERY annoying. When I was waiting months or years between installments, they weren’t enough to reacquaint me with everything. Now, reading the books on one of the other, they’re just… bad. They’re obvious, and throw me out of the scene. I don’t think a set of books like this should be required to go into such detail in the prose itself. Seriously, who picks up #5 in a set of 6 and decides to start reading THAT book first? (I began with a #2 once, and it has colored the way I view everything in that series. Including #1, which I do not like so much. The series? Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness.)
2) Characters get forgetting in scenes with a lot of people. In #4, Captain Tobias was a pretty significant character. In #5 we learn he’s been promoted to Admiral, but his name, Tobias, is not repeated until waaaaaay at the end. So, I say to myself, “Oh, that guy? Cool. What was his name again? …what’s wrong with telling us his name? I KNOW HIS NAME, DAMMIT, I just read that book!!” Then there are the scenes on that same ship, everyone sailing down to rescue the kidnapped children. Finn is the central character in #4. I know she’s on that ship. She’s also one of the mouthiest characters on the continent. So where is she? There’s no mention of her for pages and pages, until she’s needed for a spell, and then she interjects one of her classic phrases, as though she was just standing around unnoticed the whole time. Her cousin Brangaine disappears at times, too, but she’s not as nosy so it’s less notable. I know keeping track of so many characters at a time is hard, but, c’mon. You can’t take a character who starred in her own book and then pretend she’s not around!
Um, yeah. Aside from that… awesome! I’m glad I reread them. I’d forgotten most of what happens in the last two books, mostly because those recaps didn’t do their job.
By the way, I totally ‘ship Beau and Dide. …actually, I’ll take him. Cheeky musician with black curls? I’m all over that! These books get a romance listing for Isabeau and Dide, and the trials and tribulations of Iseult and Lachlan. And there are some other characters who finally hook up, too. So, YAY for happysappy love endings! We certainly had to work hard enough for ‘em.
Recent Comments