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angorarabbit's review against another edition
3.0
TW: homicide, short (1 page) spicy scenes that need to be read for the pillow talk, description of SA of a child.
I do not reread books as much as I used to, but Walter died and I needed a comfort read. I loved this book when I first read it back in 1986 or so. I didn't remember too much about it though. Two things I do remember were that the title was "Why Cats have no Lord" and that it was written by Philip Jose Farmer. Neither of these things are true.
The characters are well written, with a diversity of races and with strong females. There are no truly evil or truly good characters. Except maybe for Glynaldis. The writing is not fancy. There are a few places where I more explanation could be useful, particularly between Chapters 8 and 9. And one character is drinking whiskey when they had just ordered a pitcher of mead.
The story felt like a D & D adventure. You have the cleric, fighter, barbarian, sorcerer, rouge, thief. You have a dragon, and a dungeon. You have an object of power that the chaotic neutral must win from the chaotic evil. There are humans, elves, orcs, and intelligent talking animals. There are duels and tests to pass.
Not great fantasy by any means but a nice diversion. And a reminder of why I switched from Sci-Fi to fantasy by the early eighties.
I miss you Walter, the Fi-Wi is not the same.
I do not reread books as much as I used to, but Walter died and I needed a comfort read. I loved this book when I first read it back in 1986 or so. I didn't remember too much about it though. Two things I do remember were that the title was "Why Cats have no Lord" and that it was written by Philip Jose Farmer. Neither of these things are true.
The characters are well written, with a diversity of races and with strong females. There are no truly evil or truly good characters. Except maybe for Glynaldis. The writing is not fancy. There are a few places where I more explanation could be useful, particularly between Chapters 8 and 9. And one character is drinking whiskey when they had just ordered a pitcher of mead.
The story felt like a D & D adventure. You have the cleric, fighter, barbarian, sorcerer, rouge, thief. You have a dragon, and a dungeon. You have an object of power that the chaotic neutral must win from the chaotic evil. There are humans, elves, orcs, and intelligent talking animals. There are duels and tests to pass.
Not great fantasy by any means but a nice diversion. And a reminder of why I switched from Sci-Fi to fantasy by the early eighties.
I miss you Walter, the Fi-Wi is not the same.
dumbmaddie's review against another edition
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
queenkath32's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
metaphorosis's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
Lizelle, who recently dumped a noble (but kept his jewelry), meets by seeming chance with a quiet priest and a dashing, eye-patched adventurer. Together, they set out to bring the Goddess back - even if it means the end of all life.
I first encountered Will Shetterly through the Liavek shared world series. Those books, if they built on the success of Thieves World, were fun, clever, and well written. I sought out books by many of the Liavek authors, and many of them (e.g., Steven Brust) had a fair degree of success. Eventually I picked up this Will Shetterly book as well, published shortly before the first Liavek book.
If the above plot summary seems a bit formulaic, that's unfortunately correct. Shetterly can't seem to make up his mind between a sly parody of fantasy tropes, and an all-in commitment to those same tropes, with a dash of D&D thrown in. The result is novel with light humour that is almost entirely predictable. Every character plays true to expectations. There are funny points, but they're not enough to counterbalance the leaden certainty of the plot points. The light tone also stands in the way of any real sympathy for the characters; there are a few moments of empathy here and there, but largely it's an observational read.
All in all, this book is a missed opportunity by a writer who apparently just couldn't make up his mind what it was about.
Lizelle, who recently dumped a noble (but kept his jewelry), meets by seeming chance with a quiet priest and a dashing, eye-patched adventurer. Together, they set out to bring the Goddess back - even if it means the end of all life.
I first encountered Will Shetterly through the Liavek shared world series. Those books, if they built on the success of Thieves World, were fun, clever, and well written. I sought out books by many of the Liavek authors, and many of them (e.g., Steven Brust) had a fair degree of success. Eventually I picked up this Will Shetterly book as well, published shortly before the first Liavek book.
If the above plot summary seems a bit formulaic, that's unfortunately correct. Shetterly can't seem to make up his mind between a sly parody of fantasy tropes, and an all-in commitment to those same tropes, with a dash of D&D thrown in. The result is novel with light humour that is almost entirely predictable. Every character plays true to expectations. There are funny points, but they're not enough to counterbalance the leaden certainty of the plot points. The light tone also stands in the way of any real sympathy for the characters; there are a few moments of empathy here and there, but largely it's an observational read.
All in all, this book is a missed opportunity by a writer who apparently just couldn't make up his mind what it was about.
mindsplinters's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
Sword and sorcery with world-ending stakes. The concept is unusual and promising but the characters never quite fill themselves out. Still a fun and fast read.
pussreboots's review against another edition
2.0
I don't remember this book except for liking the title.
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