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dotty_emu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kivt's review against another edition
4.0
What an immensely satisfying book! The back of my copy says that it is, "AN ADVENTURE STORY FOR HUMANISTS & FEMINISTS!" It totally is! All the battles and lost kingdoms and heirs posing as acrobats you could ask for, but with real characters. The end is wonderful, if sad--I'm so glad I finally read a fantasy novel that explicitly acknowledged the homoeroticism inherent in the magical unbreakable bond between prince and manly warrior sworn to protect him.
jericho89's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
geozoink's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jorgefernandez's review against another edition
3.0
Una historia fantástica (más) sin elementos fantásticos que basa sus fortalezas en los personajes y no en su trama, ya que todas las decisiones que se toman están bastante cogidas con pinzas. Hace 40 años ya se escribían personajes no-normativos y no pasaba nada. Hasta ganaban premios. Disfrutable.
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Written by an open lesbian in 1978, Watchtower is the earliest example I've found of someone meshing sword-and-sorcery imagery with an explicitly queer narrative. It came out a decade before Mercedes Lackey would write Magic's Pawn, and it's better-structured, more subtle, and dodges some of the more stereotypical aspects of Magic's Pawn. Lynn's writing has its shortcomings, but not in the parts of the story that she seems most interested in.
I appreciated the straightforward beginning of the story, which sets up a standard revenge plot, but Lynn uses it to springboard into something much more affecting. Ryke and the man he is oath-bound to serve escape from their conquered home, with Ryke vowing revenge. They take up residence in a country to the south, and the bulk of the story is actually spent charting Ryke's evolving relationship with the country, its culture and its customs.
He's not hostile to it, but he's a man of his own country and this culture isn't his. He learns to fight the way they fight, and makes plenty of friends there, but ultimately there's a barrier between him and it. He falls in love with one member of a lesbian couple, or at least he thinks he has. When asked if he loves her he can't bring himself to say he does, even when she's not there.
I had some inkling of what was going. Lynn peppers her book with hints, but it's not the word-search exercise that a lot of fantasy authors turn foreshadowing into. It's a series of small psychological progressions that come together to build towards the conclusion. It takes a while to all come together, but the ending is worth it, and more or less single-handedly made the book for me.
The moment of revenge comes, and it's unsatisfying. I'm not a fan of deliberate anti-climaxes generally, but it works here because it makes sense within the context of the story and also the book's focus has shifted, as has its characters' priorities. Ryke ultimately realizes what he truly wants, but the tragedy of it is that he realizes too late, and the way his culture has raised him prevents him from seeking it out in time. It's a sad ending for Ryke, but one that feels fitting for the story and characters. I appreciated that Lynn stuck to her guns rather than settle for a more convenient ending. Personally I loved it.
Watchtower is a book about how the world changes and you change, but not always in the same ways and not always at the same speeds. It's about a character getting to know who he is and how he fits into everything, and becoming more conscious of what his culture expects of him. It's a lovely, relatively short book, and I highly recommend it.
I appreciated the straightforward beginning of the story, which sets up a standard revenge plot, but Lynn uses it to springboard into something much more affecting. Ryke and the man he is oath-bound to serve escape from their conquered home, with Ryke vowing revenge. They take up residence in a country to the south, and the bulk of the story is actually spent charting Ryke's evolving relationship with the country, its culture and its customs.
He's not hostile to it, but he's a man of his own country and this culture isn't his. He learns to fight the way they fight, and makes plenty of friends there, but ultimately there's a barrier between him and it. He falls in love with one member of a lesbian couple, or at least he thinks he has. When asked if he loves her he can't bring himself to say he does, even when she's not there.
I had some inkling of what was going. Lynn peppers her book with hints, but it's not the word-search exercise that a lot of fantasy authors turn foreshadowing into. It's a series of small psychological progressions that come together to build towards the conclusion. It takes a while to all come together, but the ending is worth it, and more or less single-handedly made the book for me.
The moment of revenge comes, and it's unsatisfying. I'm not a fan of deliberate anti-climaxes generally, but it works here because it makes sense within the context of the story and also the book's focus has shifted, as has its characters' priorities. Ryke ultimately realizes what he truly wants, but the tragedy of it is that he realizes too late, and the way his culture has raised him prevents him from seeking it out in time. It's a sad ending for Ryke, but one that feels fitting for the story and characters. I appreciated that Lynn stuck to her guns rather than settle for a more convenient ending. Personally I loved it.
Watchtower is a book about how the world changes and you change, but not always in the same ways and not always at the same speeds. It's about a character getting to know who he is and how he fits into everything, and becoming more conscious of what his culture expects of him. It's a lovely, relatively short book, and I highly recommend it.
jortsfan's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
herfleurs's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
caterina_1212's review against another edition
Blame it on the ebook format. Also the mental gymnastics of why a woman in the 1970s would write a book like this from a male perspective this way. Doesn't make sense.