This is the first Carol Berg book I've read, but after finishing this last night I know it won't be the last. First I have to finish this quartet!The Lady Seriana has exiled herself from all she knows and all she is accustomed to, though with good reason and no hesitation. Her husband Karon was brutally tortured and murdered for being a sorceror, and all their friends too. The only reason she was not also burnt at the stake was because her brother Tomas, the best friend and Champion of King Evard, has done that much for her. He did, however, murder her new-born baby. After all this tragedy, getting as far away from the city is the least she can manage. After ten years spent quietly at a cottage in the country, eating what she can grow, wearing the same clothes every day, her peaceful existence is shattered by the appearance of a man, naked and injured, mute and without memory, running from the King's lieutenant Darzid and the soulless Zhid who come from another world.Grudgingly, she helps him, discovering enough to make her sure he is not a horse thief, and soon steps over the line from helping him to get rid of him to activily choosing to assist him, determined that this man would not go the same way as Karon. But what she learns about the man's origins opens up a whole new sleigh of questions, and creates in her a cruel hope.Son of Avonar is told from Seri's perspective, and jumps back and forth in time as she tells the story of her past and what happened to Karon - whose fate we learn early on - and the "present day" and her journey with the stranger. This is the perfect way to tell this story, and I don't think a linear narrative would have worked at all. It's also very important to know about Seri's past in understanding her present. She's a strong, intelligent woman who uses her skill with words where others use brute force. I loved that in Jennifer Fallon's Second Sons Trilogy, and it's used well here too.The world Berg has created here is very real. It's also very cruel - but that, too, is a part of the story. I had the same feeling of tension I felt while reading Outlander, caused by the knowledge that awful things do happen to these people, that friends are enemies and love can be split asunder. It's not that the plot is complicated - it's not, though it is original and extremely well dished out - but the characters are what drive the story. There's rather a lot of detail, again like Gabaldon it makes me impatient, especially towards the end. However, it's rarely superfluous, so I couldn't skip any or I would lose the plot. My main quibble is that, in telling the story of Seri's past and how she met and came to love Karon, and their short marriage before he is discovered, I would have liked more evidence. It's not that I doubt their love, I just wanted to feel it. I think that in the next two books I will get that, but since so much hinges on the relationship between Seri and Karon, I think taking the time to really explore the depths of their love for each other, rather than sort of skim over it or tell us it is so, would have made this a truly satisfying read.
I have to give Carol Berg credit for her female protagonist. Seri is in no way your typical fantasy heroine. She's neither young nor blond, she's not virginal or a doormat. She's a middle-aged widow who's borne a child. She's cynical and she shows her age. I liked her because, unlike too many women in fantasy novels these days who are little more than cardboard cutouts, I could identify with Seri; she was *real*.But on the other hand, there's D'Natheil. He's nothing more than a childish bully for more than half the book. I realize that there was a reason he acted that way, but it didn't make him any less annoying. There's very little attractive about a "hero" who gets needlessly violent and then sulks or pouts and throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way.It actually gets worse when the "secret" of his past is revealed. Instead of feeling happy for both he and Sari, I had much more of a, "...the hell?" reaction, because there'd been no build up. Out of the blue, it seemed, we're presented with this fact and expected to accept it. I didn't buy it. And it seemed like a complete dues ex machina, even with Dassine's explanation at the end.Supposedly this whole thing was foreshadowed by Sari "reacting" to D'Natheil, but that still makes no sense. I, and I imagine many other people, just assumed that she was finally moving on from her husband's murder. Because, despite what the romance novels and poetry try to insist, there is life after death where love is concerned; most people can move on with their lives and find romance/love again. I thought that's what was happening here. What it actually turned out to be, well, that made very little sense.One of the book's other main problems is in the beginning. Nearly every other chapter was a flashback to Sari and Karon's life together. This is one case when I would actually advocate telling instead of showing. The constant, prolonged flashbacks may have set the stage for later events, but they badly broke the narrative and took away from what was happening at the present time. And they were boring. Dry, dull and after a while, I just started skimming them until the book got back to the interesting parts of what was happening in the present. What those flashbacks were there to do could have easily been accomplished with a few well-placed paragraphs in the present, maybe a remembrance of Sari's or something in the narrative. Anything but what was actually done.I'm still willing to give this book three stars despite those glaring faults, mainly because the first person narration of Sari 's made up for D'Natheil's dreadful characterization and once those awful flashbacks were out of the way, the story flowed well. Particularly near the end where it raced its way towards the climax. That was very well done.I doubt this is a book I'd read a second time through or actually recommend to anyone, but I've read many worse.
What do You think about Son Of Avonar (2004)?
I usually am completely in love with Carol Berg, but this book isn't doing it for me. The characters are sharp and interesting, the plot is full of adventure and spicy twists and turns, the setting is full of danger and intrigue....but the story itself starts ten years after a big occurence and then spends more than half of the book explaining the background. It's really awesome that the author spent the time to come up with a detailed history for this world, but I don't necessarily want to read everything about it. I think this is going to be the first time in my life I don't finish all her books in the series. Please, Carol Berg, in the future give me less background and more plot!
—Kristi
Son of Avonar is an amazing fantasy, written in a Lord of the Rings style but with its own special twist. The descriptions are amazing, and the characters are detailed enough that you want to stay with them for another three or four books. It is a little hard to get into at first, but once you pass the first couple of chapters it's more than worth it. The way Carol Berg combines two storylines about the same person while keeping the reader gripped on both is marvelous, and she flows smoothly from one story to the other. Anyine who enjoys fantasy will love this novel.
—Heila
I'll keep reading the series as I find them, but more because I don't like to quit in the middle than because I am overwhelmed with the first book. Seri (& D'Natheil, really) take turns being phenomenally stupid. I don't mind characters without an unrealistic sense of overarching knowledge, but honestly - if you are being hunted, wouldn't you think of SOMETHING better than hanging out in the market completely undisguised? I think you can have a sense of self-preservation even if you don't know the answer to every question before it's asked!
—Derek
