REVIEW: A Hero's Tale by Catherine M. Wilson

A Hero's Tale byCatherine M. Wilson
Publishing information: eBook(Kindle Edition)
Publisher: ShieldMaiden Press, 1^stOctober 2008
ISBN 10: 0981563635 (Paperback)
ISBN 13: 978-0981563633 (Paperback)

ASIN:B001MBUDNU
Series: WhenWomen Were Warriors
Copy: Suppliedby Author
Reviewer: Kathryn

Blurb:“In Book III of thetrilogy, Tamras must make her own hero’s journey. She ventures intothe unknown and encounters a more formidable enemy than any she hasever faced. Character is destiny, and the destiny of Tamras and allher people will depend upon choices that come less from the skillsshe has been taught than from the person she has become, from her ownheart.”

AHero's Tale is the final part of Catherine M. Wilson's When WomenWere Warriors series, and it follows on directly from the end of thesecond. Together in the forest, Maara and Tamras find allies in thestrangest of places, but their happiness doesn't last. Whilst Tamraslearns valuable lessons from the new allies, it's only a matter oftime before her luck runs out.

Likethe previous volumes, I found the writing mostly clear, concise andenjoyable to read. The character development continued very well, andwhilst the number of characters sometimes became a little hard tomanage, Wilson left enough clues in the text to get a good idea oftheir differences. I'm finding it hard to find praise for this bookthat I haven't applied to the previous two, because it really is –once again – more of the same.

Thematicallyspeaking, Wilson again puts a lot of emphasis on love, but a lot ofthought is put into the other topics such as betrayal and hope, aswell as a look at the differences between cultures and communities.Tamras finds herself in various locations in this volume, and eachcommunity feels different. The Northerners speak in a differentmanner, the people of an important settlement have the oppositesystem for their rulers to Tamras' home – yet they're all in whatwe'd now consider the same country. These discussions andexplorations build the world in a way I've found few series to do,and I enjoyed how it made me think.

Interms of criticism, I found myself becoming a little uncomfortablewith the erotic scenes. It's not so much that I have a problem witheroticism, but whilst they originally offered some characterdevelopment, it feels like they were elaborated on to fill the time.I felt that I'd read it before, that these actions had been doneearlier, and it took away from my enjoyment a little. They were stilltasteful and had an air of beauty around them, yet I wished them overmore often than not.

Thepacing gained in the second part also seemed to fall flat with thestart of this volume, with the plotline seeming to just fade. I didfind myself a little confused with the plot and all its nuances, butI would say that's partially due to the inconsistent method in whichI read the book, but thankfully it's summarised a number of timestowards the end. I was a little surprised by the ending, but I foundit pleasant all the same.

Tosummarise, I felt A Hero's Tale was a slightly weak end to apowerful and emotional series, and whilst I enjoyed this volume theleast of the three, I still took a good amount of pleasure andenjoyment from it, as well as a level of sadness upon reaching thefinal page.

N.B.In a previous review, I mentioned the books felt like one book thatwas split up - I've been informed by the author that it was indeed asingle novel that was split into three parts.

Plot:7/10
Characters: 8/10
Style: 8/10

Overall:8/10

REVIEW: A Journey of the Heart by Catherine M. Wilson

A Journey of theHeart by Catherine M. Wilson
Publishing information:eBook (Kindle Edition)
Publisher: ShieldMaiden Press, 1^stOctober 2008
ISBN 10: 0981563627 (Paperback)
ISBN13: 978-0981563626 (Paperback)

ASIN:B001MBUDNA
Series: WhenWomen Were Warriors
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer:Kathryn

Blurb:“In Book II of thetrilogy, Tamras’s apprenticeship as a warrior isn’t turning outquite the way she expected. Her unconventional choices lead to hercrossing swords, almost literally, with Vintel, the war leader ofMerin’s house. She finds herself embroiled in a power struggle sheis doomed to lose, but the loss sends her on a journey that willchange her destiny and decide the fate of her people.”

AJourney of the Heart follows on directly from the end of TheWarrior's Path, and things begin to change for Tamras. Her friendshipwith Maara continues to develop, and we learn more about thewarrior's mysterious past. The plot itself develops much more in thisvolume too, as the antagonist becomes clear and more prominent, andwhilst it still retains the biographical form of the first novel, anend goal becomes visible in this one, giving the story a little morefocus and pushing it in a new direction, but also raising questionsas to how Tamras will get to that point and claim her birthright.

Oneof the major themes in this volume is motherhood and its manydifferent forms and interpretation, but largely the focus is more onadoption and the loss of a parent or child. We're treated to views onhow blood relations aren't the only requisite for being a parent andchild, but also an exploration of how the absence of a mother or theloss of offspring can affect a person. These discussions are justsome of those that happen, with others revolving around love,symbolism, spirituality and even the use of a sword, and aside fromoffering interesting views, they also cement the relationshipsbetween characters. When Maara talks to Tamras about the use of asword, as an example, it adds to the teacher/student dynamic betweenboth characters, yet when the topic of motherhood comes up theinteractions change. It's subtle, but it works very well.

Ido have a criticism or two for this book, however. Some of thediscussions between certain characters sometimes feel as if they goon for a little too long and I found myself beginning to skim readsome parts, meaning I had to go back and re-read parts to find thesingle word that I missed which returned the context to the followingparagraphs, but this may also have been because I jumped into thisalmost as soon as I'd finished the first book. Another small problemI had was that the erotic scenes, whilst vivid and sensual, seemed toread a little similar. There are three or so times where Tamras isintimate with two different characters (not at the same time, I mustadd), and the names could be swapped with – mostly – littlechange.

Myreview for this book is shorter, and that's because it's been harderto write. A Journey of the Heart is more of the same, and whilst itfinds more of a focus and the pacing increases, it's really nothingmore than that. The characters are largely the same, although theydevelop through the pages, and a lot of the action continues to takeplace in some familiar areas. I don't think it takes away from thebook, but nor does it seem to add to it. If anything, it adds to thefeeling that this is one long novel split into three parts (somethingconfirmed, perhaps, by the chapter numbers following on from theprevious volume).

Therecommendations from my previous review still stand – this will begreat for anyone into fantasy with a historical basis or an emphasison relationships. I must warn readers that it is a direct follow onfrom the first book, and as such this volume is not a jumping-inpoint.

Plot:9/10
Characters: 8/10
Style: 8/10

Overall:9/10

REVIEW: The Warrior's Path by Catherine M. Wilson

The Warrior's Pathby Catherine M. Wilson
Publishing information: eBook(Kindle Edition)
Publisher: ShieldMaiden Press, 1^stOctober 2008
ISBN 10: 0981563619 (Paperback)
ISBN13: 978-0981563619 (Paperback)

ASIN:B001MBU7EK
Series: WhenWomen Were Warriors
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer:Kathryn

Blurb:“In Book I of thetrilogy, Tamras, our hero, arrives in Merin’s house to begin herapprenticeship as a warrior, but her small stature causes many,including Tamras herself, to doubt that she will ever become acompetent swordswoman. To make matters worse, the Lady Merin assignsher the position of companion, little more than a personal servant,to a woman who came to Merin’s house, seemingly out of nowhere, theprevious winter, and this stranger wants nothing to do with Tamras.

Tamras’s journey begins with the smallest ofsteps. She sets aside her disappointment and performs as well as shecan the humble tasks given her, and eventually she succeeds inwinning the trust and then the friendship of the cantankerous warriorto whom she has been assigned. 

 

In the first year of her journey, Tamras willmake a series of choices that often seem insignificant, but they willflow from her character and from her good intentions, and they willdetermine her destiny.”

The Warrior's Pathis the first book in Catherine M. Wilson's WhenWomen Were Warriorsseries, a historical fiction-cum-fantasy set in Bronze Age England.In it, we follow Tamras as she follows in her mother's footsteps totake her place as a warrior. However, before she is given her shield,she must rise through the ranks from a lowly companion to theposition that is rightfully hers, and to do that she must makefriends, learn the ways of the world and serve the Lady Merin in anyway possible. Yet, to earn what is hers, Tamras must discoverherself, find her warrior and overcome her doubts, worries andnaiveté.

Ihave to say I found this book to go beyond my expectations. It's froma small press I'd never heard of, and instead I was greeted with abook that surpasses the quality of even some of the bigger genrepublishers. I was gripped from the start, reading for two hours inone night and then finishing it off the following morning, somethingvery unusual for me. The writing is absolutely superb, it's neveroverindulgent nor hard to understand, and the pacing is beautiful. Ialso liked how the characters interacted and whilst some were alittle hard to tell apart or simply dropped in without too muchcontext, it never took away from the story as it echoed what Tamraswould have felt.

WhilstI normally gloss over or shy away from intimate moments in books, Icouldn't turn away from them in this one. Tamras sleeps with anothergirl a couple of times, and each time it's beautiful, erotic andsensual, yet never pornographic or something along those lines.Wilson creates this amazing feeling around those scenes, and I mustconfess I was left pining for such experiences myself. That's howpowerful Wilson's writing is with this book, you can feel theemotions and the way the characters interact with each other.

Inormally have faults to pick at, but with this book I'm failing tofind many. Any faults with it are by far made up for by how touchingand intimate it can be. There are times when it feels a littlerepetitive in that some phrases are often used frequently in a shortperiod of time. For example, at one point a ritual occurs and acharacter seems to change. From that point onwards, they're referredto as “the person who was not...”, and this opens a number ofparagraphs that follow, but taken into context it could be the resultof Tamras being a little overwhelmed. I also felt the more spiritualor magical moments to sometimes be a little disorienting, but again,it seems to fit in with the character's experience. Whilst it seemsto close fairly nicely, it's definitely left open for a sequel andthe plot itself isn't particularly visible. Rather than having a firmgoal set, instead Wilson takes us through the events of Tamras' life,and this is a refreshing break from a protagonist being destined tosave the princess/world/cheerleader.

Tome, this book is everything I've been looking for in fantasy lately.Great characters, beautiful moments of intense yet not disturbinglygraphic eroticism, a fairly diverse cast and an ability to grab me.It's like what would have happened if Jane Yolen had dropped thegender politics and pseudo-historical sections from the GreatAltaseries, and had injected it with a dose of passion. We're alsotreated to Aesop'sFables-esquestories from time to time, each of which fits in with the sorts oftales that would have been passed around at camp-fires, and each hasits own lesson. One of the most memorable ones was a story of threebrothers and a stone giant, and they really add to the world thatWilson has created.

Highlyrecommended to everyone, but especially those looking for a tastefulgenre read with a lesbian protagonist, a fantasy/historical fictionhybrid or just a great story with an emphasis on female characters.Fans of Jane Yolen, Robin Hobb or Elizabeth Moon's initial Paksworldtrilogy may also wish to check this out.

Plot:8/10
Characters: 8/10
Style: 10/10

Overall:9/10