Fortune and Fate, by Sharon Shinn

I have previously posted about Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses novels, Mystic and Rider and The Thirteenth House. (This is Shinn's web site.)

I have not posted on the last three of these books, which are Dark Moon Defender, Reader and Raelynx, and Fortune and Fate. To summarize briefly, Dark Moon Defender describes an evil woman, politically powerful, Coralinda Giseltess, who has been able to almost stamp out mystics -- people born with various magical powers, such as being able to start fires, or change into an animal's shape. In Reader and Raelynx -- a raelynx is a large solitary feline predator -- her rebellion unites with that of the leaders of two of the provinces of the land, one of them her brother, the other, Rayson Fortunalt. They nearly overthrow the kingdom, and do succeed in killing the king. In the process, it becomes clear that Coralinda herself has been using magical powers. Finally, all three of these rebel leaders are killed. Amalie, the young daughter of the king marries Cammon, a mystic who can Read -- that is, he can read the minds of other people.

Throughout the books, new people, with new mystical powers, are introduced.

There is a religion in Shinn's sub-creation, and the characters believe in supernatural goddesses, and these goddesses are real, in this fictional world. A character says that she has seen two of them during the battles in Reader and Raelynx.

There is another interesting aspect, relating to religion, in fact to Christianity (although there is no reference to Christianity in the book). A bit of background first.

The action in Fortune and Fate makes up two separate stories. (Fortune is the name of the capital building of Fortunalt). In one of them, Wen, a King's Rider who was present when the King was killed, cannot forgive herself. (It wasn't her fault.) She leaves the capital, resigning from the Riders, and wanders around the country without any real goal, leaving any situation that looks like she might make new friends. She does rescue several people who are in danger, using her intelligence and her military skills. She finds herself in Fortunalt, and takes on the job of developing a competent guard force for the young heiress of that House. Meanwhile, the other story is that Cammon, the consort of the Queen, takes a very slow tour of the land, with a large entourage.

Near the end of the book, the two threads are tied together, when Cammon and his entourage come to Fortunalt. Here's a key conversation, between Senneth and Tayse, the main characters in the series, who are part of Cammon's escort:
"Whatever reason he had for making this trip. Was it really to tour the southern lands and try to determine how safe they would be for Amalie to visit? Was it to gain some consensus from the Twelve House overseers about putting together a mixed force to patrol the borders? Or was it to find Wen?"
She sat up straighter in bed. "Surely not even Cammon would believe such a long and expensive journey could be justified by the idea fo finding one lost soul?"
"I actually think it's the only sort of prize Cammon really thinks is worthwhile."
"But -- but -- all this time -- and all these people! Nine Riders and seventy guards! The dinners, the bills at the inns! All to locate a missing woman?" (Sharon Shinn, Fortune and Fate. New York: Ace, 2008. P. 351.)

Yes, Cammon went to a great deal of trouble and expense to make sure that Wen, who, although a friend, is not a special one, is able to forgive herself, and find a useful role in life. Does that remind me of anyone? Of course! Jesus did that, too, on an even larger scale, and not in fiction. He traveled here from Heaven, so that I could be forgiven, and find a useful role in life, regardless of the cost.

Thanks for reading.

Three by Sharon Shinn

Sharon Shinn is a writer of fantastic literature, who always has an element of romance (in the sense of a man and woman falling in love) in her novels. Although she has never won the highest awards given in the field, she's good enough to enjoy. Let's put it this way -- my wife, who almost never likes fantastic literature, has enjoyed one of Shinn's books, Summers at Castle Auburn. She also enjoyed, as I did, a trio of so-called Young Adult books by Shinn. These books are The Truth-Teller's Tale (2005), The Safe-Keeper's Secret (2004) and The Dream-Maker's Magic (2006). There is a fourth story, "Wintermoon Wish," with the same premises and setting. That story is in the anthology Firebirds Rising.

As usual, I won't give away the plot, but I will muse briefly about some of the aspects of these books.

All three involve young teenagers growing up. These are more female than male, but male characters are important. One of the books features twin girls, and one has a main character whose mother treats her as if she were a boy -- she isn't. (Shinn's story explains the reasons.)

The world of these books has magic in it. In particular, there are Safe-Keepers, Truth-Tellers, and Dream-Makers. Safe-Keepers are safe listeners for secrets. They don't tell even the most awful things, unless telling would be all right with the originator of the secret, or that person has died. They may pass secrets on to other Safe-Keepers, especially if they are afraid that they will die soon.

Truth-Tellers, on the contrary, always tell the truth, and this includes things that they don't have personal knowledge of. For example, you could ask a Truth-Teller who committed a crime, and he or she would usually respond by naming the guilty party. Truth-Tellers, of course, aren't always popular. Like Safe-Keepers, there may be more than one such person in the kingdom at once. Both Truth-Tellers and Safe-Keepers gradually come to realize their specialness, and those around them do, too, as they grow up.

One of Shinn's nice touches is inventing a tree that goes with each of these. Kirrenberry trees are for Safe-Keepers. They make no noise. Their leaves don't rustle, and, if you make a whistle out of a twig from such a tree, it won't make any music. Chatterleaf trees are noisy, and they are often planted at the homes of Truth-Tellers. Their leaves, of course, are noisy.

There is only one Dream-Maker in the kingdom at a time, and Dream-Making is difficult. Only people who have endured great suffering become Dream-Makers, and being Dream-Maker is an emotional burden. Their special gift is to make some people's wishes come true. They don't control this. Wishes of people who have told the Dream-Maker what their wish is may come true. If so, it is some time after the contact with the Dream-Maker.

The three books, as I say, all take place in the same setting. They are also related, in that characters from one book may be mentioned a little in another one, but the books may be read independently.

There is little or no religion in the books, except for rituals associated with mid-winter and mid-summer. However, both my wife and I were struck by the fact that Jesus Christ is Truth-Teller, Safe-Keeper, and Dream-Maker. Sometimes the Truth that He tells is uncomfortable and unwelcome. We can confess anything we have done to Him without fear. He makes some of our dreams come true.

Thanks for reading.

The Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn

In The Thirteenth House, Sharon Shinn continues the series she began with Mystic and Rider. (I posted on that book quite a while ago, and also have a post on Shinn more generally.)

As I indicated in the earlier post, I like the setting of this series better than her first series, the Angel, or Samarra, books. There is no patina of science behind the fantasy, as there is in the Angel books.

This second work uses the same characters as the first, in large part, which is also a plus. These are Donnal, Cammon, Tayse, Justin, Kirra Danalustrous, and Senneth Brasenthwait.

Shinn generally has some moral dilemmas in her work. There are two serious moral dilemmas in this novel. One of them is unresolved. It may be resolved in a later work. That is the question of changing a human into an animal, and back. Some Mystics can do this. There is, apparently, a religious prohibition against doing so, except to yourself. But it turns out that a deadly disease can be cured in animals, but not in humans, so Kirra decides (with advice from others, both Mystics and non-Mystics) that she should do this. If there is a prohibition against doing so, shouldn't something happen? Nothing seems to, at least in this book.

The second doesn't need a fantasy novel, unfortunately, although the resolution is fantastic. The main character, Kirra falls in love with, and has an affair with, a married man, knowing full well that this is dangerous. Finally, she ends the affair. In the process, she cures infertility in the wife of her lover (the wife doesn't know that her husband has been having an affair with Kirra). This is not easy for Kirra to do, but she does it.

Kirra also does something even more redeeming. She doesn't want to, and thinks that doing so will almost be emotional suicide, but she manipulates the memory of her former lover so that he will forget the affair.

Although she shouldn't have gotten into this in the first place, this sort of closing, possible only in fantastic literature, is a particularly appropriate way, it seems to me, to terminate an adulterous affair.

I look forward to the next books in this series. There are some questions to resolve. Who will Cammon and Justin fall in love with? What special powers, if any, do the queen and the princess have? Will there be a war? There are probably other questions, and other adventures, to come.

Thanks for reading.

Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn

Sharon Shinn has not often been proclaimed as one of the greatest writers of fantastic literature in English. Nonetheless, I enjoy reading her novels. They almost always involve romance. (In the sense of a man and a woman gradually finding that they love each other.)

I first found Shinn's work in a bookstore, by accident, if there are such. (In The Silver Chair, C. S. Lewis said that there weren't any.) The title was Archangel (1997), which intrigued me. I suppose that Shinn is best known for the series of novels with the same setting -- a future world of humans, who have fled from Earth, and live on another planet, which vaguely resembles the Middle East in several features. Shinn's work often involves religion, in some form. She was asked about that in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 2, 2006. Her response was that she is not an adherent of any faith, but is "still looking." She also said that "For me, to a certain extent, religion is part of the world building, because so many societies are defined by their religion." She's certainly right about that, and some fantastic fiction is poorer because that fact has been ignored by its authors.

I think I'm going to like the world of Mystic and Rider (New York: Ace, 2005) better than the world of Archangel. It seems more believable than the world of Archangel, which included a giant spaceship, circling and protecting the world, without the inhabitants understanding its nature -- that didn't ring quite true, although it was an interesting device. I know I'm going to like the characters. Much of the book is about the adventures of the heroine, a mystic (with some magical powers) and those traveling with her, who include humans, some mystic and some not, and a large dangerous animal. The development of understanding between the characters took some good work on Shinn's part. Their interactions, trust and mistrust, settling into roles, are believable. I like that in a book.

Religion comes up in this book, too:
There are converts up in the northern parts, too, but they only get a handful of applicants. My father has supported one for years, because he says that all people need some form of faith in their lives, even if it's something they choose not to follow. Just to know it's there. Just to know there's a power somewhere stronger than you and willing to knock you down if you don't behave. Sharon Shinn, Mystic and Rider. (p. 47)

I'm looking forward to at least one sequel, with the further adventures of at least some of the same characters.

Thanks for reading.

* * * * *

Added April 10, 2007. Shinn has a short story, "When Winter Comes," in The Queen in Winter (New York: Berkeley, 2006) that is based on this book. She has developed one incident in Mystic and Rider into a fine story, and I suspect that at least one of the characters, Kinnon, a baby with mystical powers (but otherwise, a baby) will show up in another book in this series, a little older. She has, as usual, some nice sentences, such as these, which begin the story:
People always say they're willing to die for the ones they love, as if nothing else they could do would be so hard. But it is harder to keep living for someone else, doing everything in your power to keep that person safe and breathing. I know. (p. 85)

Sharon Shinn

I'm recently finished reading Angelica, by Sharon Shinn.

Shinn isn't quite up there with Le Guin, or Connie Willis, I guess, and I don't expect to see her win any Hugo or Nebula awards, but she does have plots that hold the attention, and the first Shinn book I read, Archangel, dealt with an almost-Christian religious theme. (Angelica is the fourth book set on the same world.) Other books in the series have dealt with issues of faith, and one deals with the issues raised by technological progress. All her books are rather old-fashioned romances, too.

Here's a quote:
Over all the gods--and over all the stars and planets that they could see, and even the ones they couldn't see--ruled one great, benevolent spirit that the Edori knew only as the nameless one. His was the hand that had created all the worlds, and all the gods who watched over them--and he, no doubt, was familiar with the god to whom this stranger prayed, and he approved. Sharon Shinn, Angelica, New York: Ace Books, 2004. p. 407.

Angelica is one of Shinn's Samaria series, and all of the books ask the question, "Is there a real god?" in some way. I won't give away details about the answer, other than to say that there is one, in these books.

My wife, who very seldom reads fantastic literature, read and enjoyed Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn, as did I. We both also read and enjoyed her The Shape-Changer's Wife.

I recommend Sharon Shinn for those seeking a good read involving fantastic literature.

Revised on June 18, 2007.

Thanks for reading.