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Roses Of Roazon by Cherith Baldry check out website: www.toruk.com
With the exception of an uprising of demons late on in the novel, Baldry has ignored the plethora of dwarves, elves and other races that mark out one particular category of fantasy. This is neither good or bad as there are excellent examples of this kind of fantasy and it has a popular following.
Many writers use fantasy as a vehicle to include magic. There are no wizards in 'The Roses Of Roazon' and the magic is very low key. A group of holy sisters practice scrying as a means of discovering future events and a few women outside the order receive true visions. On the whole, men are not visionaries. There is an underlying something, which may be construed as magic, as the turning point of the novel relies of the long held belief that the demonic city of Autrys will rise again from the waves if there is no Duke of Roazon of the true bloodline. Although this prophecy is central to the plot, it is used as an excuse
to persuade Joscelin to become Duke rather than being a deeply held belief. It
is only pursued by the villains. This strand of the novel is unfortunately overshadowed
by the romantic elements. Almost every principal character seems either to be
engaged to someone they don't love or in love with an unattainable person. The belief system contains the most original element. The people of Roazon worship joint gods representing the Warrior and the Judge. Their symbol is the tripartite Knot. As an inauguration gift, the artist Morwenna gives Joscelin an icon representation a third aspect of the divinity, the Healer. Joscelin takes to wearing it, but some members of the church see this as heresy. As the
people are roused against Joscelin, he is forced to flee, opening the way for
both those working to bring back Autrys and the king of the next country who sees
it as an opportunity to invade. Cherith Baldry is the author of several children's books. This doesn't quite make it into the adult section. In the United States, there is a category of Young Adult. 'The Roses Of Roazon' would fit here more comfortably as there isn't the depth to the plot to satisfy many adult readers. Although there are couples in love with each other, their courtships are
very chaste. There is a lack of passion in the characterisation. Even in the most
chivalric and upright society, there are still passionate embraces and those who
break the rules. There is no emotion and no sex, inside or outside marriage. This is also a novel about politics. Again, the outcome is simplistic:
the depth of intrigue, the complexities of deception are missing. One strand of
the plot is based on the life of real person. It would have been nice to have
had more from his point of view and to see more of the choices he has to make
and influences behind them. It seemed very superficial. Normally, I
am pleased to see a fantasy novel concluded within a single volume, but this is
the rare exception that would have benefited from being at least twice the length. Pauline Morgan
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OTHER REVIEWS - August 2004
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With
the proliferation of fantasy novels over the last couple of decades, the challenge
is to create something new. This is a task that is becoming more and more difficult.
The question then is 'has Cherith Baldry succeeded?' Yes and no.
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