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fandomhigh_ooc2009-03-15 08:11 pm
kestrelswolf.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh_ooc2009-03-15 08:11 pm
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Fandom Spotlight: Firekeeper Saga!
The Firekeeper Saga, by Jane Lindskold:
Through Wolf's Eyes
Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart
The Dragon of Despair
Wolf Captured
Wolf Hunting
Wolf's Blood
The Plot!
So... I started off writing this spotlight trying to do a paragraph summary of every book, but that got boring, and stupid, and I think at some point some teal deer wandered in and actually gave birth so I took that as a sign. So anyway, much more general plot summary is this: in the first book we've got a girl raised by wolves who's rediscovered by humans and ends up smack-dab in the middle of familial infighting over the naming of a royal heir that quickly turns into an actual war, oops. In the second book, we've got a pissed off ex-queen (to be fair I'd be cranky too if I'd been forced to live with the name “Gustin” for however many years), a guy named Walnut, and Firekeeper's chasing them to faraway lands.
In book the third, there's a dragon, sewer-exploration and also Derian dresses up like a carrot. Fourth, we've got a guy who decides that instead of just asking nicely if Firekeeper and her friends could maybe come visit, he'll kidnap them! Great plan, yes? Then in the next book, Firekeeper and friends discover some voodoo dolls made by a trickster god and decide to track down the people they represent- a pair of fraternal twins who were joined at the hands at birth. I don't even know. There's also some stuff about a magical plague and oh yes, they stage a hostile takeover of an island full of portals. Let's not forget the batshit-crazy psychic jaguar, either. In the final book, they learn more about the plague and fend off an invasion... of the island they totally just conquered themselves. And to top it all off there's a magical mountain sheep. Not even kidding a little bit.
The Characters!
Good goddamn there are a lot of them. I'm not including everyone 'cause you'd be here damn near forever.
Firekeeper: The titular character, raised by wolves and then adopted by the Earl Kestrel and given the name "Blysse". I... find it really hard to give her a description that's limited to just a couple lines, but she's stubborn, independent, and fierce. Also a damn good shot with a bow.
Blind Seer: Firekeeper's best friend and trusted confidant. He's a blue-eyed wolf, hence the name. Has a tendency to spout proverbs given any opportunity. Firekeeper suspects he just makes most of them up. He discovers in the later books that he's got a latent spellcasting ability, which cues much angst.
Derian Carter/Counselor: Firekeeper's first human friend, he's given the task of teaching her all about being human. He ends up becoming a counselor to the king of Hawk Haven, an ambassador, and later part of the ruling council of the Nexus Islands. Not bad for someone who thought he'd be taking over his parents' stables when he grew up.
Elation: A peregrine falcon, she is Smarter Than You, and won't hesitate to point that out. Has a total soft spot for Derian.
Sapphire Shield: Quintessential warrior princess. She and Firekeeper clash at first, but eventually end up being friends. Not really a major character beyond the second book, but I'm putting her here anyway because she's damn awesome.
Melina Shield: Sapphire's mom, and the closest thing Hawk Haven has to a sorceress. Used a weird form of mind control on her kids, and not only did she name them all after precious stones? She made sure their every possession matched the color of their name stone. To the extent of having Sapphire's horse dyed blue. For serious. Also, she tried to feed one of her kids to a dragon.
Elise Archer: Heiress to the Archer barony, crazy-smart and though she's not a warrior like her cousin Sapphire, is definitely not faint of heart as she ends up a field medic in the middle of a very bloody war. Her grandfather was a common archer who married into the royal family (hence her surname) so her dad's kind of frustratingly neurotic in his expectations for his daughter.
Sir Jared "Doc" Surcliffe: Doc is made of awesome. Knighted for his efforts to save Princess Lovella after she was injured in battle, he's far more proud of the nickname "Doc" than he is of the new title. Also is kinda hopelessly in love with Elise, which is problematic given that she's an heiress and he's just a younger son of a distant branch of a noble house.
Harjeedian: The guy who kidnaps Firekeeper, Blind Seer, and Derian in the third book but ends up eventually being an ally. Is wicked-smart and really likes snakes. Ends up one of the co-rulers of the Nexus Islands as well.
Truth: A soothsaying jaguar who is driven kind of crazy at the end of the third book. She gets kind of better, though! For a cat, is surprisingly something of a people-person. Really.
Plik: A creature who's sort of a blend between a racoon and a man, he's... generally a very nice guy, but don't let his stature and “cute” appearance fool you, because he can kick ass if it's needed.
The Meddler: A minor god who, well, meddles. A lot. Also has kind of a crush on Firekeeper.
Tiniel and Isende: A pair of twins who were born bonded physically and also shared an empathic link. Tiniel's kind of a creep (massive understatement) but Isende is nice.
Ynamynet: A spellcaster who retained her abilities after the plague, thus earning the title Once Dead. As the strongest remaining spellcaster after Firekeeper and company's takeover, she also ends up on the ruling council of the Nexus Islands.
Virim: The guy who created the magical plague. He had good intentions but those sort of got lost along the way. Has a tendency to turn into a mountain sheep.
So why should you read these books?
Um, they're awesome! Okay, yeah, that's sort of vague. But really, talking wolves! And jaguars, ravens, falcons, and plenty of other creatures to boot. Kickass female characters, right down to minor, only-mentioned-once characters. Hawk Haven's also got the coolest systems for assigning surnames: for the noble houses, children take the name of the higher-ranked parent, regardless of gender, thus Elise is Archer after her father, and her cousin Sapphire is a Shield after her mother. Commoners are all named after their profession, which is why Derian Carter is also known as Derian Counselor. So, yeah. Like I said. Awesome.
And where can you find them?
Wellllll, if you ask me nicely I can hook you up with copies of the first four in ebook form. Sadly, I haven't been able to find the last two. Other than that, they're available in bookstores, through Amazon, at your local library... wherever the books live, really.
And that's all. Questions, comments, jam-covered marshmallows?
Through Wolf's Eyes
Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart
The Dragon of Despair
Wolf Captured
Wolf Hunting
Wolf's Blood
The Plot!
So... I started off writing this spotlight trying to do a paragraph summary of every book, but that got boring, and stupid, and I think at some point some teal deer wandered in and actually gave birth so I took that as a sign. So anyway, much more general plot summary is this: in the first book we've got a girl raised by wolves who's rediscovered by humans and ends up smack-dab in the middle of familial infighting over the naming of a royal heir that quickly turns into an actual war, oops. In the second book, we've got a pissed off ex-queen (to be fair I'd be cranky too if I'd been forced to live with the name “Gustin” for however many years), a guy named Walnut, and Firekeeper's chasing them to faraway lands.
In book the third, there's a dragon, sewer-exploration and also Derian dresses up like a carrot. Fourth, we've got a guy who decides that instead of just asking nicely if Firekeeper and her friends could maybe come visit, he'll kidnap them! Great plan, yes? Then in the next book, Firekeeper and friends discover some voodoo dolls made by a trickster god and decide to track down the people they represent- a pair of fraternal twins who were joined at the hands at birth. I don't even know. There's also some stuff about a magical plague and oh yes, they stage a hostile takeover of an island full of portals. Let's not forget the batshit-crazy psychic jaguar, either. In the final book, they learn more about the plague and fend off an invasion... of the island they totally just conquered themselves. And to top it all off there's a magical mountain sheep. Not even kidding a little bit.
The Characters!
Good goddamn there are a lot of them. I'm not including everyone 'cause you'd be here damn near forever.
Firekeeper: The titular character, raised by wolves and then adopted by the Earl Kestrel and given the name "Blysse". I... find it really hard to give her a description that's limited to just a couple lines, but she's stubborn, independent, and fierce. Also a damn good shot with a bow.
Blind Seer: Firekeeper's best friend and trusted confidant. He's a blue-eyed wolf, hence the name. Has a tendency to spout proverbs given any opportunity. Firekeeper suspects he just makes most of them up. He discovers in the later books that he's got a latent spellcasting ability, which cues much angst.
Derian Carter/Counselor: Firekeeper's first human friend, he's given the task of teaching her all about being human. He ends up becoming a counselor to the king of Hawk Haven, an ambassador, and later part of the ruling council of the Nexus Islands. Not bad for someone who thought he'd be taking over his parents' stables when he grew up.
Elation: A peregrine falcon, she is Smarter Than You, and won't hesitate to point that out. Has a total soft spot for Derian.
Sapphire Shield: Quintessential warrior princess. She and Firekeeper clash at first, but eventually end up being friends. Not really a major character beyond the second book, but I'm putting her here anyway because she's damn awesome.
Melina Shield: Sapphire's mom, and the closest thing Hawk Haven has to a sorceress. Used a weird form of mind control on her kids, and not only did she name them all after precious stones? She made sure their every possession matched the color of their name stone. To the extent of having Sapphire's horse dyed blue. For serious. Also, she tried to feed one of her kids to a dragon.
Elise Archer: Heiress to the Archer barony, crazy-smart and though she's not a warrior like her cousin Sapphire, is definitely not faint of heart as she ends up a field medic in the middle of a very bloody war. Her grandfather was a common archer who married into the royal family (hence her surname) so her dad's kind of frustratingly neurotic in his expectations for his daughter.
Sir Jared "Doc" Surcliffe: Doc is made of awesome. Knighted for his efforts to save Princess Lovella after she was injured in battle, he's far more proud of the nickname "Doc" than he is of the new title. Also is kinda hopelessly in love with Elise, which is problematic given that she's an heiress and he's just a younger son of a distant branch of a noble house.
Harjeedian: The guy who kidnaps Firekeeper, Blind Seer, and Derian in the third book but ends up eventually being an ally. Is wicked-smart and really likes snakes. Ends up one of the co-rulers of the Nexus Islands as well.
Truth: A soothsaying jaguar who is driven kind of crazy at the end of the third book. She gets kind of better, though! For a cat, is surprisingly something of a people-person. Really.
Plik: A creature who's sort of a blend between a racoon and a man, he's... generally a very nice guy, but don't let his stature and “cute” appearance fool you, because he can kick ass if it's needed.
The Meddler: A minor god who, well, meddles. A lot. Also has kind of a crush on Firekeeper.
Tiniel and Isende: A pair of twins who were born bonded physically and also shared an empathic link. Tiniel's kind of a creep (massive understatement) but Isende is nice.
Ynamynet: A spellcaster who retained her abilities after the plague, thus earning the title Once Dead. As the strongest remaining spellcaster after Firekeeper and company's takeover, she also ends up on the ruling council of the Nexus Islands.
Virim: The guy who created the magical plague. He had good intentions but those sort of got lost along the way. Has a tendency to turn into a mountain sheep.
So why should you read these books?
Um, they're awesome! Okay, yeah, that's sort of vague. But really, talking wolves! And jaguars, ravens, falcons, and plenty of other creatures to boot. Kickass female characters, right down to minor, only-mentioned-once characters. Hawk Haven's also got the coolest systems for assigning surnames: for the noble houses, children take the name of the higher-ranked parent, regardless of gender, thus Elise is Archer after her father, and her cousin Sapphire is a Shield after her mother. Commoners are all named after their profession, which is why Derian Carter is also known as Derian Counselor. So, yeah. Like I said. Awesome.
And where can you find them?
Wellllll, if you ask me nicely I can hook you up with copies of the first four in ebook form. Sadly, I haven't been able to find the last two. Other than that, they're available in bookstores, through Amazon, at your local library... wherever the books live, really.
And that's all. Questions, comments, jam-covered marshmallows?
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Can I has the first four? 'cause this? So makes me want to read them.
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I'd love the first four books though. Cause I'm on a book-buying hiatus, but that doesn't mean people can't give me e-books ;)
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Plot-wise, it made sense, but the break in pattern never fails to amuse me. ^^
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