"Hodgell,.P.C.-.Kencyr.3.-.Seeker's.Mask" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hodgell P. C)

Hopefully Pat’s status in the field will change, now that her academic obligations are completed and she has the time to once again enrich our field with her singular fiction. It’s all well and fine to have a rabid cult following, but I’d much rather see her do so well that she can concentrate as much of her time as feels right on the telling of tales.
And what tales she has to tell us.
If you remember, the last time we saw Jame (in Dark of the Moon), she had finally tracked down her twin brother Tori and now had to find a place for herself among the Kencyrs, those warrior-magicians she’d been searching for throughout the previous books. Seeker’s Mask opens with the unruly Jame trying to fit into the constricting life found within the Women’s Halls at Gothregor. Knowing Jame as we do, we also know it’s a lost cause and in no time at all, she has set the quiet Women’s Halls topsy-turvy, though it’s not entirely her fault.
True, she finds it difficult to fit in, but she does try. Only what can you do when Shadow Guild assassins come hunting you, not to mention old ghosts from her days in Tai-tastigon, the city of a thousand gods? It doesn’t help, either, that no one in the Women’s Halls seems willing to help her, or that her brother will have nothing to do with her. So in no time at all she and Jorin, the blind, cat-like ounce with whom she has bonded, are off and away once more, barely one step ahead of a multitude of dangers.
Stated so simply as I have above, the bare bones of the plot undoubtedly sound like that of any one of the literally dozens of derivative fantasy novels that clog the shelves of our bookstores, but that’s far from the case here. Like Guy Gavriel Kay and Patricia A. McKillip, like Jane Yolen and Jane Lindskold and a very few other talented fantasists, Pat works with the archetypes of myth and high fantasy and uses them as a means of confronting and dealing with the real world, rather than as simple escapism. Her work demands involvement from the reader, not because her prose can be so dense, or the plotlines don’t always follow through in a traditionally linear sense, but because there is an underlying resonance to every action and motive and description.
You come away from one of Pat’s books with your mind and heart humming. The reverberations of what you’ve read carry through into the world beyond the book’s pages and you see things differently. Connections that originated in the novels link with our own lives, offering insights and questions, both of which are important as we make our way through the confusing morass of the world. The insights show us established paths we can take that we might not have seen before. The questions make us look a little harder so that we can forge our own routes.
Like many of us, Pat has cast her net into the pool of what went before, but unlike most, she replenishes those waters with more than what she took. You can’t ask much more of an artist and for Pat’s unwavering commitment to give us so much, she deserves not only our support, but our admiration and respect as well.
***
That’s what I wrote about Seeker’s Mask, seven years ago upon its first publication, and I stand by it today. Pat Hodgell is one of the original voices and great talents of our field and I couldn’t be happier to see her work back in print once more, with at least a fourth novel scheduled to appear in the near future. If you’re new to her work, get comfortable and allow a master storyteller to take you in hand. If you’re already familiar with Jame’s adventures, I hope you’ll enjoy revisiting these stories as much as I have.
Charles de Lint Ottawa December 2000



Characters
present and past

Adiraina—the Ardeth Matriarch, Adric’s cousin, sister-kin to Kinzi
Adric—Lord Ardeth of Omiroth, Torisen’s ally and former mentor
Aerulan—a Highborn Knorth girl killed in the Massacre; Jame’s cousin; sister-kin to Brenwyr
Argentiel—That-Which-Preserves, the Second Face of the Three-Faced-God
Ashe—a scrollswoman singer who was killed by haunts in the White Hills and therefore returned as one
Bane—Ganth’s son by a Kendar mistress, Jame’s half-brother
Bashtiri Shadow Guild—a guild of assassins, noted for their determination and invisibility
Brant—Lord Brandan of Falkirr, Brenwyr’s brother
Brenwyr—the Brandan Matriarch, Brant’s sister, sister-kin to Aerulan
Brier Iron-thorn—a Knorth randon cadet, formerly a Caineron yondri
Burnt Man—Merikit avenger of the slain
Burr—Torisen’s Kendar servant
Caldane—Lord Caineron of Restormir, Torisen’s enemy
Cattila—the Caineron Matriarch, Caldane’s great-grandmother
Chingetai—Merikit chief
Chaos Serpent—the great, primal snake said to lie under Rathillien, whose mouth is the maelstrom known as the Maw
Dianthe—the Danior Matriarch
Ganth Gray Lord—former Highlord of the Kencyrath, father of Jame and Torisen
Gerridon—the Master of Knorth, former Highlord whose treachery caused the Fall
Gorgo—a Tastigon rain god of the Old Pantheon
Graykin—(Griki) Jame’s half-breed servant and Caldane’s bastard son
Grimly—a wolver poet
Grondin—Caldane’s first established son
Harn Grip-hard—Torisen’s second in command with the Southern Host
Hawthorn—a Brandan randon captain, assigned to Tentir and Gothregor
Higron—Caldane’s sixth established son
Hollens—(Holly), Lord Danior of Shadow Rock, Torisen’s closest kin on the High Council, therefore his heir presumptive
Immalai—the Arrin-ken who passed judgment on Jame in the Ebonbane
Index—an old scrollsman, expert on the Merikit
Ishtier—a Kencyr high-priest, Jame’s enemy
Jame—Jamethiel Priest’s-Bane, Torisen’s twin sister
Jorin—Jame’s blind royal Gold ounce
Kallystine—Caldane’s favorite daughter, Torisen’s limited term consort
Karidia—the Coman Matriarch