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lakesbecky's review against another edition
3.0
I first read this as a child and kept it and revisited it 25 years on! A sort of medieval post apocalyptic world.
Things may not be quite as they seem and life isn't straight forward if you are Prince in Waiting...
Things may not be quite as they seem and life isn't straight forward if you are Prince in Waiting...
tmarjorie's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
This is a post apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi , originally published in 1970. I read it having good memories of the author’s’Tripods’ trilogy.
I was somewhat disappointed- the book hasn’t aged well- the plot is predictable and I found the characters somewhat one-dimensional, particularly Luke, the protagonist.
This book was published after the Tripods trilogy but feels almost like an earlier, less skilful attempt at a similar story.
I was somewhat disappointed- the book hasn’t aged well- the plot is predictable and I found the characters somewhat one-dimensional, particularly Luke, the protagonist.
This book was published after the Tripods trilogy but feels almost like an earlier, less skilful attempt at a similar story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Xenophobia, and Violence
zoes_human's review against another edition
adventurous
1.0
Perhaps had I read this when younger or perhaps had I not already read The Tripods Trilogy, I might have enjoyed The Prince in Waiting. As things are, it felt a bit formulaic with nothing particularly new to add either to the genre or the author's oeuvre. The general concept of the universe was intriguing, but it served as background to the story of young boy triumphs rather than as a focus.
Last but not least, the female characters are tiresome stereotypes that were dated at the time of publication. Some 46 years later, they are not improved. For that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend this book to a child. As for an adult with fond childhood memories, I would advise keeping your cherished reminiscences and avoiding a reread.
Last but not least, the female characters are tiresome stereotypes that were dated at the time of publication. Some 46 years later, they are not improved. For that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend this book to a child. As for an adult with fond childhood memories, I would advise keeping your cherished reminiscences and avoiding a reread.
epersonae's review against another edition
4.0
(Yet another overdue review in which I actually don't remember tons about the book. Sorry.)
Really enjoyable young adult book that I should really just find a copy of. Great fantasy-ish setting. (Is it spoilery to note that a 40 year old book that's a trilogy starts out as fantasy and then turns out to be post-apocalyptic scifi?)
Really enjoyable young adult book that I should really just find a copy of. Great fantasy-ish setting. (Is it spoilery to note that a 40 year old book that's a trilogy starts out as fantasy and then turns out to be post-apocalyptic scifi?)
sonofthunder's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic book. I love original tales, and this one felt quite fresh and new (even though - or maybe because? - it was written in the early 1970s). This book was a post-apocalyptic tale and a lot of things I assumed to be true turned out utterly differently and I couldn't be more delighted. The main character (Luke) was a bit flat at times, but the story itself was a delight. Well-written, not over-long and...just an engaging tale.
edgeworth's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first volume in John Christopher’s “The Sword of the Spirits” trilogy, which is aimed at young adults. I count Christopher’s Tripods trilogy among the best young adult science fiction I’ve ever read, so I was interested to see him do fantasy. The story begins with Luke, a young man, visiting a colony of dwarves who work with arms and armour at a great forge. We learn some more about the city where he lives, a medieval-sounding place with a Prince and his captains, wagons on the roads, horses in the fields, etc. Before the chapter is out, Luke idly traces the faint outlines of old words written on a piece of wood: RADIO & TV DEAL.
Surprise! This is another post-apocalyptic story, which is kind of a shame, because it ends up echoing a lot of the ideas in the Tripods trilogy. The city itself is Winchester, which is also where the protagonist in the Tripods trilogy comes from – I suppose it’s Christopher’s hometown. The book follows Luke as Winchester’s ruling Prince is deposed by the gods known as the Spirits, and Luke’s own father is raised in his place. A number of campaigns and events and battles come and go, and without spoiling the ending (which is clearly just the end of the first part in a series, anyway) Luke eventually leaves the city.
I didn’t enjoy this as much as The White Mountains, the first book in the Tripods trilogy, but I was probably about 15 when I last read that. When I re-read that trilogy, which is on the to-do list, maybe I’ll now see the same flaws present in The Prince in Waiting – wooden characters, and Christopher’s oddly stiff narration. This is just his style, I think – it was definitely present in The Guardians and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it when I revisit the Tripods trilogy. It’s a strange style of prose, not so much in how it cleanly lays out the circumstances on the table and analyses the characters’ emotions, but the way it does so in a polite, refined British manner. There are echoes of it in The Death of Grass, Christopher’s brutal apocalyptic novel for adults, though not as much – maybe he felt the need to spell things out a bit more for kids.
One thing that sets this book apart from Christopher’s others is how unlikeable the protagonist is. Luke is arrogant, proud, lacks curiosity about the world around him, and is often cold:
I was too bitter and wretched to realise what he was offering: having weathered his own grief and disappointment he would still go into exile with me as a companion to me in mine. Later I understood. Friendship meant much to him, more than it could ever do to me.
Beyond that, however, I felt that The Prince in Waiting rehashed too many elements from The White Mountains – the ruins of a great civilisation, a young protagonist going in to exile, and (most blatantly) a secret organisation that remembers the old ways. And in comparison with its predecessor, this book suffers from having a static setting and an larger cast of ancillary characters. The White Mountains had only three major characters, undertaking a road voyage. Characterisation is not Christopher’s strong suit, and I lost track of who was who to some extent towards the end of The Prince in Waiting.
I was fairly ambivalent about The Prince in Waiting and have no doubt this will be an objectively weaker series than the Tripods trilogy. But I’ll read the next two books nonetheless, because they’re not big or time-consuming, and I’m interested to see where Christopher goes with it.
Surprise! This is another post-apocalyptic story, which is kind of a shame, because it ends up echoing a lot of the ideas in the Tripods trilogy. The city itself is Winchester, which is also where the protagonist in the Tripods trilogy comes from – I suppose it’s Christopher’s hometown. The book follows Luke as Winchester’s ruling Prince is deposed by the gods known as the Spirits, and Luke’s own father is raised in his place. A number of campaigns and events and battles come and go, and without spoiling the ending (which is clearly just the end of the first part in a series, anyway) Luke eventually leaves the city.
I didn’t enjoy this as much as The White Mountains, the first book in the Tripods trilogy, but I was probably about 15 when I last read that. When I re-read that trilogy, which is on the to-do list, maybe I’ll now see the same flaws present in The Prince in Waiting – wooden characters, and Christopher’s oddly stiff narration. This is just his style, I think – it was definitely present in The Guardians and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it when I revisit the Tripods trilogy. It’s a strange style of prose, not so much in how it cleanly lays out the circumstances on the table and analyses the characters’ emotions, but the way it does so in a polite, refined British manner. There are echoes of it in The Death of Grass, Christopher’s brutal apocalyptic novel for adults, though not as much – maybe he felt the need to spell things out a bit more for kids.
One thing that sets this book apart from Christopher’s others is how unlikeable the protagonist is. Luke is arrogant, proud, lacks curiosity about the world around him, and is often cold:
I was too bitter and wretched to realise what he was offering: having weathered his own grief and disappointment he would still go into exile with me as a companion to me in mine. Later I understood. Friendship meant much to him, more than it could ever do to me.
Beyond that, however, I felt that The Prince in Waiting rehashed too many elements from The White Mountains – the ruins of a great civilisation, a young protagonist going in to exile, and (most blatantly) a secret organisation that remembers the old ways. And in comparison with its predecessor, this book suffers from having a static setting and an larger cast of ancillary characters. The White Mountains had only three major characters, undertaking a road voyage. Characterisation is not Christopher’s strong suit, and I lost track of who was who to some extent towards the end of The Prince in Waiting.
I was fairly ambivalent about The Prince in Waiting and have no doubt this will be an objectively weaker series than the Tripods trilogy. But I’ll read the next two books nonetheless, because they’re not big or time-consuming, and I’m interested to see where Christopher goes with it.
traveller1's review against another edition
5.0
This takes me back. I just acquired a replacement copy, and have reread, after many a year (decades). I first read this novel, along with most of Christopher's other great SF novels, when I was in High School (early 70s). After that I re-read this novel many times, but by the 80s (I think), I had moved on. Now, it is great to wallow in nostalgia (which never gets old).
The story: post-global catastrophe, some type of unspecified mass earthquake. The human population has been decimated, and its existence hampered by a fickle climate. The story centres around England and the 'Kingdom of Winchester'. Here, humans live in small cities, ruled by princes, and practise annual, small wars, against each other, for glory. There are mutants aplenty: dwarfs, and others more afflicted. Surrounding them are the 'barbarian' lands, which continually encroach upon the civilised, threatening to dissrail what small steps of progress have been made.
The protagonist is young warrior, Luke, who first gains a measure of glory and notoriety when he wins the City annual, teen, military contest, whose father becomes the ruling prince (killing, with regret, his predecessor), with him as heir designate.
In the pages of this young adult novel Christopher backs more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Luke rises from mediocrity, ascends to glory, and is cast down. All done with a plausible believability.
His rise is all accomplished with the connivance of the "Seers"—a religious order, now dominant (Christians are a small, annoying minority), who publicly condemn science and technology, but who secretly preserve this knowledge and plan to re-introduce when they can. Their stratagem is to use Luke to unite the fractious city-states, produce one kingdom, and restore the old world.
Noble a goal as this is, it comes to nought in this novel. Towards the end of the story Luke's father is treacherously murdered, and Luke himself becomes a fugitive, forced to flee his city in disguise and seek refuge with the Seers.
Exciting as the story is, it is far more. Luke's life reflects the true complexity of human existence: he sees the nature of friendship, endures the pettiness of fawning courtiers, and is betrayed by people (including his step-mother, who attempts to murder him), close to him. Over the course of the trilogy, we see Luke grow increasingly taciturn and grim, increasingly disenchanted with human nature.
I recall, somewhat, the first time I read this novel. I was bewildered. So much packed into so few pages! (Certainly as compared to modern novels, which have 2x the number of pages). So much sadness and pain.
I cannot say that I have read much YA since I was a YA, but I cannot think how a reflection of adult life can be better shown than through Christopher's writings. Recommended.
The story: post-global catastrophe, some type of unspecified mass earthquake. The human population has been decimated, and its existence hampered by a fickle climate. The story centres around England and the 'Kingdom of Winchester'. Here, humans live in small cities, ruled by princes, and practise annual, small wars, against each other, for glory. There are mutants aplenty: dwarfs, and others more afflicted. Surrounding them are the 'barbarian' lands, which continually encroach upon the civilised, threatening to dissrail what small steps of progress have been made.
The protagonist is young warrior, Luke, who first gains a measure of glory and notoriety when he wins the City annual, teen, military contest, whose father becomes the ruling prince (killing, with regret, his predecessor), with him as heir designate.
In the pages of this young adult novel Christopher backs more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Luke rises from mediocrity, ascends to glory, and is cast down. All done with a plausible believability.
His rise is all accomplished with the connivance of the "Seers"—a religious order, now dominant (Christians are a small, annoying minority), who publicly condemn science and technology, but who secretly preserve this knowledge and plan to re-introduce when they can. Their stratagem is to use Luke to unite the fractious city-states, produce one kingdom, and restore the old world.
Noble a goal as this is, it comes to nought in this novel. Towards the end of the story Luke's father is treacherously murdered, and Luke himself becomes a fugitive, forced to flee his city in disguise and seek refuge with the Seers.
Exciting as the story is, it is far more. Luke's life reflects the true complexity of human existence: he sees the nature of friendship, endures the pettiness of fawning courtiers, and is betrayed by people (including his step-mother, who attempts to murder him), close to him. Over the course of the trilogy, we see Luke grow increasingly taciturn and grim, increasingly disenchanted with human nature.
I recall, somewhat, the first time I read this novel. I was bewildered. So much packed into so few pages! (Certainly as compared to modern novels, which have 2x the number of pages). So much sadness and pain.
I cannot say that I have read much YA since I was a YA, but I cannot think how a reflection of adult life can be better shown than through Christopher's writings. Recommended.
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