Reviews

Ilario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle

mimsy42's review

3.0

Surly hermaphrodite painter grows up in alt-15th century. A study of gender and ownership, but i'm not convinced of its success--Ilario comes across as much more male than female in subtle ways, more of a 70/30 than a 50/50, despite a [spoiler] plot event which one would think would rise femininity ascendant. Still, I enjoyed the tale. This is the first book I've read by this author so not sure if the quirks are part of her voice or if smoother editing could be applied. Warning: Extreme cliffhanger ending!

coffeeandink's review

2.0

Set in the "First History" of the [book:Ash] series.I knew this was half a book going in, so I won't dock it for that; less satisfying is the central character, Ilario, who is a hermaphrodite fleeing the murderous schemes of a politically ambitious mother. Many people seem attracted to and/or fond of the young person, and I haven't the faintest idea why. I like that Gentle makes Ilario believably young and impetuous, but Ilario is also self-centered and not particularly thoughtful. Gender is also treated jauntily; I'm not convinced that, in such a patriarchial world, the young hermaphrodite would so proudly proclaim him/herself *both* rather than going for masculine privilege, or at least not without more internal conflict. The plot is picaresque, which is not from my taste, and I think a lot of it is supposed to be vaguely humorous; unfortunately, [book:Grunts] proved Gentle's sense of humor and mine aren't compatible.

dearbhla's review

5.0

This is a return to the world of Mary Gentle’s alternate world of mercenary captain Ash[1:] although this book is set in a different part of the world and 50 years earlier, there is no need to have read one to read the other. I’m a big fan of Ash, and this is very similar in feel, although it doesn’t have the alternate narrators or indeed the flashing between the past and the present. But the idea of a central character who doesn’t fit in their society, who is trying to be themselves even if they don’t really know who they are.

Full review; http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2009/01/08/ilario-the-lions-eye/