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jamelchior's review against another edition
2.0
I loved The Worm Ourobouros but couldn’t engage with this one. It seems to be a meditation on Aphrodite but it’s too misty to get hold of. The women all seem to be shape-shifters. One star for an interesting protagonist though we never really get inside his skin to know what he’s thinking or whose side he is on. Another star for the gorgeous prose, best read slowly, don’t even try to skim this book.
vanjr's review against another edition
2.0
Lord Lessinghame is a man among men. I suspect this is the kind of book Don Quixote would have loved. Me, less so.
jjmbookstam92's review against another edition
4.0
It was quite a read. Made me feel clever for knowing the references and the reading style reminded me of early modern drama, this being like a novelized form of such keeping the writing style of monologues and dialogues in third-person narration and description. I also like the little detail that letters and such-like were written with an erratic spelling, typical of the period it was based on.
It was a positive first read of the author. I'd give it five stars, but for my preference for lighter material. Despite that, I will be returning to Eddison, once I have taken a little down time with some Pratchett.
It was a positive first read of the author. I'd give it five stars, but for my preference for lighter material. Despite that, I will be returning to Eddison, once I have taken a little down time with some Pratchett.
andydcaf2d's review against another edition
3.0
That was a tough read. Nothing like the Worm other than it's complexity, it did not endear itself to me at all though as it's predecessor did.
smcleish's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published on my blog here in April 2002.
To read [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg] and Eddison in close succession is to realise just how much the latter is the better writer. This is his second fantasy novel, loosely connected to the first and best known, [b:The Worm Ouroboros|13624|The Worm Ouroboros|E.R. Eddison|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328863643s/13624.jpg|955522], and beginning a trilogy ending with the unfinished [b:The Mezentian Gate|13628|The Mezentian Gate|E.R. Eddison|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1223154373s/13628.jpg|1618574]. Although the earlier novel is better known, this is the better one and Eddison's talent clearly developed in the nine years since the publication of The Worm Ouroboros.
When strong king Mezentius of the Three Kingdoms dies, his heir Styllis is a weak young man, unable to handle two particularly powerful subjects, his illegitimate brother Barganax and the sinister Honorius Parry. Styllis soon dies, poisoned, leaving a will guaranteed to sow further discord in the vagueness of the terms by which Parry is appointed guardian of his sister Antiope, now queen. The other major character is Parry's cousin, Lessingham, whose honour makes him someone that Barganax can trust as long as he can keep Parry from breaking the agreements he makes.
This plot is closely modelled on the themes from real medieval history, one of which is the continual rivalry between monarchs and their most eminent subjects. A regency presented lots of opportunities to the unscrupulous, as so much of the state consisted in the person of the ruler, and could be guaranteed to disturb the balance between these groups. This could even happen in England, one of the most stable states in Western Europe, as when John of Gaunt was guardian to Richard II. Most fantasy is based on Tolkien's ideas, which in turn come from the literature of the medieval period in which quests undertaken by individuals or small groups with a spiritual dimension are common; in using real life as his source, Eddison prefigures modern authors with an interest in politics, such as [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg], though Martin's brutal setting from his Songs of Ice and Fire series is replaced with something more gentle, a dreamlike medieval world as seen through a pre-Raphaelite lens.
People often admire the descriptions in Tolkien's novels, but to me Eddison is superior in this as in many other aspects of his work. What he describes is not so definite, perhaps, but it is infinitely more poetic and suggestive. To me, this invitation to use my imagination is much more satisfying than merely acquiescing in that of the author. Eddison natually also scores in areas where Tolkien is weak: his characters are much less stereotyped, and he can portray interesting women; he introduces a sexuality which is truly erotic; and even includes a hint of homoeroticism.
There is a spiritual side to the stories too, which is more of the things not being the way they seem variety than the overt magic more common in fantasy. The way that this is done is rather reminiscent of George MacDonald, even though it lacks the Christian allegory of, say, [b:Lilith|268187|Lilith|George MacDonald|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348994427s/268187.jpg|972273].
Mistress of Mistresses should be more widely recognised as a classic of the genre, but for some reason it remains little known.
To read [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg] and Eddison in close succession is to realise just how much the latter is the better writer. This is his second fantasy novel, loosely connected to the first and best known, [b:The Worm Ouroboros|13624|The Worm Ouroboros|E.R. Eddison|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328863643s/13624.jpg|955522], and beginning a trilogy ending with the unfinished [b:The Mezentian Gate|13628|The Mezentian Gate|E.R. Eddison|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1223154373s/13628.jpg|1618574]. Although the earlier novel is better known, this is the better one and Eddison's talent clearly developed in the nine years since the publication of The Worm Ouroboros.
When strong king Mezentius of the Three Kingdoms dies, his heir Styllis is a weak young man, unable to handle two particularly powerful subjects, his illegitimate brother Barganax and the sinister Honorius Parry. Styllis soon dies, poisoned, leaving a will guaranteed to sow further discord in the vagueness of the terms by which Parry is appointed guardian of his sister Antiope, now queen. The other major character is Parry's cousin, Lessingham, whose honour makes him someone that Barganax can trust as long as he can keep Parry from breaking the agreements he makes.
This plot is closely modelled on the themes from real medieval history, one of which is the continual rivalry between monarchs and their most eminent subjects. A regency presented lots of opportunities to the unscrupulous, as so much of the state consisted in the person of the ruler, and could be guaranteed to disturb the balance between these groups. This could even happen in England, one of the most stable states in Western Europe, as when John of Gaunt was guardian to Richard II. Most fantasy is based on Tolkien's ideas, which in turn come from the literature of the medieval period in which quests undertaken by individuals or small groups with a spiritual dimension are common; in using real life as his source, Eddison prefigures modern authors with an interest in politics, such as [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg], though Martin's brutal setting from his Songs of Ice and Fire series is replaced with something more gentle, a dreamlike medieval world as seen through a pre-Raphaelite lens.
People often admire the descriptions in Tolkien's novels, but to me Eddison is superior in this as in many other aspects of his work. What he describes is not so definite, perhaps, but it is infinitely more poetic and suggestive. To me, this invitation to use my imagination is much more satisfying than merely acquiescing in that of the author. Eddison natually also scores in areas where Tolkien is weak: his characters are much less stereotyped, and he can portray interesting women; he introduces a sexuality which is truly erotic; and even includes a hint of homoeroticism.
There is a spiritual side to the stories too, which is more of the things not being the way they seem variety than the overt magic more common in fantasy. The way that this is done is rather reminiscent of George MacDonald, even though it lacks the Christian allegory of, say, [b:Lilith|268187|Lilith|George MacDonald|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348994427s/268187.jpg|972273].
Mistress of Mistresses should be more widely recognised as a classic of the genre, but for some reason it remains little known.
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