From Publishers Weekly
Second in Norton and Miller's Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan series, this cheerful, childlike, appealing fantasy blithely romps along after its predecessor, To the King a Daughter, replete with whimsical sorcery, swordsmanship and swampy creatures. Arch-manipulator Dowager Queen Ysa struggles for the first half of the book to control her son, King Florian, a vainglorious adolescent so sadistic that everyone, even Ysa, is relieved when he falls to the blade of brave Sea-Rover Obern. Florian's poisoned sword fatally wounds Obern, though, leaving heroine trouble-maker Ashen, Obern's young widow and Florian's illegitimate half-sister, free to wed her dashing heart's desire, Nordor prince-in-exile Gaurin. As Ysa struggles to keep her throne, a mysterious and dangerous magic threatens Rendelsham from the north. Meanwhile, young Rohan, Obern's son and Ashen's fosterling, unmasks sinister Flavielle, a shape-shifting sorceress whom Ysa enlists but who turns out to be a minion of the evil unfolding up north. Norton's fondness and aptitude for medieval styles flavors his jolly panoramas of weddings, feasts, jousts and spells in intrigue-laden Rendelsham. Besides creaky scenario, predictable plotting, one too many kidnappings and the occasional unconvincing twist e.g., Flavielle turns Rohan's beloved Lady Anamora (literally) into a birdbrain the sheer good humor and taste of this inoffensive adventure story give bland, comforting entertainment. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A superb storyteller with a narrative pace all her own."--The New York Times
"Veteran SF and fantasy author Norton combines her formidable storytelling talent with coauthor Miller to create a new series-the "Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan" cycle-that should appeal to adult and teenage fans of high fantasy. Featuring an engaging and courageous female protagonist, this [is an] epic tale of hidden heirs and unfolding prophecies."-Library Journal
Review
"A superb storyteller with a narrative pace all her own."--The New York Times
"Veteran SF and fantasy author Norton combines her formidable storytelling talent with coauthor Miller to create a new series-the "Oak, Yew, Ash and Rowan" cycle-that should appeal to adult and teenage fans of high fantasy. Featuring an engaging and courageous female protagonist, this [is an] epic tale of hidden heirs and unfolding prophecies."-Library Journal
Book Description
Times are changing in Rendelsham. The old King is dead, and the foolish Prince Florian has assumed the throne. Florian's mother, Queen Ysa of the House of Oak, still controls the land from behind the scences, but her job grows more difficult every day. Her unworthy, headstrong son is harder to control than her husband was, and she must spend more time than ever masking her own movements. Her husband's illegitimate daughter Ashen, heir to the nearly dead House of Ash, still causes trouble by her very existence, and must never be given an opening to the throne. The barbarian Sea-Rover clan presents problems from the edge of the Bog, Ysa's newest magical ally has been exposed as a traitor, and nothing is going as Ysa had planned.
And still the unknown yet encroaching threat from the North continues to grow.
Through births and deaths, marriages and duels, love and betrayal, magic and force, the four Houses of Rendelsham can only survive by the strength of their unity--but is unity possible in such a court of intrigue as this one?
About the Author
For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.
Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.
Sasha Miller has published: Three Ships and Three Kings, Priam's Daughter, The Last Heracles (under her former married name of Georgia Sallaska), The Quest (under the pen name G.S. Madden), Falcon Magic; Ladylord, and a tetralogy with Andre Norton: To The King a Daughter, Knight or Knave, A Crown Denied, and Dragon Blade, scheduled for late 2003, in addition to numerous short stories. Her nonfiction book, Mother Miller's How To Write Good Book, is currently available from FoxAcre Press. She is a member of the Authors' Guild and SFWA, and is a Clarion '84 survivor. Married to Ben W. Miller, she resides with him in Colorado Springs.
Knight or Knave FROM THE PUBLISHER
The old King is dead, and the foolish Prince Florian has assumed the throne. Florian's mother, Queen Ysa of the House of Oak, still controls the land from behind the scenes, but her job grows more difficult every day.
Her unworthy, headstrong son is hearder to control than her husband was, and she must spend more time than ever masking her own movements. Her husband's illegitimate daughter Ashen, heir to the nearly dead House of Ash, still causes trouble by her very existence, and must never be given an opening to the throne. The barbarian Sea-Rover clan presents problems from the edge of the Bog. Ysa's newest magical ally has been exposed as a traitor, and nothing is going as Ysa had planned.
And still the unknown yet encroaching threat from the North continues to grow.
Through births and deaths, marriages and duels, love and betrayal, magic and force, the four Houses of Rendelsham can only survive by the strength of their unity—but is unity possible in such a court of intrigue as this one?
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA
Ashen, King Florian's illegitimate half sister, is married off to Obern, son of the Sea-Rovers' chieftain. The marriage is expedient for Dowager Queen Ysa. Ashen is occupied safely away from the capital of Rendelsham, and a political alliance with the Sea-Rovers conveniently is cemented. The unscrupulous and uneasy king seeks to terminate his rival sister once and for all and has her poisoned slowly. Obern saves Ashen's life by discovering the plot in time and challenges the king to a fencing match. Both men poison their own swords and die at each other's hands, leaving Rendel without a ruler until Florian's wife can be delivered of his unborn heir. Ashen, again forced into a political marriage to Count Gaurin, a Nordor, raises Obern's son, Rohan, whose talent for magic and power makes him a disturbing influence in Ysa's court. To the North, the Great Foulness struggles for release, determined to ravage Rendel and its inhabitants. As the story closes, Ice Dragons begin their assault on the Nordor's court, moving steadily southwards toward Rendelsham. This fast-moving sequel follows To the King a Daughter (Tor, 2000/VOYA February 2001) in The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan. Multiple plot lines provide nonstop action, and despite an occasional distracting stiffness in the dialogue, the main characters are well developed and the plot is engaging. Give this to your teens who enjoy Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. VOYA CODES:4Q 3P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses;Will appeal with pushing;Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8;Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9;Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Tor, 320p, $23.95. Ages 11 to18. Reviewer:Nancy K. Wallace—VOYA, December 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 5)
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