Weathercock

by Melissa Crandall

Weathercock. The name evokes flames and chaos, and a mythic hero who will one day change the world. Young Kinner - betrayed by those he loves and sentenced to die - knows only one thing: in a world where women hold all the power and men are nothing but property, heroes are hard to come by.

Determined to find a life on his own terms, he flees execution only to discover he knows nothing about survival. Used to relying on others, he dreams of rescue. Instead of the Weathercock, what he gets is Rai and Bayna, mercenary soldiers on the run from the determined (and increasingly psychotic) Commander Remeg.

The last thing they need is to play nursemaid to a half-grown whelp, but a madwoman's dark secret soon ties their fates. For a while, things actually go their way until further treachery casts a dark wing over the travelers. Alone once more, Kinner must discover within the bravery and skill to save not only himself, but also his friends.

And what of Weathercock? Can someone who doesn't even exist appear when Kinner needs him most?

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Young Adult

277 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2011

About the author

About 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to spend four hours with an Asian elephant named Belle, and her keeper Roger Henneous. That occasion changed my life in ways I never anticipated, and led to the writing of my latest book, THE MAN WHO LOVED ELEPHANTS. The manuscript is complete and with my agent, Bonnie Solow, and will soon be submitted to publishers. Stay tuned for more news!

I cut my amateur writing teeth on fanzines--Star Trek, Star Wars, Elfquest, and others--so it was only natural that my professional teeth would emerge courtesy of media tie-in novels for Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Earth 2. Since those long-ago days, a collection of short fiction has appeared, as well as a limited-run self-published endeavor, appearances in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and most recently a Halloween-themed anthology. My fiction has appeared in "Allegory," the tri-annual online magazine of SF, Fantasy & Horror, and in "Amoskeag: The Journal of Southern New Hampshire University." My nonfiction has been featured in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society," the blog "The Wild Ride - Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer's," on the writing podcast The Drunken Odyssey, in the ASPCA's "Animal Watch," "Strides," the magazine of NARHA/PATH Inter'l, and various newspapers. I've even appeared in two cookbooks!

I'm hopeless at organized sports and follow no teams. I love to bike, hike, and just take walks, anything to be outdoors and, preferably, among animals. I live in Connecticut with my husband, our Australian shepherd Holly, and ancient surfer-dude cat, Tuna.

Reviews

[Emi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not very often that I find myself at a loss for words when starting a review. Normally, I have some sort of witty comment or cute exclamation to describe what I thought of a book. But this time, I got nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. Why? Because Melissa Crandall’s Weathercock has, in a way, left me too stunned for words. So I’ll just jump into the review.

Weathercock takes place in a fantasy world similar to our own. Even though I would like to classify it as a medieval-based fantasy, it’s is not entirely so. Yes, people ride around on horses; yes, they shoot arrows instead of guns; and yes, the land is ruled by a queen, but that’s about as far as it goes. The world stands by itself, timeless in its efforts. And even though I’ve come to expect this sort of thing in good fantasy, what really made this setting unique was the fact that women, not men, are the dominating gender. While men are basically kept at home for reproductive purposes, women are ruling, fighting, and conspiring in roles that are traditionally handed to men in fantasy. Even though at first I found the idea a little jarring, I quickly realized that Crandall is in no way trying to say that women are better than men or vice versa. She isn’t even trying to say, “Imagine, what if?” It is just the culture of the book—the way that things are—and her characters' personalities reflect this. They behaved just like I would expect them to behave when conditioned in this kind of environment, regardless of their gender-specific body parts. This fact--this recognition of the characters' reality and it's feeling of completeness--gave it the extra 'oomf' I always look for when reading fantasy.

Even stronger than the effort that Crandall puts into creating her world was the effort she put into creating her characters. Kinner, a young man believed to be sterile, undergoes a quest with his companions—runaway soldiers Rai and Banya—to deliver a sword believed to one day be wielded by the legendary hero who will rise and right the wrongs of the world. Even though the quest sounds traditional, the adventure and its characters are not. Kinner was a quiet boy, unfamiliar to the world and its ways. Rai and Banya were witty, loud--and often hilariously foul--mouthed soldiers. Together, they made an unlikely team, but each one of them pulled their weight to succeed in the end. I think I found Rai and Banya’s relationship the most enjoyable to watch. Despite their age difference (more than 10 years apart), they tease, mock, and threaten each other with respect. The love and loyalty between them felt so solid it was difficult not to laugh out loud when they laughed or cry when they cried. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a friendship in a book as powerful or as realistic as theirs. The villain, Commander Remeg, was also a character I liked. Wait, no, I mean, I hated her. I mean, er....I loved hating her! She was probably the most important element in driving this story forward. A person fighting in the name of love is a powerful opponent, but Crandall shows us exactly how powerful—and how frightening—it can be. Now, I’m not saying what Remeg did was justified, but I understood her reasons and watching her lose her grip on reality made much more an impact on me than any villain seeking world domination ever has. It was like watching a train wreck, and there were points in the story where I actually feared for the safety of Kinner’s world.

I could go on an on, but to do so would just turn this review into spiral of gushing comments and praise. To put it simply, the book was amazing. The plot and setting? Original to the fantasy genre. The characters? Complex and alive. The writing? I savored every word. Weathercock is one of those books that I wouldn’t mind going back and rereading, even though I just finished it a week ago. It was exciting, it was hilarious, it was romantic, it was inspiring, it was gritty, it had thrills and it had chills. It was just a plain ol’ good book, and one certainly worthy of discussion beyond a simple review. Even though a sequel has tentatively been planned, I’ll be bugging the author about it after she finishes her current novel, “Call of Blood.” This was an all around fantastic book for high fantasy lovers out there, and one of the few that I’ll make an effort to reread again and again and again and again. I’m sure once you get your hands on it you will too.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Melissa Crandall, sent me a copy of Weathercock for review and I was more than happy to check it out. I'll start by saying what I didn't like about Weathercock, because it's such a small thing compared to all of the many, many aspects of this book that I absolutely LOVED. Okay, here goes….I absolutely do not like the title. I think it’s probably my aversion to that particular word, even though this time it is referring to a rooster, I still just don't like the title.

Now, with that being said, I thought that Weathercock was an AMAZING epic style fantasy. It started off a little slow as far as action-wise, but it didn't even matter because the world itself is so utterly fascinating that the author could have gone even further with the details of its inner workings. Think about it, this society is completely run by women, men are simply used as a means of conception and, in order to keep them occupied, the women allow them to do the household chores. If a man was found to be sterile, he was put to death. Here are a couple quotes that really showcase this attitude:

“Keeping a man after he’s gone blank is like feeding a dry cow just because you like it’s eyes. If a man can’t breed, what good is he? Better to put him out of his misery as soon as possible”

“Equal? Men are fragile. They’re emotional. Breeding babies and taking care of the home is what they’re made to do”

Few male children were born in this society, so each household that produced a boy were able to use him to breed and also to kind of rent out as a “stud service” to households who did not currently have a “husband” There were commonly several “wives” plus children and other family members centered around one husband. Those males who were sterile were either killed outright or sent to be priests of the Goddess. This was the situation that Kinner found himself in. His mother is supposed to be taking him to become a priest after he was determined to be sterile.

I found the relationships between the women so intriguing. This was in no way a sexually explicit book and while there was a couple sexual references, there was nothing graphic. The thing that fascinated me about the women’s interactions was, since the men in this world were treated more like pets than partners, the women understandably turned to each other for companionship. Again, I'm not talking about sexually, although that was implied as well. I could completely see how this would be a logical result in this type of society. Men were viewed as more of a tool to procreate, not in any way as an equal or that the women would even acknowledge as possessing an opinion.

I found the world building to be exceptional. I could almost see how this could have been written as a dystopian but it is equally as effective as an epic style fantasy. The world was not a pretty place, it focused on the dark, gritty, and violence filled lives of the common people and the soldiers in medieval type of setting with all of its hardships. Weathercock had all of the common elements of epic fantasy, a good vs. evil plot, a quest, a hero, secret societies, prophecies, etc. But there were twists and turns that were definitely not common. I mean, the prophecies were centered around a rooster! Where have you ever heard that in fantasy? I didn't know how I felt about the "rooster" thing when I first picked up Weathercock. By the end though, I was fully onboard with the idea.

I think that the author made some pretty bold choices in the world she created, the characters, and plot. For me, it was a wonderful read, both unique and enjoyable. The characters were fully developed and even the worst of the villains had incredibly interesting multi-faceted personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed watching how the main character, Kinner, as well as a couple of the secondary characters, grew and changed throughout the story.

Overall, I think Weathercock was phenomenal. While the world was my favorite aspect of this book, I was also impressed with the characters and unusual plot twists. As the author herself states, this is a book about choices. It also shows how a society can influence those choices and how difficult it can sometimes be to alter your perception and see how things could be different. I highly recommend Weathercock to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I would also recommend this to fans of dystopian themed books because this almost has that kind of feel to it. I can’t wait to read more from Melissa Crandall!

[Dan Forward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Categories are useful. One would not look for philosophical works or literary criticism in the increasingly large “Calendars” section of a book store. If you tell a clerk “I’m in the mood for a scientific treatise on snails,” he’s not going to point you to the romance shelves. “Fantasy” is often given its own area away from “Fiction.”
I feel deep pity for the shopkeeper who has to try to imprison Melissa Crandall’s Weathercock in a category. I believe it would fight its way out rather quickly, and probably violently. While categories are useful, they are limiting. To be sure, Crandall’s wonderful work deals with a reality somewhat apart from ours in crucial ways. In that way it is fantastical. Even surer, it concerns itself with deep passions and lofty desires. In that way it is a romance. And it never stops posing questions and problems to the reader about both the mores we so often assure ourselves of and about our expectations from books that we categorize too easily. In this way, Weathercock finds itself quickly comfortable among many other challenging and worthwhile works.
In the end, the only category that could seek to confine Crandall’s novel is “Great.” Its characters, its world, its story are the summation of a wonderful writer’s talent and extremely hard work. Weathercock tells the story of a young boy who goes on a great quest with his allies to save a world from its own folly. From this perhaps well-known plot type, Crandall carves out a miraculous and totally original tale full of quick wit, exciting battles, and characters we love and love to hate.
Crandall is keenly aware of the trends that drive a great many stories in the so-called fantasy genre, and is quick to turn those tendencies inside out in order to create a supremely thrilling novel that reveals so much about what being a hero is and about what real striving means. There are no magic wizards or supernatural powers aiding Kinner and his friends. They help themselves, and that makes every triumph and failure in their lives hit the reader ten times harder than it otherwise would. It is difficult not to detail for you every scene that had a deep impact on me, but finding out for yourself is of course much more rewarding. Just wait until you get to Carraidland, though. You’ll know what I mean.
One of the most compelling aspects of Weathercock is the villain. Captain Remeg is no stand-in for unmitigated evil, so easy to understand and discount in its dark simplicity. Her descent from the heights of chivalric love into the madness and obsession with which she wields her terrible power is likely the masterstroke of Crandall in her work. The dread one feels when reading that Remeg is once again on the trail of Kinner’s troupe is the chill one gets when confronted with some piece of irrational yet unstoppable force bearing down on something truly worth protecting.
To explore in-depth every piece that makes Weathercock great would be too long and would do a disservice to those wishing to discover this utterly unique work for themselves. Rest assured that when you open the book, you will find a world entirely complete in its construction, enough action to satisfy any literary thrill seeker, and a thoughtful, precise narrative that flows effortlessly yet rewards those who are willing to explore the ramifications of the particular problems that face Kinner as well as the reader.
Don’t worry about trying to fit Weathercock into a category. Just keep it close by, because you’re going to want to read it again.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

While weathercock is not the type of book I usually would read, after my husband had started to read it each night would he give me snippets of the story line and how different it was from other fantasy books he is such an avid reader of, I usually don't bode well with the names of fantasy lands and characters, give me a bob or jane and thats all I can handle, so I picked up this book not expecting to love it as much as I did. The characters were amazing I fell for all of them and felt like I knew each and every main character (and would like to know more) I loved the story line and was rooting for them every step of the way. I judge a book on my emotions as I'm reading, I felt sadness, sorrow, anger and joy while reading this book, few books can accomplish that. I look forward to the next book from this author.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely fabulous. Good strong female characters in a well-thought-out story. A wonderful change from the male-dominated adventure fiction of Conan and that dude who hangs out with the Gray Mouser . . . . . I am SO looking forward to the sequel. (Not to put any pressure on the author, but I'd like it fairly soon. By Christmas at the very least . . . .) Would make an excellent choice for a book group to read & discuss.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melissa Crandall has an incredibly assured voice for an independent author. This, no doubt, comes from her time writing tie-in novels, and her skill with prose is really on display here.

One of the biggest areas where I felt Weathercock could have used improvement was in the editing phase. I would have loved to have seen what an editor at a larger publishing house could have done with the book, from refining some of the language, to helping with the novel's internal timeline, to simply removing some of the unnecessary metaphorical language to make the prose more streamlined. Since I can find no website for the publisher "Tortuga Loca," nor a listing on Duotrope, I can only assume that they have since gone out of business.

My other piece of constructive criticism to Ms. Crandall has to do with her worldbuilding. The universe of Weathercock is one of a matriarchal society, where women are strong and men are the weaker sex. To achieve this, the author simply flipped the genders: men are frightened and used solely for their role in the child-making process while women brawl, drink, swear, fart and get into all kinds of traditionally masculine mischief. Is this really what a female-dominated world would look like? I don't know. But as a reader, I would have liked to have seen what made such a world truly unique and not simply a mirror image of the patriarchy.

Still, Weathercock has interesting things to say about gender roles, and readers will not want for a lack of strong female characters -- something that's sorely missing in so much contemporary fantasy and sci-fi.

[Jim Mastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Weathercock, Melissa Crandall has written a rousing adventure, with a unique twist: What would a world be like if women were the dominant gender and men were smaller and weaker and considered only good for household chores and procreation? And what would happen if some people wanted to change that?

Crandall has peopled her story with sympathetic and believable characters, and her skill at developing these characters and making them "breathe" is superlative. Even minor characters are developed with uncommon care, and each comes alive on the page. In addition, Crandall's pacing is taut and nearly flawless. This novel is a page-turner! The climax was both surprising and satisfying, and it was delivered with the precision and flare of a gifted writer.

Crandall had two protagonists, which had me a bit confused at first. But once I got used to it I realized it was just the right thing to do. In fact, I could only find one minor flaw in the book: I found the first chapter to be confusing and ultimately unnecessary, but it was easy to forgive that as I was swept along by Crandall's masterful storytelling. As a testament to her skill, I am still thinking about the book and about its characters (one in particular that is very much alive to me), even though I finished the story well over a week ago.

I am very much looking forward to Ms. Crandall's next book!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Crandell does a great job of weaving a world that is (for this man) almost impossible to perceive - a world where woman are the dominant - and dominating gender. This in itself makes Weathercock a fascinating book for me, making me challenge my perceptions of the world. The book makes you question gender roles, pre-conceived notions of gender-based personalities and the corruption and violence that absolute power brings, no matter which set of chromosomes wields it.

All that said, Weathercock is more then just a gender-bending tale. It is a story of the power of myth on a society and the power of deep friendship even to death. It is in many ways a fantasy novel (and I'm not a major lover of fantasy; read my profiile...), but I enjoyed the tale that Ms. Crandall weaves, building a believable and interesting world for her characters to inhabit. The book is part buddy story, "on the road" story, and coming of age story set in a world which while violent and unrelenting can be saved through the power of belief in radical idea that can change the world.

I can't wait for the sequel...

[Kristal · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, got this through the First Read's program and may I say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Despite the weird name that this book holds, I am more than glad that I chose to partake in it's giving away and even more happy that I was allowed to win it.

The plot was well throughout and I must say I was hooked by the end, wishing for a second book to find out what happened to all the characters that I have come to love while reading this book. However, despite there not being a continuation of this book as of yet (maybe she'll revisit the group? I hope so), everything is concluded in a well manner.

Her characters are well developed as well as the world she has created to surround them. Even her villain has a reason to her madness and one that is stable and non-changing.

A lovely book with a great story. I am very happy I gave this book a chance despite the weird name.

I would recommend this book to all my friends and anyone that wants a tale that has little romance and lots of adventure.

[Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! From the first words to the last, Weathercock captured my mind and heart. Ms. Crandall has created a world run by women (not so bad, right?) where the men are only responsible for breeding children and not much else. They're not considered intelligent enough to hold a job or make decisions - they are essentially property. In this world, fertile male children are few and far between, so they are highly prized - but put to work as a stud until they are worn out and even more "useless". The only thing more useless than a man past his prime is an infertile man. Will the Weathercock come along soon to make equality between the sexes and change the world?

I loved, loved this book!! The cast of characters - from the rough soldiers Rai and Banya to quiet Kinner and even the psychotic (and just plain nuts) Remeg - were well-written and dynamic. The interactions between characters, dialogue, and plot are superb. I could not put this book down. Ms. Crandall has such a beautiful and chilling way with words. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to read her work.

[Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty and heartfelt adult "fantasy" novel. No elves, no dragons, but a fully realized alternate world in which women hold all the power and men are chattel. Great characters! You'll be drawn in from the first page.

[Pwoolsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weathercock, made me laugh, cry and kept me on the edge of my seat! My whole family read it! Each of us agreed on one thing, we want MORE! I hope to see a second Weathercock in the future! Excellent book!

[Shadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very enjoyable! Talk about hooking a person! This book has made its rounds. Not only did i read it, so did my brother, cousin and grandma. I now have passed it to a friend and shes enjoying it as well! Very good book! You should give it a try!

[Roberta Pyzel]

Got right into this story from page one; very strong characterizations - dynamic plot: LOVED IT!!!

Looking forward to more stories from MC!!!