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Isles of the Forsaken #1
Isles of the Forsaken
The Forsaken Isles are on the brink of revolution. Three individuals are about to push it over the edge and trigger events that will lead to a final showdown between ancient forces and the new overlords of the land. Spaeth Dobrin is destined to life as a ritual healer - but as the dhotamar of the tiny, isolated island of Yora, she will be caught in a perpetual bond between herself and the people she has cured. Is it slavery, or is it love? Meanwhile, Harg, the troubled and rebellious veteran, returns to find his home transformed by conquest. And Nathaway, the well-intentioned imperialist, arrives to teach Spaeth's people "civilization," only to become an explorer in the strange realm of the Forsakens. These two men will propel Spaeth into a vortex of war, temptation, and - just possibly - freedom!
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
1058 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Ives Gilman
86 books156 followersCarolyn Ives Gilman has been publishing science fiction and fantasy for almost twenty years. Her first novel, Halfway Human, published by Avon/Eos in 1998, was called “one of the most compelling explorations of gender and power in recent SF” by Locus magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies such as F&SF, Bending the Landscape, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, The Best From Fantasy & Science Fiction, Interzone, Universe, Full Spectrum, and others. Her fiction has been translated into Italian, Russian, German, Czech and Romanian. In 1992 she was a finalist for the Nebula Award for her novella, “The Honeycrafters.”
In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. Her most recent nonfiction book, Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide, was published in 2003 by Smithsonian Books. She has been a guest lecturer at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and Monticello, and has been interviewed on All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), History Detectives (PBS), and the History Channel.
Carolyn Ives Gilman lives in St. Louis and works for the Missouri Historical Society as a historian and museum curator.
In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. Her most recent nonfiction book, Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide, was published in 2003 by Smithsonian Books. She has been a guest lecturer at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and Monticello, and has been interviewed on All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), History Detectives (PBS), and the History Channel.
Carolyn Ives Gilman lives in St. Louis and works for the Missouri Historical Society as a historian and museum curator.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 26, 2011
One of the biggest gripes I have when it comes to fantasy is how difficult it can be to get involved in the world. I mean, think about it - when you open a fantasy book you are giving yourself over to that author, that creator of the world and you are trusting them to explain to you just what exactly is going on. Strange words, names, places, things - all these are in abundance and on top of that.. there's a story they have to tell and importantly, that you have to follow.
That paragraph is exactly where I have an issue with Isles of the Forsaken. Now, let me just say that I enjoyed this book, as much as I was able to. I found the story to be an interesting one, the politics to be top-notch, the action kept the story moving at a solid pace, the characters were fleshed out and fun to get to know but, and this is a big BUT, I had no idea what half the words, the religion, the basis for the discord was even about until I was 70% of the way through the book. (Thank you, Kindle, for providing me with that exact percentage.)
Finally, 70% in I got an explanation for what it was the Adainas do, or as much as an explanation as I would get. At this point in the story, I'd just accepted that I wouldn't understand, it wouldn't be explained, and I got some sort of general idea of it but nothing specific and I really am a "love specifics" type of reader when it comes to things like world building and crafting.
So at 70% it really felt as if the book was finally taking off and then, I found I couldn't put it down. And I loved it. I was so excited, I understood what was happening and the significance of events that were unfolding. But then.. a short 30% later, it ended with the promise of a sequel in the future.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, because I really do think it is worth the read and I found it to be a fascinating look into fantasy through the politics and racism that were heavily involved in making up the story, but I will caution you to be patient, to just accept what you are reading and understand that it will all be made a bit more clear as you read.
That paragraph is exactly where I have an issue with Isles of the Forsaken. Now, let me just say that I enjoyed this book, as much as I was able to. I found the story to be an interesting one, the politics to be top-notch, the action kept the story moving at a solid pace, the characters were fleshed out and fun to get to know but, and this is a big BUT, I had no idea what half the words, the religion, the basis for the discord was even about until I was 70% of the way through the book. (Thank you, Kindle, for providing me with that exact percentage.)
Finally, 70% in I got an explanation for what it was the Adainas do, or as much as an explanation as I would get. At this point in the story, I'd just accepted that I wouldn't understand, it wouldn't be explained, and I got some sort of general idea of it but nothing specific and I really am a "love specifics" type of reader when it comes to things like world building and crafting.
So at 70% it really felt as if the book was finally taking off and then, I found I couldn't put it down. And I loved it. I was so excited, I understood what was happening and the significance of events that were unfolding. But then.. a short 30% later, it ended with the promise of a sequel in the future.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, because I really do think it is worth the read and I found it to be a fascinating look into fantasy through the politics and racism that were heavily involved in making up the story, but I will caution you to be patient, to just accept what you are reading and understand that it will all be made a bit more clear as you read.
December 4, 2011
Isles of the Forsaken by Carolyn Ives Gilman was one of those books that I picked to review because I thought I was going to like it. Then I nearly didn't. Then I read it all in a big clump, because I had to find out what happened. And about two-thirds of the way through, I realized that the author couldn't possibly loop all the holes in the pages remaining. And she didn't. Dammit, there's a sequel.
The story starts out in very familiar territory. A young man, Nathaway Talley, is the youngest son of the most prominent family in the kingdom. The Talleys run everything, and they excel at everything. At least, all of them do except Nathaway. Nat can't find any profession to put his heart into, until he joins the expedition to the Forsaken Islands as a junior Justice. He discovers that enlightening the "heathens" about the impartial beauties of law and civilization are the calling that he has been waiting for.
Harg Ismol is a captain in the Native Navy. But that is not quite enough of a description. Harg is the one, the only Adaina captain in the Native Navy. His people are the "heathens" that Nat's expedition is coming to civilize. Harg's people in the South Chain islands have remained isolated, and kept to their old ways. They still believe in the balance of nature and the spirits of their islands. Harg's people are not just subjugated by Nat's empire, which has until now been far away fighting another war, but they have been under the much closer thumb of the people of the North Chain Islands, under the rule of the Tiarch, who have been collaborating with Nat's people, the Innings.
At the opening of Isles, Harg Ismol resigns his Naval commission and returns to his tiny home island of Yora. He thinks he is returning to the paradise he remembers from his youth. But nothing is as he remembers it, because he is not the same.
On Yora, the final subject of the story resides. Spaeth Dobrin is a ritual healer She is one of the people that Nat is planning to save. Ritual healers don't cure with herbs, or even with spells, although that is what the Innings believe. Ritual healers, Lashnura, are a different race altogether. They are compelled by their nature to heal. They cure by binding themselves to the people they heal by giving up their blood, and their life essence, as part of the healing. But Spaeth does not want to be bound. She rebels against her nature.
Everyone in this story is in rebellion. Nat's is a quiet rebellion against his family's expectations. Harg was a youthful rebel against the Adaina spirit of compromise, so he joined the Navy. Returning, he becomes the voice of the Adaina rebellion against Inning imperialism. Spaeth rebels against her nature, her own body's need to become a healer.
Even the secondary characters are in revolt. The last spiritual leader of the Islands hides on a tiny outpost and refuses to name a successor. The Tiarch, the Satrap-like governor of the Islands, finally rebels against the Inning empire. Even the Admiral of the Inning Fleet revolts against the rule of Law and Order he is sent to bring to the Islands.
The Inning imperials' civilization is itself a rebellion against the very nature and naturalism of the Forsaken Islands. And the living spirits of the Islands rise up in rebellion to overthrow that civilization, taking the confused son of the empire as one of their representatives.
Does the plot of the story confuse? Yes, it does at points. A little backstory on how the Talleys and the Inning Empire got to where they are, and who they fought in that previous war, would have helped this reader. But once all the players in this drama are gathered together it is impossible to turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens next.
The story starts out in very familiar territory. A young man, Nathaway Talley, is the youngest son of the most prominent family in the kingdom. The Talleys run everything, and they excel at everything. At least, all of them do except Nathaway. Nat can't find any profession to put his heart into, until he joins the expedition to the Forsaken Islands as a junior Justice. He discovers that enlightening the "heathens" about the impartial beauties of law and civilization are the calling that he has been waiting for.
Harg Ismol is a captain in the Native Navy. But that is not quite enough of a description. Harg is the one, the only Adaina captain in the Native Navy. His people are the "heathens" that Nat's expedition is coming to civilize. Harg's people in the South Chain islands have remained isolated, and kept to their old ways. They still believe in the balance of nature and the spirits of their islands. Harg's people are not just subjugated by Nat's empire, which has until now been far away fighting another war, but they have been under the much closer thumb of the people of the North Chain Islands, under the rule of the Tiarch, who have been collaborating with Nat's people, the Innings.
At the opening of Isles, Harg Ismol resigns his Naval commission and returns to his tiny home island of Yora. He thinks he is returning to the paradise he remembers from his youth. But nothing is as he remembers it, because he is not the same.
On Yora, the final subject of the story resides. Spaeth Dobrin is a ritual healer She is one of the people that Nat is planning to save. Ritual healers don't cure with herbs, or even with spells, although that is what the Innings believe. Ritual healers, Lashnura, are a different race altogether. They are compelled by their nature to heal. They cure by binding themselves to the people they heal by giving up their blood, and their life essence, as part of the healing. But Spaeth does not want to be bound. She rebels against her nature.
Everyone in this story is in rebellion. Nat's is a quiet rebellion against his family's expectations. Harg was a youthful rebel against the Adaina spirit of compromise, so he joined the Navy. Returning, he becomes the voice of the Adaina rebellion against Inning imperialism. Spaeth rebels against her nature, her own body's need to become a healer.
Even the secondary characters are in revolt. The last spiritual leader of the Islands hides on a tiny outpost and refuses to name a successor. The Tiarch, the Satrap-like governor of the Islands, finally rebels against the Inning empire. Even the Admiral of the Inning Fleet revolts against the rule of Law and Order he is sent to bring to the Islands.
The Inning imperials' civilization is itself a rebellion against the very nature and naturalism of the Forsaken Islands. And the living spirits of the Islands rise up in rebellion to overthrow that civilization, taking the confused son of the empire as one of their representatives.
Does the plot of the story confuse? Yes, it does at points. A little backstory on how the Talleys and the Inning Empire got to where they are, and who they fought in that previous war, would have helped this reader. But once all the players in this drama are gathered together it is impossible to turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens next.
April 11, 2022
Isles of the Forsaken is a deep and complicated tale weaving together people and nations across realities and histories. It's one of those fantasies that seamlessly blends the action and the politics pieces into an ever-ratcheting nest of tension.
I won't really get into a synopsis -- the page already has one of those and there's too much to adequately explain anyway. But we mainly follow three characters -- one man who has excelled in the army, but whose heart lies with the nation that is under the thumb of the country whose army he joined; the young woman with a powerful gift who gets swept up into the dark call of her own blood; and the idealistic and naive young man whose family are in many ways the war's architects but who sees a possibility of a peaceful solution.
The way these three people's hopes and intentions -- all seeking peace, but in different ways in a world determined to go to war -- wind together and around one another is fascinating. It's slow at the start when the threads themselves are being spun. But once the plot really starts going, it sank all of its hooks into me, and I was at the end before I knew it. And I definitely need to read the next book. :)
If you like politics-heavy, rich fantasy novels, this may be right up your alley.
Now, there is one thing I found a little ... weird. The young woman I mentioned with the strange power? I get why her power is in there, but there's something deeply uncomfortable about that whole thing. You'll know what I mean when you get there, if you pick this up. :)
I won't really get into a synopsis -- the page already has one of those and there's too much to adequately explain anyway. But we mainly follow three characters -- one man who has excelled in the army, but whose heart lies with the nation that is under the thumb of the country whose army he joined; the young woman with a powerful gift who gets swept up into the dark call of her own blood; and the idealistic and naive young man whose family are in many ways the war's architects but who sees a possibility of a peaceful solution.
The way these three people's hopes and intentions -- all seeking peace, but in different ways in a world determined to go to war -- wind together and around one another is fascinating. It's slow at the start when the threads themselves are being spun. But once the plot really starts going, it sank all of its hooks into me, and I was at the end before I knew it. And I definitely need to read the next book. :)
If you like politics-heavy, rich fantasy novels, this may be right up your alley.
Now, there is one thing I found a little ... weird. The young woman I mentioned with the strange power? I get why her power is in there, but there's something deeply uncomfortable about that whole thing. You'll know what I mean when you get there, if you pick this up. :)
February 12, 2013
Isles of the Forsaken tells the tale of a socio-political conflict between cultures, without the pathos and bias that usually mars this kind of narrative. Gilman's prose is clear, clean, and accessible, and proceeds at a fast pace to bring out a story of a clash between irreconcilable realities, not only irreconcilable points of view. The story cascades from one character to the next, bringing a well-made-world to life, touching lightly on the greater powers at work that frame the conflicts they are enmeshed in, bringing the whole into a satisfying and believable whole, with the distinct impression of historical truth. Gilman delivers her well-built-world with the skill of a magician, where the complexity seems simple in delivery, but you want to know exactly how the trick was done.
Recommended. I'm looking forward to picking up the story again with Ison of the Isles
Recommended. I'm looking forward to picking up the story again with Ison of the Isles
March 11, 2017
Excellent part one of two. Culture clash, written by someone with considerable understanding about how these things unfold. Ancient, fading culture meets rising imperial technocracy. Superb.
August 20, 2011
‘Isles of the Forsaken’ is an excellent book, beautifully written and rich with meaning. It’s a unique and unpredictable story full of surprises, interesting characters and mysterious forays into the world of the spirit that lingered long after I put the book down.
This book is essentially about overlapping cultures and the frictions between their beliefs and practices. Carolyn Gilman creates a vivid world of four races. The Innings are the colonialist rulers of the Isles. They have no gods and believe in ‘law’ as their highest principal. But this is a law that in practice isn’t applied equally, has cruel punishments and imposes an alien culture, including paperwork and taxes, on the natives of the Isles, the Tornas, the Adaina and the few remaining Lashnura healers. The Adaina live by a complex set of shamanistic beliefs that include a great reverence for the Lashnura healers, respect for the gods within the land and an understanding of the necessity of maintaining the delicate balance between chaos and order. The Tornas have lost these beliefs to a large extent and are simply trying to survive the best they can under their colonialist masters.
Added to this, the ancient bond between the healers and their patient, based on an extreme compassion where the healer physically takes on the pain of the patient has, through healer addiction to the ritual and selfish patient demands on the healer, degenerated into a form of slavery. The theme of addiction as slavery is continued in the Inning use of a drug as a method of control.
The story is told through the interlocking experiences of Spaeth ( Lashnura), Nathaway (Inning) and Harg (Adaina), all likeable and well drawn characters. The novel makes it clear that different beliefs create different perceptions of the same phenomena. What to the Innings is a barbaric ritual slavery, is to the Lashnura the greatest expression of love on a deeply spiritual level. What to the Innings is fair law and order, is to the Adaina the attempt to impose something rigid and uncompromising on a fluid and ever changing world. The parallel with our world’s issues between cultures is clear, and this novel gives us greater understanding by showing us the world through the different perspectives.
I loved that the book was so different to other things I’ve read recently, a very refreshing change to vampires, werewolves, witches and angels. Although it’s set in a different world, the characters and the issues are completely modern and easy to relate to. My favourite parts were when Nathaway and Spaeth slipped into the spirit world, a kind of dreamtime where myth became reality. These highly imaginative forays skilfully invoked the power and mystery of the spiritual world.
This is a book not to miss. I recommend ‘The Forsaken Isles’ to all fantasy fans. If you liked Graceling, you will probably like this one. I cannot fault it in any way, so I give it 5 stars.
This book is essentially about overlapping cultures and the frictions between their beliefs and practices. Carolyn Gilman creates a vivid world of four races. The Innings are the colonialist rulers of the Isles. They have no gods and believe in ‘law’ as their highest principal. But this is a law that in practice isn’t applied equally, has cruel punishments and imposes an alien culture, including paperwork and taxes, on the natives of the Isles, the Tornas, the Adaina and the few remaining Lashnura healers. The Adaina live by a complex set of shamanistic beliefs that include a great reverence for the Lashnura healers, respect for the gods within the land and an understanding of the necessity of maintaining the delicate balance between chaos and order. The Tornas have lost these beliefs to a large extent and are simply trying to survive the best they can under their colonialist masters.
Added to this, the ancient bond between the healers and their patient, based on an extreme compassion where the healer physically takes on the pain of the patient has, through healer addiction to the ritual and selfish patient demands on the healer, degenerated into a form of slavery. The theme of addiction as slavery is continued in the Inning use of a drug as a method of control.
The story is told through the interlocking experiences of Spaeth ( Lashnura), Nathaway (Inning) and Harg (Adaina), all likeable and well drawn characters. The novel makes it clear that different beliefs create different perceptions of the same phenomena. What to the Innings is a barbaric ritual slavery, is to the Lashnura the greatest expression of love on a deeply spiritual level. What to the Innings is fair law and order, is to the Adaina the attempt to impose something rigid and uncompromising on a fluid and ever changing world. The parallel with our world’s issues between cultures is clear, and this novel gives us greater understanding by showing us the world through the different perspectives.
I loved that the book was so different to other things I’ve read recently, a very refreshing change to vampires, werewolves, witches and angels. Although it’s set in a different world, the characters and the issues are completely modern and easy to relate to. My favourite parts were when Nathaway and Spaeth slipped into the spirit world, a kind of dreamtime where myth became reality. These highly imaginative forays skilfully invoked the power and mystery of the spiritual world.
This is a book not to miss. I recommend ‘The Forsaken Isles’ to all fantasy fans. If you liked Graceling, you will probably like this one. I cannot fault it in any way, so I give it 5 stars.
July 23, 2011
This one started off a little slow and rather strange, but as the story became progressively more intricate, I understood the necessity for background. I still am not totally clear on what happened, but I was intrigued enough to follow it through to the end, and will probably seek out the sequel, Ison of the Isles.
July 26, 2017
Interesting book, but fair warning, cliffhanger ending. I liked it enough that I need to read the sequel to find out how the author ties up all the loose ends.
June 18, 2016
3.5
This was an interesting read with some intriguing complexity to the characters and a slow but engaging plot. I was a little uncomfortable with the Great White Savior set up though. And it is a set up, to come about in the next book, but by the end of Isles of the Forsaken I was a bit squinked out with Nathaway's position. However, up to that point I'd found him pleasantly complex. He was naive and short sighted. He truly believed he was bringing a gift of the rule of law to the islanders and was completely blind to the destruction in his wake, because he simply couldn't see that the cultures, beliefs and practices of peoples other than his own had value and place. He wasn't malicious in any way, just utterly ethnocentric.
Then we have Harg, the reluctant hero. I have to admit the reluctant hero is one of my favorite tropes, which made Harg my favorite character. And he too has some complexity of character. An outsider among his own people and ready for a peaceful period in his life, he instead becomes the leader of a rebellion of the very people who largely deny him, while laying claim to his cause.
This tendency of people to greedily grasp at something that would happily be given if not demanded is a theme we see with Spaeth too. She's desperate to give of herself for the people, but no one will stop demanding from her long enough to let her gift herself instead. It's an interesting conundrum. The same actions make her a slave in one scenario and a savior in another. And she's so young and innocent that she has trouble navigating this confusing terrain.
I admit I'm always sensitive to representations of women in novels. It's hard for me to look at them as individual characters in individual novels and not as one more in a collective of female characters. But the wide-eyed, beautiful, innocent, overly sexual creature of femaleness (created for a man's entertainment) felt very cliched to me. The impression only got worse when she was constantly protected from herself by the men around her and her will was eventually subjugated to a man while she was unconscious (which she woke up thrilled about, of course).
I'll be reading book two to see where the rebellion goes. Honestly, there is a political rebellion underway here, but the whole book is about rebellion. Everyone is rebelling in their own way and that subtle, undercurrent of frisson is what's kept me going even through the weird dream-like scenes and slow passages that pepper this otherwise interesting book.
This was an interesting read with some intriguing complexity to the characters and a slow but engaging plot. I was a little uncomfortable with the Great White Savior set up though. And it is a set up, to come about in the next book, but by the end of Isles of the Forsaken I was a bit squinked out with Nathaway's position. However, up to that point I'd found him pleasantly complex. He was naive and short sighted. He truly believed he was bringing a gift of the rule of law to the islanders and was completely blind to the destruction in his wake, because he simply couldn't see that the cultures, beliefs and practices of peoples other than his own had value and place. He wasn't malicious in any way, just utterly ethnocentric.
Then we have Harg, the reluctant hero. I have to admit the reluctant hero is one of my favorite tropes, which made Harg my favorite character. And he too has some complexity of character. An outsider among his own people and ready for a peaceful period in his life, he instead becomes the leader of a rebellion of the very people who largely deny him, while laying claim to his cause.
This tendency of people to greedily grasp at something that would happily be given if not demanded is a theme we see with Spaeth too. She's desperate to give of herself for the people, but no one will stop demanding from her long enough to let her gift herself instead. It's an interesting conundrum. The same actions make her a slave in one scenario and a savior in another. And she's so young and innocent that she has trouble navigating this confusing terrain.
I admit I'm always sensitive to representations of women in novels. It's hard for me to look at them as individual characters in individual novels and not as one more in a collective of female characters. But the wide-eyed, beautiful, innocent, overly sexual creature of femaleness (created for a man's entertainment) felt very cliched to me. The impression only got worse when she was constantly protected from herself by the men around her and her will was eventually subjugated to a man while she was unconscious (which she woke up thrilled about, of course).
I'll be reading book two to see where the rebellion goes. Honestly, there is a political rebellion underway here, but the whole book is about rebellion. Everyone is rebelling in their own way and that subtle, undercurrent of frisson is what's kept me going even through the weird dream-like scenes and slow passages that pepper this otherwise interesting book.
March 6, 2013
A fantastic read of a book that takes a look at issues of Imperialism, Politics, and Magic in ways that I haven't seen done before. The book was... refreshing in a number of ways.
It's set in a world you believe, but that isn't a direct 'reflection' of any particular aspect of ours(say unlike some worlds you can't directly 'map' the cultures onto Earth cultures). The Inning are an Imperialist Group who have conquered various Islands and intend to bring their 'culture' of 'Law' to all. The idea of a culture in which the 'Law' is viewed as supreme was interesting, with Courts as the highest and most powerful authority.
The Islands are divided between several races/groups. The Torna, who seem to be the dominant group of the islands, and are generally collaborators with the Inning. The Asnia(Sp?) who represent a more pastoral group if islanders, and the Grey people, who are Mystics who actually have magic.
That last aspects is one of the more interesting; the idea of an 17th or 18th century Imperial power running into a conquered people whose magic, spirits and gos actually exist and work. Whose warnings of impending distaster turn out ot be 100% correct.
The book follows three principal characters, and each is unique in her/his perspective and brings much needed perspective. The world-building is steller, and the characters fascinating. There is politking, and discussion of how Imperialist policy can often reflect domestic politics rather than anyones idea of what's best for the colonies or the 'homeland'.
It was a great look into this world, and I'll definately be checking out the sequal.
It's set in a world you believe, but that isn't a direct 'reflection' of any particular aspect of ours(say unlike some worlds you can't directly 'map' the cultures onto Earth cultures). The Inning are an Imperialist Group who have conquered various Islands and intend to bring their 'culture' of 'Law' to all. The idea of a culture in which the 'Law' is viewed as supreme was interesting, with Courts as the highest and most powerful authority.
The Islands are divided between several races/groups. The Torna, who seem to be the dominant group of the islands, and are generally collaborators with the Inning. The Asnia(Sp?) who represent a more pastoral group if islanders, and the Grey people, who are Mystics who actually have magic.
That last aspects is one of the more interesting; the idea of an 17th or 18th century Imperial power running into a conquered people whose magic, spirits and gos actually exist and work. Whose warnings of impending distaster turn out ot be 100% correct.
The book follows three principal characters, and each is unique in her/his perspective and brings much needed perspective. The world-building is steller, and the characters fascinating. There is politking, and discussion of how Imperialist policy can often reflect domestic politics rather than anyones idea of what's best for the colonies or the 'homeland'.
It was a great look into this world, and I'll definately be checking out the sequal.
February 15, 2013
The book is set in a rough analogue (very rough) of American colonial times. Probably more Caribbean than continental America. Not much about geography is similar, it's more that there's an imperial culture which is now considering moving in more closely on a little island chain called the Forsakens.
I thought that the author did a good job of having POV characters with very distinct voices and philosophies. We have the idealistic, naive,restless young scion of a privileged family who decides to go to the islands to give the gift of law to the islanders, not realizing that they're not especially interested in his munificence. There's a tired young soldier native to the islands, returning home to find peace, only to find a revolution. And there's a young girl who has been created to become a martyr for the people she serves, to become embroiled in an addictive co-dependent healing relationship with her village- although she's fighting against her heritage.
There's unusual magic in this book, and it's not explained. It's wild and a bit frightening, and it's still mysterious at the end. The plot didn't go along any well-worn lines, and I enjoyed finding out where it went. There are distinct cultures and religions, and more than one truth in this world. I'm very excited to find out what happens next.
I thought that the author did a good job of having POV characters with very distinct voices and philosophies. We have the idealistic, naive,restless young scion of a privileged family who decides to go to the islands to give the gift of law to the islanders, not realizing that they're not especially interested in his munificence. There's a tired young soldier native to the islands, returning home to find peace, only to find a revolution. And there's a young girl who has been created to become a martyr for the people she serves, to become embroiled in an addictive co-dependent healing relationship with her village- although she's fighting against her heritage.
There's unusual magic in this book, and it's not explained. It's wild and a bit frightening, and it's still mysterious at the end. The plot didn't go along any well-worn lines, and I enjoyed finding out where it went. There are distinct cultures and religions, and more than one truth in this world. I'm very excited to find out what happens next.
December 23, 2013
Overall, I liked the book. The writing was good, and to me the characters were identifiable. The magic was excellent. A couple of the scenes where the magic was running wild were some of the best I'd ever read. The main plot wavered some and felt like the changes occurred more by the author getting stuck and writing in something to fix it, that was never foreshadowed, than it being planned that way.
I did have one big gripe but it did not get reflected in the rating. When I bought the book, I was at my local bookstore so did not have the opportunity to research it online. I liked the cover. The blurb on the back was enticing. The first page read well enough to make the decision to buy. Nowhere on the cover, inside the cover, or in the front pages detailing the publication info, was there ever any mention that this book was part one of a set. I did not discover there is at least another book until I was almost at the end and glanced to the last page to find out that was so. As a rule, I stay away from series when browsing at the store. I want stand alone novels and had expected this to be that way. My late discovery was disappointing. If an author has more than one book to the story, it should be disclosed somewhere obvious, preferably the cover, front or back.
I did have one big gripe but it did not get reflected in the rating. When I bought the book, I was at my local bookstore so did not have the opportunity to research it online. I liked the cover. The blurb on the back was enticing. The first page read well enough to make the decision to buy. Nowhere on the cover, inside the cover, or in the front pages detailing the publication info, was there ever any mention that this book was part one of a set. I did not discover there is at least another book until I was almost at the end and glanced to the last page to find out that was so. As a rule, I stay away from series when browsing at the store. I want stand alone novels and had expected this to be that way. My late discovery was disappointing. If an author has more than one book to the story, it should be disclosed somewhere obvious, preferably the cover, front or back.
February 17, 2016
Spaeth is a Grey Person, sworn to give her blood to heal the people of Yora of the Forsaken Isles. Harg is an Adaina naval war hero recently discharged who is returning to Yora, aware of the plans that the ruling Inning race has for his island, people, and the Torna people. Nathaway is the youngest son of a powerful Inning family who leaves law school in order to help the people of the Forsaken Isles understand and assimilate to the Inning laws that are being forced upon them. The three of them are about to set a chain of events off that will cause a rebellion against the oppressive empire for a group of islands that can barely get along with each other, let alone fight a war together.
I found the politics and relationships to be interesting in this read. The author does a good job of portraying the various actions, thoughts, intentions, and prejudices between the four races. Aside from the mystical aspect of the Grey People this was more of a study in conquest and subjugation.
I found the politics and relationships to be interesting in this read. The author does a good job of portraying the various actions, thoughts, intentions, and prejudices between the four races. Aside from the mystical aspect of the Grey People this was more of a study in conquest and subjugation.
September 16, 2012
This is an ambitious book with some complex world-building. The characters are strong and the plot is (mostly) unpredictable. The lion's share of her energy was spent on creating a world with a deep political structure as well as developing a maritime-colony based plot. I am looking forward to the next installments -- this is a terrific story with intrigue and adventure and I can't wait to see what's going to happen with her characters.
December 24, 2021
The concepts of bandhota / dhota / dhota-nur are rather nebulous and make it difficult to understand the nature of the relationships with the Lashnura. That's about my only complaint. It's a beautifully written book and very captivating. I feel like there's some metaphors in there that I'm not getting but I don't even care.
March 23, 2012
Darn it all anyhow, there's a sequel. It's not a complete story, but there's no warning of this on the cover. I hate that.
A good read, gets better as it goes along, and really develops some empathy for the characters.
A good read, gets better as it goes along, and really develops some empathy for the characters.
November 10, 2014
I was actually surprised by how quickly and thoroughly this drew me into its world; pure fantasy has been a harder sell for me lately than it used to be, but the complexity of the political situation and the limited geography really appealed to me.
May 16, 2020
It’s a clash of cultures in Isles of the Forsaken when the Innings, a culture who hold law and legality above all else, decide it’s high time they went and civilized the heathen Adainas of the South Chain islands, bringing to them the wonders of the legal system and freeing them from their barbaric beliefs and superstitions. The reality of the situation is never so black-and-white, though. The Adainas don’t want to be ruled over by another culture. They’re perfectly happy living the way they do, and their so-called backward system isn’t as backward as the Innings would believe. Just because you don’t believe in gods and magic doesn’t mean they don’t exist, as Nathaway Talley comes to learn the more he spends time with the Adainas, and in particular a young healer girl names Spaeth.
Nathaway well and truly believes in the power of the law, holds it sacred. Spaeth, a Lashnura, heals others by sacrificing herself, binding herself to whomever she heals in order to take their ills into herself and free the hurt from their hurts. Harg is an ex-Navy captain, returned home, who finds himself the accidental leader of a rebellion to oust the Innings from his home islands and leave them as self-governing. Nathaway’s brother Corbin is the Admiral of the Navy, who wants nothing more than an excuse to crush the South Chain and control the inhabitants, to the point where he will overturn the laws that his very society is based on. Tiarch, a much-despised governer, has been working for decades to slowly convince the Innings to ignore South Chain so that they can go on governing themselves as they always have, without the need for an official policy to dictate such. It’s a good, solid, fleshed-out cast of characters, each with their own personality quirks and foibles and deep history, and all together they made this a difficult book to put down.
At the same time that powerful mundane forces are changing the course of history, so too are supernatural forces at work in the forms of the Ashwin and the Mundua, rivaling factions of gods bent on tipping the scales of balance in their favour and gaining a greater foothold in this reality.
While the story itself was not the most original I’d ever seen, it was — much like Daniel Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path — a piece of comforting and familiar fantasy fiction that soothed the soul and took me back to days where this kind of book was all I’d read. It was like comfort food to me, and the interesting cast of characters did wonders for propelling me onward through the story. Gilman’s talent really shows here, as well as in her ability to write politics without getting bogged down in them and making the plot so full of twists and turns that it’s hard to tell where you stand.
Pieces of the plot were pretty transparent from the beginning, though. It wasn’t hard to tell, for instance, that when we start off with Nathaway talking about how he wants to civilize the people of the South Chain and free them from barbarism, that the Adainas aren’t going to be nearly as barbaric as he makes them out to be, or that their superstitions are not without merit. And while there were some events that I didn’t necessarily foresee, they weren’t surprising when I did encounter them.
But overall, I’d say this is a very well-done novel, and an excellent start to a series I know I want to continue with! Gilman made an easy impression on me, and my only regret here is that I’m going to have to wait for the second book to be published. If you’re a fantasy fan who longs for a good piece of literary “home cooking”, then don’t pass over the chance to read Isles of the Forsaken.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
Nathaway well and truly believes in the power of the law, holds it sacred. Spaeth, a Lashnura, heals others by sacrificing herself, binding herself to whomever she heals in order to take their ills into herself and free the hurt from their hurts. Harg is an ex-Navy captain, returned home, who finds himself the accidental leader of a rebellion to oust the Innings from his home islands and leave them as self-governing. Nathaway’s brother Corbin is the Admiral of the Navy, who wants nothing more than an excuse to crush the South Chain and control the inhabitants, to the point where he will overturn the laws that his very society is based on. Tiarch, a much-despised governer, has been working for decades to slowly convince the Innings to ignore South Chain so that they can go on governing themselves as they always have, without the need for an official policy to dictate such. It’s a good, solid, fleshed-out cast of characters, each with their own personality quirks and foibles and deep history, and all together they made this a difficult book to put down.
At the same time that powerful mundane forces are changing the course of history, so too are supernatural forces at work in the forms of the Ashwin and the Mundua, rivaling factions of gods bent on tipping the scales of balance in their favour and gaining a greater foothold in this reality.
While the story itself was not the most original I’d ever seen, it was — much like Daniel Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path — a piece of comforting and familiar fantasy fiction that soothed the soul and took me back to days where this kind of book was all I’d read. It was like comfort food to me, and the interesting cast of characters did wonders for propelling me onward through the story. Gilman’s talent really shows here, as well as in her ability to write politics without getting bogged down in them and making the plot so full of twists and turns that it’s hard to tell where you stand.
Pieces of the plot were pretty transparent from the beginning, though. It wasn’t hard to tell, for instance, that when we start off with Nathaway talking about how he wants to civilize the people of the South Chain and free them from barbarism, that the Adainas aren’t going to be nearly as barbaric as he makes them out to be, or that their superstitions are not without merit. And while there were some events that I didn’t necessarily foresee, they weren’t surprising when I did encounter them.
But overall, I’d say this is a very well-done novel, and an excellent start to a series I know I want to continue with! Gilman made an easy impression on me, and my only regret here is that I’m going to have to wait for the second book to be published. If you’re a fantasy fan who longs for a good piece of literary “home cooking”, then don’t pass over the chance to read Isles of the Forsaken.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
September 12, 2024
4 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Harg Ismol has retired from the so-called 'Native Navy', made up of subjugated islanders. He's going home at last after years of succeeding as a disregarded minority in Inning culture. But at home, he finds things are much more complicated than he expected, and that he can't just sit by and let someone else solve problems for once.
Review
Having now sorted out my confusion of Gilmans and reviewed a Charlotte Perkins Gilman book, my thoughts turned to the other Gilman – Carolyn Ives Gilman, and I found to my pleasure that I had an unread book of hers in my collection.
I first encountered this Gilman over 20 years ago – perhaps in 1998 or 1999 – through her book Halfway Human, which I found provocative, thoughtful, and well written. Unfortunately, she seems not to write often, and I didn’t find any more of her books until 2016, when I picked up this book, first published in 2011. I wish now that I’d picked up the sequel as well, since it appears no longer available in ebook form, though the paperback can still be found.
Isles of the Forsaken is a complex and political novel. Within the world, there are a moderate number of factions to keep track, though it’s not really difficult. Metaphorically, it’s clearly a commentary on colonialism, subjugation, and respect for other ways of life. The subjugated islanders in question know that there are forces and values in the world invisible to the colonizers, who insist on the worth of their regimented law and order.
Gilman has a nice touch with the characters, making them engaging and relatively credible, each with foibles, strengths, and weaknesses. They’re a little more sparsely drawn than I’d have preferred, some standing more clearly as symbols and archetypes than fully developed characters, and I wish she’d filled them in a bit. Generally, the story proceeds well, but for my taste, it crosses the line from time to time into excessively pointed, verging on (indirectly) preachy.
I found the locals’ magic beliefs a little vague and hard to come to grips with. I filled in gaps with what little I know of island cultures, which seemed a likely source, but I felt that, when seeing from the story islanders’ perspective, we could have gotten a little more information. That was especially so when, late in the book, the story took a sudden and unheralded turn to the bizarre. It was clearly intended as a surprise, but without a better grasp on the identified world, I found it to be more tacked on than integral, especially as the book ends without explaining it.
Despite all the above, I am quite interested to read the next book, and perturbed to find it’s not available in e-form, especially given the minimal cost of keeping ebooks. Hopefully a local library can come to my rescue (or maybe not, after a quick look).
Overall, well written and enjoyable, if a bit message-heavy.
Summary
Harg Ismol has retired from the so-called 'Native Navy', made up of subjugated islanders. He's going home at last after years of succeeding as a disregarded minority in Inning culture. But at home, he finds things are much more complicated than he expected, and that he can't just sit by and let someone else solve problems for once.
Review
Having now sorted out my confusion of Gilmans and reviewed a Charlotte Perkins Gilman book, my thoughts turned to the other Gilman – Carolyn Ives Gilman, and I found to my pleasure that I had an unread book of hers in my collection.
I first encountered this Gilman over 20 years ago – perhaps in 1998 or 1999 – through her book Halfway Human, which I found provocative, thoughtful, and well written. Unfortunately, she seems not to write often, and I didn’t find any more of her books until 2016, when I picked up this book, first published in 2011. I wish now that I’d picked up the sequel as well, since it appears no longer available in ebook form, though the paperback can still be found.
Isles of the Forsaken is a complex and political novel. Within the world, there are a moderate number of factions to keep track, though it’s not really difficult. Metaphorically, it’s clearly a commentary on colonialism, subjugation, and respect for other ways of life. The subjugated islanders in question know that there are forces and values in the world invisible to the colonizers, who insist on the worth of their regimented law and order.
Gilman has a nice touch with the characters, making them engaging and relatively credible, each with foibles, strengths, and weaknesses. They’re a little more sparsely drawn than I’d have preferred, some standing more clearly as symbols and archetypes than fully developed characters, and I wish she’d filled them in a bit. Generally, the story proceeds well, but for my taste, it crosses the line from time to time into excessively pointed, verging on (indirectly) preachy.
I found the locals’ magic beliefs a little vague and hard to come to grips with. I filled in gaps with what little I know of island cultures, which seemed a likely source, but I felt that, when seeing from the story islanders’ perspective, we could have gotten a little more information. That was especially so when, late in the book, the story took a sudden and unheralded turn to the bizarre. It was clearly intended as a surprise, but without a better grasp on the identified world, I found it to be more tacked on than integral, especially as the book ends without explaining it.
Despite all the above, I am quite interested to read the next book, and perturbed to find it’s not available in e-form, especially given the minimal cost of keeping ebooks. Hopefully a local library can come to my rescue (or maybe not, after a quick look).
Overall, well written and enjoyable, if a bit message-heavy.
September 13, 2016
Carolyn Ives Gilman's book Isles of the Forsaken is a clever and original work of fantasy. At its core are the intertwined stories of four characters, each hailing from distinctive races. The story is set at a time when the population of the Forsaken Islands are beginning to rebel against their imperial masters. The Adaina who live on the Forsaken have been ruled for many years, their islands, to a greater or lesser extent beginning to lose their individuality, but at the same time the more under-developed country is beginning to develop itself. Alongside the technological and economic development is a growth in self-identification that pits itself against the colonial rulers.
Full review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/...
Full review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/...
September 2, 2012
I really wanted to like this book a lot. The world building is amazing, but I had a hard time liking any of the characters. The story does continue in a sequel, but I didn't really feel involved enough to keep reading.
December 15, 2013
2.5 stars
Was just pretty meh. Nothing exciting happened, and I didn't really care about any of the characters. I didn't realize it was the beginning of a series, but I don't plan on continuing.
Was just pretty meh. Nothing exciting happened, and I didn't really care about any of the characters. I didn't realize it was the beginning of a series, but I don't plan on continuing.
August 6, 2014
The author's short stories are often exquisite gems, but I'm just not feeling this novel, sorry to say.
Want to read
November 26, 2014This is copy 13 of 24 signed numbered copies.
Read
May 11, 20193 and a half stars.
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