What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret Texts #0
[ [ [ Vincalis the Agitator [ VINCALIS THE AGITATOR ] By Lisle, Holly ( Author )Mar-01-2002 Paperback
The Hars Ticlarim is a miraculous place of wondrous beauty based on a science of sorcery called Dragon Magic. But this magic draws its power from the agony of slaves who are killed for sorcerous fuel. And for three thousand years, no one has dared question this inhuman cruelty -- until now. Wraith, a boy with an uncanny power, tries to start a revolution. Solander, his friend, believes he has discovered a totally new form of magic. And then there's Luercas, a sadistic noble who will commit any crime that furthers his ambition. All three are clever, resolute, and driven. For they challenge the rulers of a globe-spanning power that has endured for millennia -- rulers who will do anything to stay in power forever....
Paperback
First published March 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
Holly Lisle
108 books449 followersHolly Lisle has been writing fiction professionally since 1991, when she sold FIRE IN THE MIST, the novel that won her the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. She has to date published more than thirty novels and several comprehensive writing courses. She has just published WARPAINT, the second stand-alone novel in her Cadence Drake series.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 20, 2011
One of the best books I have read. Holly Lisle is an amazingly prolific writer, and this books proves it. I have read the Secret Texts series, but the prequel added just the right amount of information in a way that makes you relate to the characters like crazy and go on reading, no time to cacth your breath! Must-read.
March 2, 2014
Starts strong, mucks about for ages, dies slowly.
January 11, 2018
+++++++++++++++++++***** Masterpiece
3:59pm
3:59pm
February 2, 2020
This book had me on the edge of my seat, hooked to the point where I stayed up too late because I had to find out what happened next. Then it started time-skipping, which isn't necessarily bad, especially if nothing interesting was happening during that time. I don't know if it was the time-skips, or the shifting POV, but I never felt attached to the characters. Especially when the two female main characters were poorly handled. Towards the end it felt like the book was in a downward spiral of awful things happening and no matter what the protagonists did, the bad guys were always one step ahead, which I personally don't enjoy. Then it ends with one ultimate disaster that had me going "Why did I waste my time reading this?"
This is a prequel to a trilogy I read forever ago (and have completely forgot) so I thought this might spark my desire to re-read those books. It didn't.
This is a prequel to a trilogy I read forever ago (and have completely forgot) so I thought this might spark my desire to re-read those books. It didn't.
January 12, 2020
Love the series, could NOT find anything of interest in the first 50 pages of this book. Gave up.
April 15, 2023
It is a very good read. I read it sereval years ago and found it in my bookshelf yesterday. It was a happy reunion and made my weekend!
July 27, 2014
Wraith doesn't exist according to his world's magic because it doesn't affect him for some reason. He uses this 'handicap' to sneak food back to his friends so that they can avoid eating the drugged food that is given to the slum inhabitants. He meets someone who forges identity papers and ends up escaping the slums, but he wants everyone to come with him, especially when he finds the real reason for the them.
This book is mainly a set up for the rest of the series. It takes place 1000yrs before and doesn't contain the whole story within itself, only works as a sort of overly long prologue. You need to read the rest of the series to fully get the story and get the final ending. Also, there are a few points prominent in the other books that will seem more real if you read this book. I will admit that to me the best part was about how the legends from the later books are given a real life scenario. I mean Solander seems like such an overly dramatized, holier than thou figure in later books, but he is not actually the leader of the Falcon movement, only a martyr. Even Vincalis is much more realistically portrayed.
Having said all that, I can honestly say I loved it. This isn't a fantasy story where you get the main plot points and that's it, you get a lot of the minor things and a real look at how the character's everyday life was like. The main character is so real, and so convincing, that he drags you into the story. It very realistically portrays how a seemingly perfect empire would actually be possible.
I like how the gods in this series are very minor, and only nudge/advise the characters rather than taking over.
This book is mainly a set up for the rest of the series. It takes place 1000yrs before and doesn't contain the whole story within itself, only works as a sort of overly long prologue. You need to read the rest of the series to fully get the story and get the final ending. Also, there are a few points prominent in the other books that will seem more real if you read this book. I will admit that to me the best part was about how the legends from the later books are given a real life scenario. I mean Solander seems like such an overly dramatized, holier than thou figure in later books, but he is not actually the leader of the Falcon movement, only a martyr. Even Vincalis is much more realistically portrayed.
Having said all that, I can honestly say I loved it. This isn't a fantasy story where you get the main plot points and that's it, you get a lot of the minor things and a real look at how the character's everyday life was like. The main character is so real, and so convincing, that he drags you into the story. It very realistically portrays how a seemingly perfect empire would actually be possible.
I like how the gods in this series are very minor, and only nudge/advise the characters rather than taking over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2014
I love Holly Lisle's books. She sets up complex characters in complex societies. In other words, her books are "thinkers" for me.
This one was no exception. At first I couldn't figure out how Vincalis tied in with Courage of Falcons or Vengeance of Dragons. After reading this, I get it. It's a great back story.
Unfortunately, now I feel obligated to re-read the trilogy which means I'll be off to the bookstore soon to spend more money.
This one was no exception. At first I couldn't figure out how Vincalis tied in with Courage of Falcons or Vengeance of Dragons. After reading this, I get it. It's a great back story.
Unfortunately, now I feel obligated to re-read the trilogy which means I'll be off to the bookstore soon to spend more money.
February 26, 2009
Thought-provoking themes throughout, but I didn't think any of the characters with the exception of Wraith were very well developed. I had no idea why they did what they did or why people fell in love with each other.
The book also seemed to jump around a lot and wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked. Still it was an interesting read.
The ending was a disappointment for me - too much destruction. Also the subplot with Jess and Faregan was not well-done. He's all like I would do anything to get this girl, and then nothing more about it for a few years and a hundred pages.
I will say that it did keep me interested, but overall a disappointment.
The book also seemed to jump around a lot and wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked. Still it was an interesting read.
The ending was a disappointment for me - too much destruction. Also the subplot with Jess and Faregan was not well-done. He's all like I would do anything to get this girl, and then nothing more about it for a few years and a hundred pages.
I will say that it did keep me interested, but overall a disappointment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2015
The book started with one-dimensional characters, with the women being one-dimensional AND stereotypical. One woman's main motivation is love, and the other is portrayed as slutty (and punished for it later with severe domestic violence). A sub-plot of sadistic pedophilia is totally not necessary.
Based on this, I probably won't read the series. The story itself was mostly interesting, but it was hard to get through the stereotypes.
Based on this, I probably won't read the series. The story itself was mostly interesting, but it was hard to get through the stereotypes.
December 31, 2009
Holly Lisle was being very creative and clever in this novel. It's probably my favorite of her works and have read it a few times... that's saying something for me. I do recommend this to anyone who wants something different. :)
July 26, 2016
This secret texts is a very good series which appeals to my fondness for fantasy. The world building pulls me in. It keeps me on my toes as I try to understand what is going on. The conflict and turmoil makes me want to read the next book.
August 1, 2008
Let me just say, I picked this book because of its cover. And it was amazing. Would it be amazing if I read it a second time? I don't know, and that's why I'm not taking a chance on it.
January 28, 2011
Review to be added later. (For now, I'll just say "frikking amazing!")
November 3, 2012
One of my all-time favourite books! The writing is incredible, plot twisted and surprising, not a dull moment, and quite the interesting take on magic. Must read.
April 1, 2013
Cool book, Read it along time ago but love her writing.
October 1, 2015
I enjoyed it and it was interesting to read where many of the big things in the secret texts trilogy originated.
January 6, 2020
One girl is shamed for sleeping around and the other hates her because her male friend has eyes for her. Nah fam I’m good.
September 19, 2008
was destroyed in the flood.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews