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Rifkind #1
Daughter of the Bright Moon
Priestess, healer, warrior, witch. In a desert world ruled by men Rifkind has always been one apart. A chieftain's daughter, she has learned to wield a sword while all other women are bound by tribal custom to children and the cooking fire. While other women are chattel to their men, Rifkind has been Marked by the Goddess for Her own.
When her clan is massacred, Rifkind's essential solitude is only confirmed. Alone, prompted by her Deity, she sets forth on a quest for her destiny, a destiny that will shake and shape the world...for An-Soren waits in his dark tower knowing that she must come to him in time.
When her clan is massacred, Rifkind's essential solitude is only confirmed. Alone, prompted by her Deity, she sets forth on a quest for her destiny, a destiny that will shake and shape the world...for An-Soren waits in his dark tower knowing that she must come to him in time.
410 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
3 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Abbey
146 books192 followersLynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 8, 2009
This was one of those books that I read in high-school, and then spent years afterwards searching through used book stores to try to find a copy (made more difficult by my complete inability for a while to remember the author's name for any book I'd read before 1991. But I digress...) I finally did track the book down, and I found it as convoluted and fascinating as I had when I was a teen. I didn't altogether *like* the characters (it seems like Abbey was more interested in having the reader respect the characters abilities than actually like them) and some of the political machinations tend to go over my head. But the main character is a desert princess with a horned-horse for a best friend, and the book starts out with her finding the headless body of her idiot brother who she didn't even like; it's hard to NOT keep reading after that.
January 24, 2011
After reading this as a kid, more then anything I wanted a horned horse named Turin, leather armor and a cloak with the embroidery inside! This is by far one of my most favorite books.
August 14, 2007
I put off reading this for years because of the grim opening
in which the heroine's entire clan is slaughtered. However, once I got into it I liked it. The heroine Rifkind is from a desert culture which she leaves for a more European-feudal kingdom where there is a power struggle between the king's centralizing minister, An-Soren, a renegade from the moon
reigion to which Rifkind belongs, and powerful nobles led by Lord Humphry (sp?), whose son Ejord becomes Rifkind's friend. Although Rifkind is bound to destroy An-Soren, she distrusts Humphry, and the result is a violent 3-way showdown which destroys much of the capital. I liked Rifkind and Ejord and their tentative friendship.However, I found a couple of the lesser characters went through rather abrupt character changes. Overall I look forward to reading the next volume (The Black Flame).
in which the heroine's entire clan is slaughtered. However, once I got into it I liked it. The heroine Rifkind is from a desert culture which she leaves for a more European-feudal kingdom where there is a power struggle between the king's centralizing minister, An-Soren, a renegade from the moon
reigion to which Rifkind belongs, and powerful nobles led by Lord Humphry (sp?), whose son Ejord becomes Rifkind's friend. Although Rifkind is bound to destroy An-Soren, she distrusts Humphry, and the result is a violent 3-way showdown which destroys much of the capital. I liked Rifkind and Ejord and their tentative friendship.However, I found a couple of the lesser characters went through rather abrupt character changes. Overall I look forward to reading the next volume (The Black Flame).
November 13, 2010
I made the mistake of giving this away, thinking I had enjoyed it and should share it. But here, decades later, I remember a great deal about the two books about this character, and I recommend her to anyone looking for a quirky, individual kick-butt woman worthy of the name heroine!
Should have kept the book!
Should have kept the book!
December 11, 2013
Not bad not great. A solid work of S&S from the genre's golden age with a great main character. Don't be deterred by the awful cover.
July 5, 2018
Daughter of the Bright Moon (1979) by Lynn Abbey is the perfect example of a 70's style fantasy while also being an example of feminist fantasy. The feminist fantasy follows the usual story for this period, a woman working hard to get what she wants despite all the barriers thrown in her way due to her gender. The barriers are not because of her gender, but are because of what others think that her gender belongs. Meanwhile, it's a 70's fantasy, which means that the hero Rifkin kicks ass, does magic, and does this all at age 19. You could call her a Mary Sue, but by that definition, but all the heroes back then would be Mary Sue's.
This was Lynn's Abbey's first published work and it shows. The pacing has issues. One pushes through it more than one is drawn along. Her tale bogs down in the oddest places, leaving you to wonder where the novel is going, and when you get where you're going, the novel often chases its own tail.
The novel is not without its interesting charms or takes. Rifkin seems to be feminine embodiment of emotionless masculinity, giving her an overall dull sheen. Few readers will find her endearing, especially as she different from all the other girls, but by the same manner, different from all the other boys. Like so many characters from that decade, she was born a barbarian, so the acts and thinks like a combat happy barbarian in a civilized world, creating some comedy early on. At times, the tone leans a little too much towards farce, but then wrenches itself back.
The characters are all there, more or less, and reasonably consistent, but the motivations leave something to be desired. While the work offers itself as a sword and sorcery, it's too thick and slow to be one of those, and certainly lacks enough fight scenes. Meanwhile, its doesn't quite capture the comedy of manners or the conflicts of cultures as it could. This is why it's such a strange beast of a book. There's just no enough melodrama to carry it along.
Beyond Rifkin, most of the secondary characters don't amount to much. They do their part, but they're poorly realized. They're generally competent without being engaging.
I think that most people who try to read this will put it down. I don't blame them. However, if you do read it, there's some interesting world development and curious takes on magic. It's worth a look if you enjoy the era.
This was Lynn's Abbey's first published work and it shows. The pacing has issues. One pushes through it more than one is drawn along. Her tale bogs down in the oddest places, leaving you to wonder where the novel is going, and when you get where you're going, the novel often chases its own tail.
The novel is not without its interesting charms or takes. Rifkin seems to be feminine embodiment of emotionless masculinity, giving her an overall dull sheen. Few readers will find her endearing, especially as she different from all the other girls, but by the same manner, different from all the other boys. Like so many characters from that decade, she was born a barbarian, so the acts and thinks like a combat happy barbarian in a civilized world, creating some comedy early on. At times, the tone leans a little too much towards farce, but then wrenches itself back.
The characters are all there, more or less, and reasonably consistent, but the motivations leave something to be desired. While the work offers itself as a sword and sorcery, it's too thick and slow to be one of those, and certainly lacks enough fight scenes. Meanwhile, its doesn't quite capture the comedy of manners or the conflicts of cultures as it could. This is why it's such a strange beast of a book. There's just no enough melodrama to carry it along.
Beyond Rifkin, most of the secondary characters don't amount to much. They do their part, but they're poorly realized. They're generally competent without being engaging.
I think that most people who try to read this will put it down. I don't blame them. However, if you do read it, there's some interesting world development and curious takes on magic. It's worth a look if you enjoy the era.
September 30, 2018
I like to browse the shelves at 2nd & Charles for fantasy novels that never make any top one-hundred lists. Last time, I happened upon this book and immediately fell in love with the cover; a cool female heroine in a traditional male pose with a horse that has horns - um sign me up. And, while the plot did not follow any of fantasy's traditional forms, it still was overall a little lacking.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
February 17, 2018
I read this book as a tween, and have been carrying it around with me for decades. I decided to do a reread of my own bookshelves since I haven't read some of the books at all or haven't read them in twenty years or more.
I have no idea why I hung on to this book. It is boring. Really, really boring. I have clear memories of the beginning from reading it as a child, and then as it progresses, my memories get hazier and hazier, leading me to wonder if I even finished it as a kid or if I did whether I liked it all that much.
It's not *bad* or anything. It's just boring. The protagonist has this inner monologue going all the time, and it's hard to differentiate between it and when she's actually speaking aloud to others. She also thinks/talks in a stilted way. Sometimes the transitions between scenes are abrupt. I mean, if you're stuck in the airport with only this book to read, you could do way way worse, but there's no spark there for me. I think I've just been reading really top tier fiction lately and this does not hold a candle to a writer like Leckie or Mieville.
I have no idea why I hung on to this book. It is boring. Really, really boring. I have clear memories of the beginning from reading it as a child, and then as it progresses, my memories get hazier and hazier, leading me to wonder if I even finished it as a kid or if I did whether I liked it all that much.
It's not *bad* or anything. It's just boring. The protagonist has this inner monologue going all the time, and it's hard to differentiate between it and when she's actually speaking aloud to others. She also thinks/talks in a stilted way. Sometimes the transitions between scenes are abrupt. I mean, if you're stuck in the airport with only this book to read, you could do way way worse, but there's no spark there for me. I think I've just been reading really top tier fiction lately and this does not hold a candle to a writer like Leckie or Mieville.
January 13, 2024
I liked this a lot more than I expected. I picked this up at a used book store because the title piqued my interest. Once I saw the cover, I was all in. And then I found the illustrations.... So cool!
I liked the story, didn't super love it, but I definitely enjoyed the courtly misadventures of the desert warrior witch. I'm going to have to get back out there and see if I can find the next 2 books in the series!
I liked the story, didn't super love it, but I definitely enjoyed the courtly misadventures of the desert warrior witch. I'm going to have to get back out there and see if I can find the next 2 books in the series!
June 5, 2024
This book has a great first half, and then completely stalls out. Abbey creates a great woman warrior, and sends her off on a wilderness adventure, and then confines her to a stuffy castle for a hundred pages where she learns to ballroom dance.
July 17, 2022
A book I loved in junior high.
September 13, 2015
This is a re-read of a book read a long time ago, which I couldn't remember. It is the kind of thing I liked at the time - kick-ass woman warrior who also has healing and other powers and has an empathic bond with a horse - which has twin horns, just for variety. I wonder if the writer was influenced by Joy Chant's Grey Mane of Morning which also has horned horses and women warriors? Anyway, the character Rifkind is an anomaly in her desert home because she spurns the domestic way of life where the women are practically chattels, and fights to become a warrior and also to win her own war horse. This is all backstory that eventually emerges as the story starts quite grimly where Rifkind returns to her tribe's camp to find the whole tribe wiped out by the other tribes because their leader has broken the warrior code. She has been estranged from her father, the tribe's ruler, and her brother, because of her brother's hatred of her and his basic failure to match up to the warrior ideals - she is much better than him and he always bullied her and used treachery to get the better of her but she has fought through to become a warrior. Her father has become crippled in an accident but has not taken the honourable way out expected, leading to a power vacuum and the fortunes of tribe going severely downhill.
Due to the odds being stacked against her when her sword teacher is apparently murdered with impunity by her brother and his cronies, she was persuaded to leave by a woman healer who has spent four years training her before the story starts, and Rifkind is now sworn to the Bright Moon, one of the goddesses of her desert homeland. Due to the massacre of her people, Rifkind wanders into the Wet Lands where settled people live and worship different gods and soon comes into conflict with them, being viewed with suspicion as a desert tribeswoman (whom the Wet Landers view as enemies) and as a witch. The story tells of how she finds some limited acceptance in Glascardy, a mountainous country, and is used by the ruler, Lord Humphry, to go up against a sorceror who is working for the king. Rifkind goes along with it as the sorceror is an age-old enemy of her goddess who wants her to punish him although she realises that Humphry has his own agenda.
Rifkind is a prickly character, not always likeable, but the main issue with the book is that the prose is written in a very convoluted, 'kludgy' style. I wondered if this was deliberate, to create the effect of a viewpoint character who is from a very different culture, but from what is written elsewhere on the internet, it seems this was Abbey's first novel and she wouldn't have written it that way now. The style does get between the reader and the action, as it slows down what would otherwise be fast paced and exciting encounters between Rifkind and her horse Turin, and their various enemies.
I was also not convinced by the way that a couple of characters appeared to have a personality transformation, starting off as her loyal supporters and for no very good reason turning against her. The book ends as
Due to the odds being stacked against her when her sword teacher is apparently murdered with impunity by her brother and his cronies, she was persuaded to leave by a woman healer who has spent four years training her before the story starts, and Rifkind is now sworn to the Bright Moon, one of the goddesses of her desert homeland. Due to the massacre of her people, Rifkind wanders into the Wet Lands where settled people live and worship different gods and soon comes into conflict with them, being viewed with suspicion as a desert tribeswoman (whom the Wet Landers view as enemies) and as a witch. The story tells of how she finds some limited acceptance in Glascardy, a mountainous country, and is used by the ruler, Lord Humphry, to go up against a sorceror who is working for the king. Rifkind goes along with it as the sorceror is an age-old enemy of her goddess who wants her to punish him although she realises that Humphry has his own agenda.
Rifkind is a prickly character, not always likeable, but the main issue with the book is that the prose is written in a very convoluted, 'kludgy' style. I wondered if this was deliberate, to create the effect of a viewpoint character who is from a very different culture, but from what is written elsewhere on the internet, it seems this was Abbey's first novel and she wouldn't have written it that way now. The style does get between the reader and the action, as it slows down what would otherwise be fast paced and exciting encounters between Rifkind and her horse Turin, and their various enemies.
I was also not convinced by the way that a couple of characters appeared to have a personality transformation, starting off as her loyal supporters and for no very good reason turning against her. The book ends as
October 12, 2012
This book wasn't what I expected it to be, although I'm not quite sure what I was expecting in the first place, so perhaps that's not an accurate statement. I am glad I finished this book until the end despite my initial iffiness about the writing style.
Initially, I found that I could not relate well to Rifkind, not because of her status as a healer and a warrior, but because of the way she spoke and thought. I found it a bit stilted, although I'm sure Rifkind would have something to say about that. In one chapter, she comments on the flowery polite speech of the Dro Darian compared to the direct Asheeran style of speaking.
The plot itself, however, was quite enjoyable, and Rifkind is pretty badass. She can wield both her sword and her tongue quite well, although she is so fiercely independent that she doesn't like letting others help her. It's nice to see her grow as a character.
I don't think I'm going to read the next books in the series, but we'll see. If I come across them in the library, I'll check them out, but I don't think I'm going to actively hunt them down.
Initially, I found that I could not relate well to Rifkind, not because of her status as a healer and a warrior, but because of the way she spoke and thought. I found it a bit stilted, although I'm sure Rifkind would have something to say about that. In one chapter, she comments on the flowery polite speech of the Dro Darian compared to the direct Asheeran style of speaking.
The plot itself, however, was quite enjoyable, and Rifkind is pretty badass. She can wield both her sword and her tongue quite well, although she is so fiercely independent that she doesn't like letting others help her. It's nice to see her grow as a character.
I don't think I'm going to read the next books in the series, but we'll see. If I come across them in the library, I'll check them out, but I don't think I'm going to actively hunt them down.
July 10, 2013
There is no other heroine quite like Rifkind. She is a healer and a warrior - a mage and a fighter - and rides a freakin' war unicorn - OK, it's just a telepathic horned horse, but still! She is both outcast from her own society and all the societies she travels to. She is a square peg in a world that is a round hole, and she forces the world to fit to her standards - not the other way around. She is tough, resourceful and able to get in, and more importantly, out, of any situation. Also - if you can find a copy with the illustrations - they are worth it!
March 22, 2010
This was the first book written by a good friend of mine. It has been out of print as long as I have known her. It is now for sale in ebook form directly from the author at http://www.closed-circle.net/WhereIts... .
It was a first novel, and it reads like one, but the characters and the world will stay with me. I see, now, why so many of Lynn's fans are still passionate about this book.
It was a first novel, and it reads like one, but the characters and the world will stay with me. I see, now, why so many of Lynn's fans are still passionate about this book.
August 6, 2014
I read this in my teens and it was a remarkable book for me. The strong, independent, skilful and confident woman at the heart of book was my role model and it's tremendous impact on me has never changed. Rifkind's devotion to the Goddess of the Bright Moon confirmed to me that, having abandoned the constraints of a Catholic upbringing, following the Pagan path was the right choice. I keep this book hidden away in my collection, ready to pass onto my daughter!
October 19, 2012
I've heard quite a bit of praise for this book — it was first described to me as like a dusty paperback version of Xena — but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. My biggest issue was in the prose's tendency toward purple and I lost interest in skimming through it about a third of the way in. Two or three stars.
May 12, 2008
knowing that the writer had page limitations unlike the ones we see today (unlimited) there was a lot of character developement and it was overall interesting
Read
January 1, 2010very enjoyable
September 28, 2013
Once I got used to the 70s pulpy writing style, the book was an OK read.
February 18, 2016
It's hard to find something different in a book of the fantasy genra but I thought that this fit the bill.
November 13, 2021
Read this when it was first published. I know I read it more than once, really loved this story.
Want to read
October 16, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14180910
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14180910
August 30, 2024
Read in the 80’s.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews