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The Wars of Vis #1-2
The Wars of Vis
Book club 2-in-1 edition containing The Storm Lord and Anackire (2717).
By the laws of the Kingdom of Dorthar, most powerful of all the realms of Vis, the heir to the Storm Lord's throne is his lastborn son. Thus should the crown belong someday to Raldnor, product of the Storm Lord's union with a light-skinned Lowland priestess. But the Storm Lord's scheming queen, Val Mala, has other plans - plans that set in motion an extraordinary epic of passion, treachery, ambition and clashing gods on a distant and fascinating planet.
Vis is a continent divided, dominated by the dark-haired, dark-skinned race of the Storm Lord, of his Queen - and of their son Amrek. Engineering the halfbreed infant Raldnor's disappearance, Val Mala clears her son's path to the throne. The Storm Lord is the story of Raldnor, raised by the light-skinned, peace-loving Lowlanders, who returns years later to Dorthar. Strong and brave, he is hired by Amrek, now Storm Lord himself, to head the royal guard. Neither is aware of their blood connection. Neither bears the other ill ... until Amrek's bride gives in to her growing passion for the pale-eyed Lowlander.
Amrek's jealous fury crystallizes his resolve to rid the continent of Lowlanders. And only Raidnor stands between the Storm Lord and the horror of genocide. Outnumbered, apparently overpowered, the Lowlanders turn to Raldnor and to the snake goddess Anackire for help.
Anackire returns us to Vis a full generation after The Storm Lord's shattering conclusion. A delicate and complex political balance has held for twenty years. Raldanash is Storm Lord in peaceful Dorthar, but a tyrant rules in Zakoris and another is rising through treachery and intrigue in Karmiss. Piracy, assassination, torture and racial strife spread chaos as the fragile balance of peace tips inexorably toward war.
As the armies converge, Anackire, the powerful and mysterious snake goddess, begins to stir again. And this time, she will unleash powers far beyond the dreams - or nightmares - of any mortal.
Tanith Lee has been widely praised by fans and colleagues alike for her vivid world-creation and riveting prose. In The Storm Lord and its epic companion novel, Anackire, she has spun an engrossing fantasy brimming with dark magic, action, passion and mystery.
By the laws of the Kingdom of Dorthar, most powerful of all the realms of Vis, the heir to the Storm Lord's throne is his lastborn son. Thus should the crown belong someday to Raldnor, product of the Storm Lord's union with a light-skinned Lowland priestess. But the Storm Lord's scheming queen, Val Mala, has other plans - plans that set in motion an extraordinary epic of passion, treachery, ambition and clashing gods on a distant and fascinating planet.
Vis is a continent divided, dominated by the dark-haired, dark-skinned race of the Storm Lord, of his Queen - and of their son Amrek. Engineering the halfbreed infant Raldnor's disappearance, Val Mala clears her son's path to the throne. The Storm Lord is the story of Raldnor, raised by the light-skinned, peace-loving Lowlanders, who returns years later to Dorthar. Strong and brave, he is hired by Amrek, now Storm Lord himself, to head the royal guard. Neither is aware of their blood connection. Neither bears the other ill ... until Amrek's bride gives in to her growing passion for the pale-eyed Lowlander.
Amrek's jealous fury crystallizes his resolve to rid the continent of Lowlanders. And only Raidnor stands between the Storm Lord and the horror of genocide. Outnumbered, apparently overpowered, the Lowlanders turn to Raldnor and to the snake goddess Anackire for help.
Anackire returns us to Vis a full generation after The Storm Lord's shattering conclusion. A delicate and complex political balance has held for twenty years. Raldanash is Storm Lord in peaceful Dorthar, but a tyrant rules in Zakoris and another is rising through treachery and intrigue in Karmiss. Piracy, assassination, torture and racial strife spread chaos as the fragile balance of peace tips inexorably toward war.
As the armies converge, Anackire, the powerful and mysterious snake goddess, begins to stir again. And this time, she will unleash powers far beyond the dreams - or nightmares - of any mortal.
Tanith Lee has been widely praised by fans and colleagues alike for her vivid world-creation and riveting prose. In The Storm Lord and its epic companion novel, Anackire, she has spun an engrossing fantasy brimming with dark magic, action, passion and mystery.
- GenresFantasy
697 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
1 person is currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Tanith Lee
615 books1,976 followersTanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 9, 2015
Book Cub book. Perhaps not one of Ms. Lee's best books.
June 24, 2015
I re-read this book in honor of Tanith Lee, upon her death. It was just as good as the first time I read it. Intricate, beautiful and epic. It isn't just a story, its a myth come to life. She was a magnificent writer and reading this again made me remember how much she inspired me in my own writing.
January 11, 2016
My only complaint with the edition is that nobody went through the trouble to combine and refine the map: it dutifully replicates the originals, one for each book. For _The Storm Lord_, this was thickly drawn and lacking detail.
April 10, 2021
Weird. Lots of rape and incest. Felt racist. Thought the author did a somewhat decent job with the gay character in the second book at least. Could have used a stricter editor.
August 27, 2023
I just couldn't force myself to keep reading. I even skipped around in The Storm Lord the hope I could get away from the narrative of Raldnor, who's
So I skipped to Anackire, which I think I read when I was 10, which starts with
I'm done. Done.
Upon hearing of her recent death, I decided to revisit Tanith Lee's work, and the three (non-YA) books I found in the Queens' library system are much rape-ier and more misogynistic than I remembered. Sure, some of it probably went over my young head when I read them in the early '80s (my age about 9+?) but still. I'm wondering how much of this is me changing or society or my expectations changing. I don't know.
The Wars of Vis has the additional charming worldbuilding wrinkle of one of the races being vulnerable to the influence of a red star that makes them sexually insatiable and even less discerning of consent than usual, which is frankly unnecessary.
So I skipped to Anackire, which I think I read when I was 10, which starts with
I'm done. Done.
Upon hearing of her recent death, I decided to revisit Tanith Lee's work, and the three (non-YA) books I found in the Queens' library system are much rape-ier and more misogynistic than I remembered. Sure, some of it probably went over my young head when I read them in the early '80s (my age about 9+?) but still. I'm wondering how much of this is me changing or society or my expectations changing. I don't know.
The Wars of Vis has the additional charming worldbuilding wrinkle of one of the races being vulnerable to the influence of a red star that makes them sexually insatiable and even less discerning of consent than usual, which is frankly unnecessary.
June 21, 2015
I gave up on page 368. It's not that there's anything wrong with this novel, so much as a blend of me not being particularly interested in sci-fi and putting the book down too long to remember what was going on. Actually, I've been "currently reading" this book since 2012. So, yeah. It was time to mark it as something.
One day I'll get around to actually reading this book, for now, eh. Call me a quitter.
One day I'll get around to actually reading this book, for now, eh. Call me a quitter.
September 6, 2008
two books in one hardcover edition.
The first book is better, by the end of the second it becomes rather predictable because it follows the same pattern.
In both, the end is a little anti climactic. Hundreds of pages of build up to a slightly disappointing resolution.
The first book is better, by the end of the second it becomes rather predictable because it follows the same pattern.
In both, the end is a little anti climactic. Hundreds of pages of build up to a slightly disappointing resolution.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews