The Crown of Silence

The Chronicles of Magravandias #2

by Storm Constantine

When Shan was fifteen years old, dark soldiers came out of the west, like a cloud of evil boiling over the soft hills of his homeland. They commanded terrible beasts, which killed with hook claws like scythes and cold eyes that dripped icy fire. The soldiers wore helmets that looked like fiends, tusked and snarling and sneering.

The terrible consequences of war have left the boy Shan wounded in body and mind by the invading army of Magravandias. He's taken from his devastated village by the magus Taropat, chosen by the master's mysterious impulse to become the wizard's pupil, and a weapon against the invading empire.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Queer, Gay, Speculative Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Storm Constantine was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.

Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.

In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.

Reviews

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is the 2nd book in the Magravandias trilogy, I would actually recommend starting here. It is far more interesting than "Sea Dragon Heir," the storyline has more momentum and coherence, even though it jumps back and forth in time more. We first meet Shan, survivor of a brutal Magravandian attack that wiped out his village, as a recluse magician takes him on as an apprentice, to shape him into a tool to oppose Magravandians. Then about 1/2 the book is the story of the sorceror, Tarabot, of how he came to be, his connection to the Magravandians royals and explanation of why he hates them. Later, Shan goes on a spiritual quest to find the Crown for the true king.

The book felt a lot more personal and involved than "Sea Dragon Heir," although apparently they take place over the same time period, and "Sea Dragon Heir" references events in "Crown of Silence." It's a little annoying, because "Sea Dragon Heir" follows women as they plot or whatever back in the conquered kingdom of Caradore (land of the sea dragons), while "Crown of Silence" is focused on men and their quest, and also takes place in the heart of the Magravandian empire, closer to the action.

How does it stack up again Constantine's other books? It doesn't have the same baroque rich sensuality as "Sign for the Sacred" or soaring imagination as "Calenture" or romanticism as "Wraeththu." It is more controlled, quieter, closest to traditional epic fantasy than any of the other books. The author said to me that in some ways, she considered this trilogy to be her best work. I think I'll read the 2nd half of "Sea Dragon Heir" (the story of Varencienne), and I'm looking forward to the conclusion in "The Way of Light."

[Jorge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book two of The Chronicles of Magravandias is a good step lower in interest and narrative quality. The first half of the story is set in a completely different scenario than the previous book, with things finally making a bit of sense towards the middle of the narrative. And when I say a bit I mean it. We accompany a wizard, Taropat, first training his apprentice, Shan, and later embarking with him in a quest for a mythical crown, imbued with the power of the elements/dragons. And it’s pretty much this… the quest is a quite nonsensical and you are left wondering why you started reading these chronicles in the first place… True story.
I would give it one and a half stars, but I can’t, so here’s a two.

[Tocotin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made my DNF shelf for this book specifically. It’s a mess. I really like the author’s attitude towards sexuality, I was excited about Tayven’s storyline, but this stuff is totally unreadable. Nobility and royalty behave like middle graders, the dialogue is horrible, characters appear and disappear without reason. Seems I paid money for an unedited book. I tried to read it 3 times, but I got stuck in the bog every time. No more. *shudders*

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the richest, most epic quests I’ve ever been fortunate enough to read is contained within the pages of this book. Readers begin with Shan, a boy who is violated along with his village by the armies of Magravandias whom seem like the very incarnation of evil in how they destroy countless people’s lives in a day. Shan is spirited away from the ruins of his home by Taropat, a mysterious mage whose human vessel has a story of his own to tell, a connection with the previous book and the characters in it, a story which ended in his own destruction and transformation. Under the care of Taropat, Shan embarks on a journey of self-awareness which brings him under the tutelage of other forest mystics, some idealogically opposed to his mentor. Shan’s journey becomes part of a greater quest, a brotherhood with each playing an ancient role deep within the beautiful lakes and forests which form the magical heart of enemy land, seeking justice, change, or balance in their turbulent world, seeking the Crown of Silence.

This is one of the most breathtaking fantasy quests I’ve read in my life, rich in philosophy and spirituality, grounding me as a reader in the setting and deepening all of the characters engaged in this journey. None are perfect, everyone has their strengths, and those doing what they believe with all their heart to be right aren’t always so. Some of the wisest among the characters show surprising insensitivity, yet every one of them has something to offer in this quest which sends ripples throughout the characters’s world, setting the stage for the coming change.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was 11 or 12, which was admittedly way too young for some of the very adult themes, but it immediately captured my imagination. I am finally reviewing it on my third re-read. This book is old school fantasy with a queer twist, and it is not for faint of heart. The trigger warning is pretty long, but its a beautifully crafted story with a distinctive and compelling cast of characters, most of which are deeply flawed. It has magic, quests, warring kingdoms, dragons (but not in the tropey way, more like as deities), intrigue, angsty romance, the works. I wish the first book in the series was even half as good as this one, but unfortunately it can be a bit of a slog. Regardless, the entire series always stuck with me. The world Storm Constantine created here is dark, gorgeous and unique. Tayven is an amazing character and I will adore him forever.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story lags about 3/4 of the way in, lovers of Western mysticism may well enjoy the skillful way Constantine brings in esoteric lore. As always, her descriptions are lush. At times I wanted to strangle Taropat for his stubborn behaviour.

A word of warning: If you were expecting Pharinet and Varencienne to be viewpoint characters with book two, be prepared to be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way regular history is wound together in an completely fascinating mix.

Although it can be argued that this story takes long to develop, I appreciate the time Constantine takes to develop her milieu. As always, her writing is a richly detailed tapestry, and it takes a while to savour all the threads.

[Susan Zoch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was torn between a 2 and 3 star because I was really looking forward to the second book. It started out fast and furious and then slowed down to the point it was almost unreadable. I fell the author must have been going through some religious enlightenment journey while writing this story. I think it is about 150 pages too long. When it stopped meandering around with no goal in site it was not a bad story. Let's just say that I was disappointed.

[Wiggle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no idea this was a volume 2 until I'd finished the book. I've never bothered to read the rest of the series.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

all the blood, tears and semen I've come to expect from Constantine. Demanding and powerful book. I was completely invested.

[Roz Blahaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Shan and Tayven. They were such excellent characters. The whole story pulled me in and kept me invested from start to finish. There was so much to love about the adventure - the self discoveries of the characters, the subtle magic, the mythology they explore. It made me want to know more about the world and people, the history of the each nation and people touched on. I would read this again as a standalone.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread for me. I think I liked it better in the 90s, but I enjoyed the nostalgia.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"So the hero is dead and the legend is over... But then I thought, it doesn't have to be."

This book did something very daring. It took us out of Caradore and away from all the characters the reader already knew and dropped us into a new country with a completely new cast of characters (granted, some of them got mentioned or uttered two lines before).

Our main hero in this one is Shan, a young boy whose village got overrun by Magravandian soldiers. So basically it starts out as a normal hero origin story... for a few pages. Cause you see, the soldiers didn't "only" kill people Shan loved, but they also raped him and his struggle to deal with that fact takes up a huge chunk of his personal story and I thought it was very compelling. This was a character who could have potentially become a berserker, blinded by his own pain and the desire for revenge and watching him and other characters trying to make him the best human being he could be despite all the hatred in his heart, was really interesting.

Then there was Taropat, a magician who took Shan under his wing, hoping to make him into a hero to slay the Magravandian Empire, despite destiny indicating no such thing for his pupil. He has a big secret and his own very dark demons to fight with.
Plus Merlan Leckery, who already played a bigger part in the first book.
Completing the team is Tayven Hirantel, who also got introduced near the end of Sea Dragon Heir as the dead Khaster Leckerly's maybe-more-than-friend.

Speaking of, we finally find out what happened to Khaster aka one of the few decent people this story had introduced as to till now.
His (and Tayven's) story was heartbreaking and it proved to me, that hurting innocent people because you're struggling yourself is not an unforgivable thing as long as the character genuinly feels bad about it and doesn't hate the other person for it (looking at you, Pharinet!).

I have to add that I think that Tayven is probably the most compelling character in this trilogy. He surprised me at nearly every turn. He was marvelous. After reading this book, the only thing I wanted was for him to get happy ending.

This is a story about how those four characters try to manage to get a magical quest done, while all of them have their own dreams, plans and secrets going on.

So basically all of this was great. There were awesome little tidbits of world building and a lot of quotable things, that made me think.

The problem with this (and the first book) was, that it was so damn inconsistent. It could go from super interesting to boring for 10 pages in the blink of an eye. Sometimes the characters talked endlessly about their philosophies for some reasons that had nothing to do with the plot. Sometimes scenes would be so beautifully intimate that I felt like an intruder, while other times important character beats would happen off page, because the wrong POV character witnessed it (especially annoying in (potentially) intimate scenes between Khaster and Tayven and even worse Taropat/Khaster and Tayven, but I'm suspecting that's cause of the subject matter? It's almost two decades old by now afterall.).

And don't even get me started on the timeline. It makes no sense. Months passed. Years passed. How many? I don't know! Somehow some characters didn't get any older, while others did - but not as old as they should be by now.

All in all this was a good, if a bit strange, second book in a trilogy worth reading.

[Elizabeth Reuter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book two of The Magravandias Chronicles continues showing us hero Valraven's development, and the kingdom of Magravandias's corruption, through the eyes of characters who would be sidekicks in most fantasy novels: Valraven's best friend Khaster, Khaster's apprentice Shan, and Khaster's lover Tayven.

Like with book one--which had me rushing to grab this book because I loved it so much--the sensual, evocative writing focuses on character's lives and attachments. Happenings like war, death, and magic class/battles are shown as things that effect the characters, rather than important events in themselves.

Unfortunately, about three-quarters of the way in the book slows because Constantine broke the cardinal writing rule: show, don't tell. Having her characters sit in a circle waiting for mystical visions, and then open their eyes and just talking about what they saw, was dull and ineffective.

Fortunately, it didn't last, and as the visions were important to the later story, it's worth getting through those scenes and moving on.

-Elizabeth Reuter
Author, The Demon of Renaissance Drive

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally flips away from the main group in the first book, but does follow Khaster/Taropat and Tayven's story along with Merlan, and brings in a new important character, which will come together in the third and final book. Enjoyed the esoteric aspects, throughout, though the book didn't hold me as well. Took a couple of weeks to get through it.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part two of the trilogy has a very different tone and the bigger picture of the story starts to be revealed. I enjoyed this less than the first book, but not by much! The direction has changed, new characters are introduced and more of the final destination starts to be clearer.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the Chronicles of Magravandias trilogy takes us on a quest for the crown of silence, which can only be used properly by the true king.
The characters are all flawed and real people and the story is wonderfully complex.

[Abi Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book to drag slightly and skipped a bit of it because of this but i liked the relationship between Tayven and Khaster and actually Tayven kept me interested in this novel, but not enough for me to carry on with the series.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing story

[Jenine]

It just occurred to me that the title is reminiscent of the Cone of Silence in Get Smart. Heh.

[Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Registrei um livro no BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14094465

[Andromeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one as well, though the characters are a little less interesting (no Varencienne or Pharinet, and Valraven only makes a token appearance near the middle of the book - the protagonists are Merlan and a new character, instead). There is a lot more action, however, and less exposition.

Overall, I prefer Sea Dragon Heir, but it's still definitely worth a read.