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Tekumel #4
Prince of Skulls
Enter the world of Tékumel, where the planes of existence are easily crossed and the skeins of fate twist and turn. Hársan, linguist and priest of the god of wisdom, is sent on a diplomatic mission beyond the frontiers of the Empire of the Petal Throne. He and his companions are caught in a skirmish with ferocious foes, both human and alien, and flee in an ancient underground tubeway car in order to save a spoiled and petulant N'lüss princess. Arriving in distant Ghatón, they discover a plan that could change the very future of Tékumel. And this is only the beginning of their adventures...
193 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 4, 2014
Just finished re-reading this book as I'm re-reading the series. So far this is the least satisfying of the first four novels. I don't want to write any spoilers, though.
In this book, Barker continues his habit of whisking the characters all over the place. By the fourth book, that habit is getting old. Perhaps he has the urge to give us a tour of his world. OK, up to a point. But what he gives us isn't very much, and it's very like the superficial representation you'd get in a role-playing game. Which it is.
Secondly, he's giving some of the characters from prior books another toddle on the stage. They come, they go. This also has gotten tiresome. They aren't nearly as compelling in this book. In fact, I have to say that I wasn't really that involved in the characters, who came across as two-dimensional. And as I've said, they don't seem all that consistent with their prior presentations. The other thing is, shuffling them on and off-stage has become rather overtly like having a player not show up for the weekly game, so you shuffle his character out of the action. It's just a bit too transparent. For instance, he has one character removed from the group temporarily, just when they're about to go on another jaunt. A demon/goddess mentions in passing that she had the character slipped an emetic so she'd be nauseous and not come along. Really? It jarred me right out of the narrative.
Which brings up the rather blatant deus ex machina that Barker is gettin more and more comfortable with. Super-powers seem to have a habit of interfering with the plot and protagonists, rather conveniently in terms of dealing with loose ends, and hurrying us along to the next plot point. It's getting weak, it's getting old.
Oh, and there are some awful story inconsistencies used to wrap this puppy up in the last few chapters. Again, I won't insert spoilers here, but if you read the series and you've got to this part, you'll know exactly what I mean.
And finally, I did not enjoy how he left things on the personal level for the main protagonists. Perhaps Barker was in a bad mood (from what I know, he could certainly be moody). Not satisfying for the reader.
So some interesting bits, nice to journey to Tekumel again, but a lot to find fault with. In my opinion, of course.
In this book, Barker continues his habit of whisking the characters all over the place. By the fourth book, that habit is getting old. Perhaps he has the urge to give us a tour of his world. OK, up to a point. But what he gives us isn't very much, and it's very like the superficial representation you'd get in a role-playing game. Which it is.
Secondly, he's giving some of the characters from prior books another toddle on the stage. They come, they go. This also has gotten tiresome. They aren't nearly as compelling in this book. In fact, I have to say that I wasn't really that involved in the characters, who came across as two-dimensional. And as I've said, they don't seem all that consistent with their prior presentations. The other thing is, shuffling them on and off-stage has become rather overtly like having a player not show up for the weekly game, so you shuffle his character out of the action. It's just a bit too transparent. For instance, he has one character removed from the group temporarily, just when they're about to go on another jaunt. A demon/goddess mentions in passing that she had the character slipped an emetic so she'd be nauseous and not come along. Really? It jarred me right out of the narrative.
Which brings up the rather blatant deus ex machina that Barker is gettin more and more comfortable with. Super-powers seem to have a habit of interfering with the plot and protagonists, rather conveniently in terms of dealing with loose ends, and hurrying us along to the next plot point. It's getting weak, it's getting old.
Oh, and there are some awful story inconsistencies used to wrap this puppy up in the last few chapters. Again, I won't insert spoilers here, but if you read the series and you've got to this part, you'll know exactly what I mean.
And finally, I did not enjoy how he left things on the personal level for the main protagonists. Perhaps Barker was in a bad mood (from what I know, he could certainly be moody). Not satisfying for the reader.
So some interesting bits, nice to journey to Tekumel again, but a lot to find fault with. In my opinion, of course.
February 23, 2019
Hooray - this book contains a map. The first two in the series don't. The third novel may, but the copy I read did not.
Now for the bad news - I was disappointed with this book.
Characters from the previous three novels are brought together for this iteration and are again plunged into a fight to survive in circumstances beyond their control. I was a little disappointed that the plot device from a previous novel was re-introduced, but I was prepared to let that pass.
I found some sections seemed to jump, or somehow lacked connection with the preceding passages. I wondered if this occurred in the writing process, or in the editing. I had to keep skipping back to see if I had missed something.
I still found it interesting as more of the deeper mysteries of the setting were explored. More lands in the great northern continent of Tekumel were visited. The story evolved to bring the lead character into an unwinnable situation. How could they possibly extricate themselves from such a situation?
How, indeed. I found the conclusion most disappointing: a deus ex machina, or perhaps an emporer ex machina. It was just too unlikely, and too convenient, to be credible.
I would recommend this novel to those with a deep interest in this incredibly detailed fabulous world.
Now for the bad news - I was disappointed with this book.
Characters from the previous three novels are brought together for this iteration and are again plunged into a fight to survive in circumstances beyond their control. I was a little disappointed that the plot device from a previous novel was re-introduced, but I was prepared to let that pass.
I found some sections seemed to jump, or somehow lacked connection with the preceding passages. I wondered if this occurred in the writing process, or in the editing. I had to keep skipping back to see if I had missed something.
I still found it interesting as more of the deeper mysteries of the setting were explored. More lands in the great northern continent of Tekumel were visited. The story evolved to bring the lead character into an unwinnable situation. How could they possibly extricate themselves from such a situation?
How, indeed. I found the conclusion most disappointing: a deus ex machina, or perhaps an emporer ex machina. It was just too unlikely, and too convenient, to be credible.
I would recommend this novel to those with a deep interest in this incredibly detailed fabulous world.
July 8, 2018
I did not enjoy this book. The story follows the same character from Flamesong who doesn’t have any distinguishable character other than his honor and loyalty to his god and being fed up with being caught in schemes.
The characters go places and things happen to them. The plot overall doesn’t make much sense? And the twists seem more arbitrary than meaningful.
Read this if you are invested in the game world because at least Barker spends extra effort on exposition about the world and culture. Otherwise, skip it.
The characters go places and things happen to them. The plot overall doesn’t make much sense? And the twists seem more arbitrary than meaningful.
Read this if you are invested in the game world because at least Barker spends extra effort on exposition about the world and culture. Otherwise, skip it.
May 9, 2016
A wonderful story in a captivating world, Professor Barker pulls of another wild adventure in the world of Tekumel. The only distraction was the layout of the book which for me made it difficult to read.
January 11, 2010
While it has all the versimilitude expected--a wealth of deep detail that both draws in the reader and intimidates--it shares so many features with the previous books that one wonders what the author has left.
Again, a group of disparate, unlikely people are forced to travel together on a journey they have no control over, and wind up in a series of dangerous locations. Eventually they get drawn into larger affairs of global consequence. This describes 99% of the fantasy adventures out there, in this case the author uses exactly the same device as before: a necessary escape by the ancient tubeway system that takes them into distant lands.
What's more, the story's crash ending disappoints. The entire later part of the book pits the protagonists against the varied and powerful forces of Prince Dhich'une, where it is clear that Dhich'une's goal is to unleash catastrophic destruction upon the world...until, at the very end, it suddenly isn't, and he instruments the rescue of everyone.
I'll likely finish the series, or whatever eventually becomes available, but I despair of the author revealing the secrets of his setting. It is not clear from this work that he is working towards any goal in that regard.
Again, a group of disparate, unlikely people are forced to travel together on a journey they have no control over, and wind up in a series of dangerous locations. Eventually they get drawn into larger affairs of global consequence. This describes 99% of the fantasy adventures out there, in this case the author uses exactly the same device as before: a necessary escape by the ancient tubeway system that takes them into distant lands.
What's more, the story's crash ending disappoints. The entire later part of the book pits the protagonists against the varied and powerful forces of Prince Dhich'une, where it is clear that Dhich'une's goal is to unleash catastrophic destruction upon the world...until, at the very end, it suddenly isn't, and he instruments the rescue of everyone.
I'll likely finish the series, or whatever eventually becomes available, but I despair of the author revealing the secrets of his setting. It is not clear from this work that he is working towards any goal in that regard.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews