A Telling of Stars

by Caitlin Sweet

At eighteen, Jaele's life is shattered when her family is murdered by a band of Raiders, members of a long-accursed race. Overwhelmed by rage and grief, alone for the first time in her life, and fuelled by childhood myths of a warrior queen, Jaele sets out on an epic quest for vengeance. Traveling through a kaleidoscope of cultures, some compassionate, some fierce, all remarkably fantastic yet potently real, she sheds her innocence, but none of her experiences prepare her for her ultimate confrontation with her enemy. A Telling of Stars was recommended by the jury panel of the 2004 Sunburst Award and included in Locus Magazine's top 10 first novel recommended reading list in 2003.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Caitlin Sweet’s first fantasy novel, A Telling of Stars, was published by Penguin Canada in 2003. Her second, The Silences of Home, was published in 2005. Between them, they were nominated for Aurora Awards, a Locus Best First Novel Award, long-listed for the Sunburst Award, and ranked in the top 5 of SFSite’s Best Novels of 2005. For a few years she was deluded enough to think that she might write some epic trilogies. Eventually she returned to her senses and wrote a stand-alone novel, The Pattern Scars, which was published in fall 2011 by ChiZine Publications. In 2014 came The Door in the Mountain (which won the Copper Cylinder Award), and in 2015, its sequel, The Flame in the Maze. You can find her blog at www.caitlinsweet.com.

Reviews

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is gorgeous. I mean that quite literally--the writing is lush and lovely and jeweled, like Dunsany, or Clark Ashton Smith, or Patricia McKillip. The world of the story is full of prodigal invention, without being overwhelming or confusing.
The plot is very nearly anti-fantasy. Jaele is the daughter of a fisher family, enraptured by stories of the warrior queen Galha, who defeated and banished the Sea Raiders. When a party of Raiders murder her family, she takes her father's dagger and goes for vengeance, trailing the outcast Raider who cut her mother's throat. Along the way, she meets strange peoples and strange people. She tells them of her quest, and they feed her, sympathise, bind her wounds, tell her their own stories, befriend her and sometimes fall in love with her, but none of them join her quest or follow her banner. When she finally confronts the man who's been her target and (in a way) her companion all along, it doesn't go as expected, and that isn't where the story ends, either. The resolution isn't about her revenge, and it isn't about her falling in love (though she does both).
Not everyone will enjoy Telling (gosh, as if there's any book that everyone enjoys). Some readers will find it frustrating, and Jaele isn't easy to like, in her single-minded absorption. It's beautifully written, it's thoroughly imagined, and it messes with the reader's expectations. So much will depend on your tolerance for being messed with.

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some conventional fantasy aspects--fantastic land, medieval-like setting, revenge/quest, important dagger, beautiful young protagonists. Some beautiful writing.

This book felt weird. Strange thing is, this story stuck with me for some time after.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a weird book. The writing was beautiful and created a detailed picture of setting. The story-line seemed "normal" ( a young woman's parents and brother are killed by raiders from a far land and she sets out to find vengence) but there are twists that are a little too weird and not fully explained. The language was beautiful but it was treading water and going nowhere. Read the book, you'll see what I mean. If you don't see what I mean, message me and update me about what I missed.

[Laura May · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 46%. After the Pattern Scars made such a huge impression on me, I wanted to love this book. Alas, it turned out to be super boring, with little meat to the characters and little to no dramatic tension.

[K. Counihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written Quest Story

The writing in this book is top-notch. It is a lyrical quest story about a young girl who seeks vengeance against the man who killed her family. The story takes you thru many unique highly imagined worlds.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book in the genre of literary fantasy with all the usual trappings and include a strong female protagonist.

[Lorina Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always a pleasure to delve into the detailed, gorgeous story-telling of Caitlin Sweet; A Telling of Stars and Silences of Home are no exception to that experience.

In these two linked novels Sweet reveals an epic story spanning centuries, with actions that echo through generations with devastating effect.

In the first, A Telling of Stars, we are introduced to the young woman, Jaele, who has suffered a terrorist attack on her fishing village, with the terrorists a long-accursed race from across the sea. In her quest for vengeance, she crosses her country to the sea, following in the footsteps of a legendary queen, the author of the curse which brought terrorists raiding Jaele’s village.

The story, however, is so much more than a blood-debt. Sweet examines the rejection of contentment, acceptance, and peace in the face of irrationality and shattering grief. The writing is lyrical without being purple, the environmental detail precise and revealing without hampering the narrative. This is, frankly, storytelling at its best.

Silences of Home is the prequel to A Telling of Stars, and the framework of the story deals with the origin of the curse brought down upon the Raiders. It is a complex and compelling story, examining power, deceit and the ambiguities of love. There are shattering moments. And there are moments of redemption.

If you like fantasy which pushes the boundaries, which makes no excuse for intelligence and imagination, I urge you to consider these two novels by Sweet. You won’t be disappointed.

[Melissa Larson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The language is lovely in spots, but it's also incredibly dense. I was nearly a third in and it felt like nothing was happening except that we were moving from one incredibly beautiful locale to another. I'm going to use a word I hate when people use it reference to my plays, but here it goes — this novel is hugely cinematic. I think it would be beautiful to look at when shot on film, but reading it got truly frustrating. The plot-minded part of my mind — ha — got bored because it felt like nothing was happening.


Sorry, folks, I've got a lot on my plate, and this one didn't do it for me, so I didn't finish it. I love the concept, though! And the title. It's a fabulous title, even if I have no idea what it means.

[Sandy]

At eighteen, Jaele's life is shattered when her family is murdered by a band of raiders, members of a long-accursed race. Overwhelmed by rage and grief, alone for the first time in her life, and fuelled by childhood myths of a warrior queen, Jaele sets out on an epic quest for vengeance. With lyricism and imaginative power, A Telling of Stars explores the nature of love, grief and mourning. In Jaele, first-time novelist Caitlin Sweet has created a passionate, immensely affecting heroine. Jaele follows her heart, sometimes bravely, sometimes foolishly, and in the course of her quest, attains a difficult and liberating wisdom.

[Christine Ku · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads a lot of an odyssey of a young girl after severe loss. I like the author’s prose, the dreamy quality of the story that is consistent with my conception of the disorienting effect of sudden, overwhelming grief. I think I am onto reading the other book by this author set in the same world but with another character. Not sure whether I'll do it this year or not but it’s on my TBR list.

[pearl]

This looks kind of cheesy, mostly because I don't read fantasy fiction much anymore, but at the same time I did read an excerpt, and the language was indeed as lovely as others have mentioned. I dunno. I'll library this one eventually, perhaps.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was an epic journey the main character undertook - definitely fantastical. Some parts were very descriptive and beautiful. others I found too rough. I would have liked a little more explanation of the Iben, but maybe that will happen in the prequel.

[Kelly Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! I bawled like a babe-in-arms at the end. A book written like dark chocolate- bittersweet.

[Sara Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story.

[Kathard1000 smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't read until the end, wasn't going anywhere...I returned it.

[l · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dorin arc was disappointing tbh. Otherwise quite beautiful.

[Lowed · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far, it's a roller coaster ride! Writing style was exquisite but I did not feel like the story was going anywhere. I may need to revisit if I have time.