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Jaarfindor #1
The Twisted Root of Jaarfindor
Lia-Va is an eighteen year old addict - a black sword-wielding princess who has claimed her throne the traditional way of her people: by killing her father in a bloody battle. From the golden steps of Elriad's White Citadel she embarks on a strange and blood-thirsty journey aboard the pirate hovering sky-ship, Voyeur. She is driven to hunt down the fabled and fabulous twisted root which legend claims is hidden beneath Brafindor’s Church of Our Lady in its chilling catacombs. She is obsessed with her root addiction, cares nothing for the throne or loyal subjects she leaves behind, and will not stop until she gets what she wants.
Islan is a mysterious mute stranger. Lia-Va has hired him as her protector, her back-eyes, as she calls him. But there is more to the gangly silent loner than the renegade princess could ever bargain for.
Islan is a mysterious mute stranger. Lia-Va has hired him as her protector, her back-eyes, as she calls him. But there is more to the gangly silent loner than the renegade princess could ever bargain for.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 23, 2020
At least that was a short read - more of a novella than a novel.
The basic story: MC seeks a McGuffin that is super-powerful and could alter the world significantly in a very, very bad way if the wrong people get their hands on it.
So stripped down like that, it sounds like the sort of basic tale that Howard or Leiber or Moorcock could've made an entertaining short story from 60 or more years ago. Unfortunately, the author has thrown in a whole bunch of other fantastical elements that really tore the story to pieces in my opinion.
The main character, Lia-Va, is a seven foot tall, black warrior princess. She's also a drug addict who's abandoned her people to quest for 'roots', the source of her addiction. I assumed roots were some sort of vegetable but are vomited up by someone at the moment of death, so I imagined people coughing up a parsnip as they die. You're welcome for that mental image. Unfortunately she's also an irritating bitch who I started actively disliking before getting to the end. I realise the author wanted to write a character that was totally different to the princess stereotype, but I badly wanted her to get some sort of epiphany or failing that, a slap.
The setting is just confused, a real mish-mash of fantasy and sci-fi; there are swords and magic but also sky-ships, ray guns and a whole host of different races: shamutants, hunky punks, drith, beast-bots and various 'insectiant' types are all mentioned, but none are described or explained in any detail. I couldn't get any idea of how this place was supposed to work, and I suspect the author didn't care. Oh, and although he mentions in the afterword that the story's meant to be set in a distant past that might have been rather than the future, there are references to our own world which jar violently, such as the Eiffel Tower or 'May West' which I assume from the context is a misspelling of the actress Mae West - shame the author didn't have two seconds to check that on the internet.
I will give the author kudos for the roots - the idea of a drug that can 'replay' a character's last memories in your head if you stick the root in your arm was an interesting one, I thought, but it was only a small interesting piece in a story that I found frustrating and ultimately pointless.
So it didn't work for me but if it sounds like your sort of thing then go for it. Be warned that it's rated 15+ for the language and drug use.
The basic story: MC seeks a McGuffin that is super-powerful and could alter the world significantly in a very, very bad way if the wrong people get their hands on it.
So stripped down like that, it sounds like the sort of basic tale that Howard or Leiber or Moorcock could've made an entertaining short story from 60 or more years ago. Unfortunately, the author has thrown in a whole bunch of other fantastical elements that really tore the story to pieces in my opinion.
The main character, Lia-Va, is a seven foot tall, black warrior princess. She's also a drug addict who's abandoned her people to quest for 'roots', the source of her addiction. I assumed roots were some sort of vegetable but are vomited up by someone at the moment of death, so I imagined people coughing up a parsnip as they die. You're welcome for that mental image. Unfortunately she's also an irritating bitch who I started actively disliking before getting to the end. I realise the author wanted to write a character that was totally different to the princess stereotype, but I badly wanted her to get some sort of epiphany or failing that, a slap.
The setting is just confused, a real mish-mash of fantasy and sci-fi; there are swords and magic but also sky-ships, ray guns and a whole host of different races: shamutants, hunky punks, drith, beast-bots and various 'insectiant' types are all mentioned, but none are described or explained in any detail. I couldn't get any idea of how this place was supposed to work, and I suspect the author didn't care. Oh, and although he mentions in the afterword that the story's meant to be set in a distant past that might have been rather than the future, there are references to our own world which jar violently, such as the Eiffel Tower or 'May West' which I assume from the context is a misspelling of the actress Mae West - shame the author didn't have two seconds to check that on the internet.
I will give the author kudos for the roots - the idea of a drug that can 'replay' a character's last memories in your head if you stick the root in your arm was an interesting one, I thought, but it was only a small interesting piece in a story that I found frustrating and ultimately pointless.
So it didn't work for me but if it sounds like your sort of thing then go for it. Be warned that it's rated 15+ for the language and drug use.
September 27, 2022
It's a decent idea, but also feels like they threw everything at the wall to see what would stick.
May 17, 2016
Avoid like the plague. The one good aspect of this is the concept of the roots, but that may well be the novelty factor considering that most fantasy novels don't deal with drugs a huge amount. The rest of the novel is an utter mess. There isn't anywhere near enough room for the author to properly explore the world that he's created, so the experience is less coherence and more sheltering from the word-vomit of fantasy terms flung the reader's way. The characters are a bit too simplistic and one in particular is mysterious for absolutely no reason and jeopardises the entire journey in the process. And finally, when the author is too lazy to think up more than one description for the sky, then you know that you're onto a loser. Not worth the paper it's printed on quite honestly.
March 24, 2021
I have finished re-reading this novella for the second time. I first read it when it was published and thought that is was average. But in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic I have revisited Sean Wright's book. I was blow away by the parallels with today's world view. The protagonist, Lia-Va, could be a female Donald Trump! She is positively evil, ruthless and self-centered. I wont spoil the many plot twists, but this is certainly a fantastic read. Fast paced and gripping. Loved every mad minute of it!
March 1, 2023
A good idea but felt a little rushed at the end.
October 4, 2010
Not to my taste - feels like an attempt at "new weird" but without enough description to actually picture or understand what on earth is going on ...
At least it's short.
At least it's short.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews