Yaril's Children

by Marcia J. Bennett

When the young weirling Kalna innocently saves the life of a human prince, he becomes caught in the middle of a dark plot to turn weir and human against each other

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 12, 1988

About the author

Marcia Joanne Bennett

Reviews

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kalna is one of the weirfolk, a mostly human race with beast-like attributes and strange powers. When he saves Ard, a human prince, from strange enemies, he sets both of them on a journey that will change the course of their lives. For the enemy that pursues them is enemy to human and weir both, and unless both races can put aside their hatred they both risk destruction.

Sorry for the lousy summary... the gist of it is, the only ones who want Ard and Kalna to be friends are Ard and Kalna themselves. The book has nice balance between both races; Kalna spends quite a bit of time in Ard's country, and Ard faces similar treatment in Kalna's. The culture of Ard's people is not as explicitly spelled out, but as Ard's culture draws on so many familiar elements, I think that was the right decision. Compounding the problem from both ends, Kalna forged a bond between himself and Ard when he saved the older man's life.

The bonding concept is not a new one, but I adore how it plays out. Here are two men who tie their minds, emotions, and possibly souls together . . . and they're not homosexual. It is a relationship between brothers. It is very clearly familial, not sexual.

The Yorrga reminded me of those old African spirit masks, and they worked until I leaned the backstory behind them. Honestly, does every fantasy world have to tie to Earth somehow? Why the reluctance to claim magic when the opening pages introduce Kalna with him using darkling fire?

The ending does not tie up well. When Ard is left in the tunnel and Kalna is running for help. . . the scene should NOT flip to four days later without showing any of what went on in between. It's a cheap way out. And there are so many loose ends in the grand scheme of things that the book begs a sequel. And a brief search online tells me there isn't one, and this was written long enough ago that there probably won't be one. Also as a more minor note there were a number of what I shall believe are typographical errors, as they were mostly one-offs and not consistently repeating.

Overall, if only for the unique flavor of weir life and the bond that Ard and Kalna form, this is a book worth reading. It has restored my faith in the clearance rack. *grins* Recommended.

[Chris Peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

... This was a pretty good story--very different from Bennett's Ni-Lach books--but I had some issues with it. Spoilers and stuff!!!!


So, first off, it starts with some serious conflict. Two peoples on the verge of war!!! Murder and destruction across the countryside!!!! Death all around!!!!! And then let's just go take a months-long break.... While there is a threat that ancient treaties are about to be sundered, and epic battles begun, nothing really manifests. So it really is just an empty threat. Either it wasn't that serious of an issue, or the story ran out of steam.

And at the end, this huge conspiracy and potential war just suddenly gets all wrapped up and concluded--at least, that's the feeling that I got; however, nothing is actually concluded. There are TONS of issues that are left unresolved. Either this was a set-up for a sequel which never happened, or a lot of stuff just got dropped at the end.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just what I'd expect from Marcia J. Bennett! I'm always tickled to read her books, and greatly enjoyed her series about the Ni-lach! This book, however, falls a tiny bit short of that series, but is still great in and of itself.

I really like the subdued gay of this book. One of my fav things about sci-fi/fantasy is the way it can subvert it's own gay! The main character in this book is a mutant with a mental tie to a human, which makes for lovely emotional issues.

Anyway, I think this is the only book of her's that I hadn't read, so now I'm sad cause there's nothing left... Perhaps I'll mail the author and shake my fist at her. This book could use a sequel!

[Catfantastic]

This is my third time reading this book. The first time I was thirteen. The second time, I was I think twenty-two. I guess it says something, that I keep coming back to it.

I find the first third of it very engaging; I always do. I like these characters. I want to spend time with them. But the last third just sort of fizzles. No spoilers, but I feel like I'm locked in a closet, listening to other people discussing the things I really want to know about, while the narrator sows anxiety about a fate-worse-than-death scenario that is, as far as I can see, utterly indistinguishable from teen angst.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember really liking the Ni-lach books by Bennett when I was younger. But I have to admit that this book just didn't do anything for me.

The worldbuilding was good. But the storytelling itself was really lacking. It seemed like there were a lot of opportunities for dramatic tension that were wasted....