Shy Leopardess

The Neustrian Cycle #3

by Leslie Barringer, George Barr (Cover Art)

The Last and Best of the Neustrian Books! In this highly-acclaimed fantasy classic and sequel to Gerfalcon and Joris of the Rock, a young woman comes into her own and finds true amidst danger, intrigue, and war. You'll find impeccable writing, rich characterization, an uncommon complexity of detail, and scenes as thrilling as any in fantasy literature. "Away beyond the bulk of steel, a brush-tipped tail was waving--huge claws, fully extended, furrowed the smooth sand. The red cavern of a mouth had shut and was opening again. Four deadly corner-fangs, like white pickaxe-blades, ridged grinders ranked behind, a curling tongue like a flat, flayed serpent--a brown chin-tuft brushing the ground--another roar that filled the world? The great shape rose and blotted out the sunlight, Lioncel was already whirling the axe, and flung it hard and true. The roar was twisted to a scream as he ripped out the short sword. Then he was shocked and overborne, crusted and banged and battered; great claws screeched on metal, a hot stink blasted into his helm, and he saw the lion's palate, ridged like a red tidal beach, above him." Filled with the same kind of poetry and song that helped make The Lord of the Rings famous, the Neustrian Cycle is one of fantasy's most beloved works. Mithradates call it "Head-and-shoulders above any writing marketed as 'fantasy' today. I am nearing the end of the entire trilogy, and regretting that end is near. The next rereading will not be very far in the future."

Genres: Fantasy

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Marie Winger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too bad this is the most obscure of the three Nuestrian Cycle because it is probably the best. Bar ringer wrote this third volume 20 years after the first two. In the interim he had many different jobs that honed his writing talent. The plot is richer, the characters strong, the language more fluid. This book received even less public attention than the first two. I really liked the main character, Yolanda, the shy leopardess of the title. This is a coming of age story as much as one of political intrigue and revenge. A little daring for the times perhaps with such a strong female character who rebels against the social constraints of her time. All three volumes of the Nuestrian Cycle are available as ebooks. If you are a hardcore fantasy fan I encourage you to seek them out and read some of the early "fantasy" classics.

[Matthew Morrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I prefer Gerfalcon, many would say Shy Leopardess is better. In some aspects, I agree. The friendship quality is a uniquely driving factor in the story, while the tension between the "Leopardess" we follow and her two best friends, never overwhelm you with "who's going to get the girl". There is not a moment when you think one friend might betray the other just because of some girl, a common trope nowadays just to cause tension; instead, friendship is friendship - period.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written decades after the first two Neustrian books, Shy Leopardess combines Barringer's earlier strengths with greater depth and maturity. The heroine Yolande is one of the most fully realized and engaging characters in fantasy, and her coming of age is handled so adroitly I hardly noticed how much she'd grown throughout the novel until I reached the end and looked back to the beginning. The minor characters are drawn just as skillfully, and the plot manages the neat trick of assembling a series of plausible events into a satisfying arc that never feels prodded into being. The villain is disappointingly cardboard, and I missed the supernatural element that was more present in the first two books, but I would give a 4 1/2 star rating if that were an option.

[Mary Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1948 in Great Britain, this is part three of Leslie Barringer's Neustrian Cycle. Parts one and two are set in a thinly disguised medieval France and suffer from stilted dialog and stiff characters. Barringer wrote this twenty years after the others - it is essentially a standalone novel in the same world - and the writing is far more fluid and relaxed. Yolanda the Duchess schemes to be free of her horrible husband Balthasar and falls in love with her two pages, Lioncel and Diomede. Balthasar comes to a well-deserved bad end.

[Ronald Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very satisfying read. Excellant sequel that truly stands alone as its own story but is enriched by its place in a trilogy.