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Starcats #2
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles
Sequel A judgment of dragons.
299 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1982
32 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Gotlieb
57 books25 followersPhyllis Fay Gotlieb, née Bloom, BA, MA was a Canadian science fiction novelist and poet.
The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst. Three years before Sunburst was published, Gotlieb published the pamphlet Who Knows One, a collection of poems. Gotlieb won the Aurora Award for Best Novel in 1982 for her novel A Judgement of Dragons.
She was married to Calvin Gotlieb, a computer science professor, and lived in Toronto, Ontario.
The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst. Three years before Sunburst was published, Gotlieb published the pamphlet Who Knows One, a collection of poems. Gotlieb won the Aurora Award for Best Novel in 1982 for her novel A Judgement of Dragons.
She was married to Calvin Gotlieb, a computer science professor, and lived in Toronto, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2024
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles, published in 1982, is the second volume in Phillis Gotlieb’s Ungrukh Trilogy, following A Judgement of Dragons. Her other earlier science fiction novels were Sunburst and O Master Caliban! However, Emperor, Swords, Pentacles is the first of Gotlieb’s novels to be written in the fully developed style of her later, masterful Lyhhrt Trilogy.
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles features starring roles by the daughter and son-in-law of Prandra and Khreng from A Judgement of Dragons, Emerald and Raanung. Gotlieb’s brilliant characterization of these highly intelligent cats is one of the joys of this book—as it was in A Judgement of Dragons. She writes, “Ungrukh are prime realists. This quality gives them the little humility they have” (p. 147).
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles also introduces a new sentient species, the Qsaprinli, with a passage explaining how they evolved and became “human.” Gotlieb concludes,
And then, to clarify absolutely, “… the Qsaprinli had become human” (p. 71).
Here, for the first time, I have located Gotlieb’s affirmation of her original conception of all sentient beings as human: all sentient species are examples of The People. This perspective is obvious throughout the Lyhhrt Trilogy, but it must be deduced, as Gotlieb does not state it explicitly—here, in this earlier novel, she does.
The story follows the struggle to release the Qsaprinli homeworld from the grip of a ruthless criminal organization, largely consisting of Solthrees, led by grotesque villain, Thorndecker. The evil Thorndecker is one of many other joys of this novel. He reminded me very much of Dicken’s Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop.
The story is complex and difficult to follow. However, the texture and quality of the language in almost any of Gotlieb’s short chapters is such that it can be read with pleasure as a standalone scene.
Every chapter is titled with the name of a Tarot card or phrase related to the Tarot. Indeed, one of the characters, Anika, is a professional Tarot reader. I didn’t try much to interpret the Tarot references as I read through Emperor, Swords, Pentacles, but I am certain that they are relevant and interesting. The book needs to be studied and read several times, I think, to be appreciated fully.
Of the other joys in this book are Threya, a Khagodi, the species that will play such a large role in the Lyhhrt Trilogy, and the “Frogs,” genetically altered Solthrees who can breathe through gills. The Frogs are struggling to be recognized as humans with rights and not slaves, foreshadowing a main theme in the Lyhhrt Trilogy.
Possibly Phyllis Gotlieb is an acquired taste. I didn’t understand her books when I first started reading them. However, I’m fully acclimatized to Gotlieb now, and I found much in Emperor, Swords, Pentacles to be clever, interesting, and unique. It stands with the Lyhhrt Trilogy as a fine example of Gotlieb’s mature style.
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles features starring roles by the daughter and son-in-law of Prandra and Khreng from A Judgement of Dragons, Emerald and Raanung. Gotlieb’s brilliant characterization of these highly intelligent cats is one of the joys of this book—as it was in A Judgement of Dragons. She writes, “Ungrukh are prime realists. This quality gives them the little humility they have” (p. 147).
Emperor, Swords, Pentacles also introduces a new sentient species, the Qsaprinli, with a passage explaining how they evolved and became “human.” Gotlieb concludes,
The Qsaprinli were not really Cephalopods, though they were formed mainly as heads surrounded by limbs, nor Crustaceans, though they had claws on their hind limbs, their belly-skin was hornlike, and their heads were rigid, nor vertebrates, though the cartilage frames that supported them were stiffened by calcium. For convenience they might be called reptilian, but what they were was one more form of The People, like all other sentient beings. (p. 68)
And then, to clarify absolutely, “… the Qsaprinli had become human” (p. 71).
Here, for the first time, I have located Gotlieb’s affirmation of her original conception of all sentient beings as human: all sentient species are examples of The People. This perspective is obvious throughout the Lyhhrt Trilogy, but it must be deduced, as Gotlieb does not state it explicitly—here, in this earlier novel, she does.
The story follows the struggle to release the Qsaprinli homeworld from the grip of a ruthless criminal organization, largely consisting of Solthrees, led by grotesque villain, Thorndecker. The evil Thorndecker is one of many other joys of this novel. He reminded me very much of Dicken’s Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop.
The story is complex and difficult to follow. However, the texture and quality of the language in almost any of Gotlieb’s short chapters is such that it can be read with pleasure as a standalone scene.
Every chapter is titled with the name of a Tarot card or phrase related to the Tarot. Indeed, one of the characters, Anika, is a professional Tarot reader. I didn’t try much to interpret the Tarot references as I read through Emperor, Swords, Pentacles, but I am certain that they are relevant and interesting. The book needs to be studied and read several times, I think, to be appreciated fully.
Of the other joys in this book are Threya, a Khagodi, the species that will play such a large role in the Lyhhrt Trilogy, and the “Frogs,” genetically altered Solthrees who can breathe through gills. The Frogs are struggling to be recognized as humans with rights and not slaves, foreshadowing a main theme in the Lyhhrt Trilogy.
Possibly Phyllis Gotlieb is an acquired taste. I didn’t understand her books when I first started reading them. However, I’m fully acclimatized to Gotlieb now, and I found much in Emperor, Swords, Pentacles to be clever, interesting, and unique. It stands with the Lyhhrt Trilogy as a fine example of Gotlieb’s mature style.
September 19, 2009
1982 SciFi, adventure, not much character depth
February 12, 2010
I read this when I was 13 and did not understand it. About 4 years later I liked it.
January 4, 2018
I'm finishing the trilogy with the second book.
I liked Emerald and her mate. I like the cat politics. I didn't care much for the twins. I liked some of the sidekicks.
I liked Emerald and her mate. I like the cat politics. I didn't care much for the twins. I liked some of the sidekicks.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews