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Lyremouth Chronicles #2
The Traitor and the Chalice
Tevi and Jemeryl, soldier and sorceress, must risk all in the race to uncover a traitor and retrieve the chalice that, in the wrong hands, could bestow dangerous powers.
A dark presence is threatening to uncover long hidden secrets, and the future of the whole Protectorate is at stake. Without allies to help them, Tevi and Jemeryl will need to rely totally on each other; something made all the more difficult when the rest of the world seems intent on pulling them apart. Events will force them to re-evaluate their assumptions about society and their places in it. Success will require making difficult choices, even while they battle for their lives.
Revised Edition.
A dark presence is threatening to uncover long hidden secrets, and the future of the whole Protectorate is at stake. Without allies to help them, Tevi and Jemeryl will need to rely totally on each other; something made all the more difficult when the rest of the world seems intent on pulling them apart. Events will force them to re-evaluate their assumptions about society and their places in it. Success will require making difficult choices, even while they battle for their lives.
Revised Edition.
335 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
12 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Jane Fletcher
21 books200 followersJane Fletcher is a GCLS award-winning writer and has also been short-listed for the Gaylactic Spectrum and Lambda Literary awards. She is author of two ongoing sets of fantasy/romance novels: the Celaeno series—The Walls of Westernfort, Rangers at Roadsend, The Temple at Landfall, Dynasty of Rogues, and Shadow of the Knife; and the Lyremouth Chronicles—The Exile and The Sorcerer, The Traitor and The Chalice, The Empress and The Acolyte, and The High Priest and the Idol.
Her love of fantasy began at the age of seven when she encountered Greek Mythology. This was compounded by a childhood spent clambering over every example of ancient masonry she could find (medieval castles, megalithic monuments, Roman villas). Her resolute ambition was to become an archaeologist when she grew up, so it was something of a surprise when she became a software engineer instead.
Born in Greenwich, London, in 1956, she now lives in southwest England where she keeps herself busy writing both computer software and fiction, although generally not at the same time.
Her love of fantasy began at the age of seven when she encountered Greek Mythology. This was compounded by a childhood spent clambering over every example of ancient masonry she could find (medieval castles, megalithic monuments, Roman villas). Her resolute ambition was to become an archaeologist when she grew up, so it was something of a surprise when she became a software engineer instead.
Born in Greenwich, London, in 1956, she now lives in southwest England where she keeps herself busy writing both computer software and fiction, although generally not at the same time.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 3, 2018
2 stars... Probably the most boring read of 2018 for me. The first book set up everything well enough that I thought this second book will be nothing but joy to read. Instead, I was mind-numbingly bored all throughout the book. I read in anticipation for it to get good but it never did.
More than half of the book is spent in an extremely boring port city where never anything happens. The main characters barely interact with each other because one of them is undercover and when they do meet it's either to share more boring information or to drop the extremely inventive line of all time "I love you." Their dialogue is dry and unimaginative.
Then there's Tevi, a woman that's strong as 5 men put together. There should be a lot of juicy fights, right? WRONG! She barely does anything in this second book. I wanted more fights like the bandit raid in the first book. Some excitement but, nope, nothing. The Checkov's gun was barely unholstered and then put back without nothing interesting ever happening. All Tevi does is get offended when Jemeryl says something wrong which then is resolved 5 seconds later when Jem explains herself. Their relationship just doesn't work, there is no spark, no chemistry there.
The murder mystery was boring. It takes too long to resolve and the main villain is also boring. The chase after the villain was disjointed, repetitive and boring. The mage fights were too esoteric and hard to understand and therefore boring.
The small-time skips are also weird and make the book harder to read. Same as the sudden POV changes without warning. And that word for word copy/pasted conversation from the first book in the middle of this book also seemed way out of place.
And what's up with the anti-climatic ending? I wanted for her to return and show her family who's the boss. Instead, she hides in a corner like she always did. Hero's journey? What hero's journey...
This book is just so... boring. Filled with lots of unfulfilled promise, unfortunately. Some reviewers mention that the first book is the weakest of the series. I disagree, I actually liked the first book far better than this trainwreck.
More than half of the book is spent in an extremely boring port city where never anything happens. The main characters barely interact with each other because one of them is undercover and when they do meet it's either to share more boring information or to drop the extremely inventive line of all time "I love you." Their dialogue is dry and unimaginative.
Then there's Tevi, a woman that's strong as 5 men put together. There should be a lot of juicy fights, right? WRONG! She barely does anything in this second book. I wanted more fights like the bandit raid in the first book. Some excitement but, nope, nothing. The Checkov's gun was barely unholstered and then put back without nothing interesting ever happening. All Tevi does is get offended when Jemeryl says something wrong which then is resolved 5 seconds later when Jem explains herself. Their relationship just doesn't work, there is no spark, no chemistry there.
The murder mystery was boring. It takes too long to resolve and the main villain is also boring. The chase after the villain was disjointed, repetitive and boring. The mage fights were too esoteric and hard to understand and therefore boring.
The small-time skips are also weird and make the book harder to read. Same as the sudden POV changes without warning. And that word for word copy/pasted conversation from the first book in the middle of this book also seemed way out of place.
And what's up with the anti-climatic ending? I wanted for her to return and show her family who's the boss. Instead, she hides in a corner like she always did. Hero's journey? What hero's journey...
This book is just so... boring. Filled with lots of unfulfilled promise, unfortunately. Some reviewers mention that the first book is the weakest of the series. I disagree, I actually liked the first book far better than this trainwreck.
April 8, 2016
While this book (book 2) has more excitement than the The Exile and the Sorcerer, I found myself liking book 1 more. That's not to say this book wasn't good, in fact it's great. I really seem to love Jane Fletcher's writing. Her Celaeno series was fantastic. I believe I gave all except one book, in that series, 5 stars. I've been totally sucked into this series too, and can't wait to read the rest.
I'm not going to go into a review about the characters and setting, as others have already. I just want people to know I recommend this book if your looking for a good f/f fantasy. You won't be disappointed!
I'm not going to go into a review about the characters and setting, as others have already. I just want people to know I recommend this book if your looking for a good f/f fantasy. You won't be disappointed!
May 31, 2018
This is a 2.5 stars rounded up to three.
This book is mostly confusing.
You switch from one scene to another so quickly you get lost.
You go from one great part to a pretty boring one and it goes on in a cycle.
The last part was the worse, with old sorcerer, hermaphrodite's dwarves and mad hermit.
I was dubious about the fact that sorcerer and non-magic user relationship are frown about by both sides... Seing the ratio sorcerer-main population, how are they supposed to have a life ? Especially knowing that any children's of theirs would probably be non magical. And a non magic parent reaction seemed weird. Do they all reject their own children that easily ?
Sorcerers should gave them a basic education and demystified the sorcerer myth. They would be avoiding that baby sorcerers are traumatized by their families during childhood.
This book is mostly confusing.
You switch from one scene to another so quickly you get lost.
You go from one great part to a pretty boring one and it goes on in a cycle.
The last part was the worse, with old sorcerer, hermaphrodite's dwarves and mad hermit.
I was dubious about the fact that sorcerer and non-magic user relationship are frown about by both sides... Seing the ratio sorcerer-main population, how are they supposed to have a life ? Especially knowing that any children's of theirs would probably be non magical. And a non magic parent reaction seemed weird. Do they all reject their own children that easily ?
Sorcerers should gave them a basic education and demystified the sorcerer myth. They would be avoiding that baby sorcerers are traumatized by their families during childhood.
September 9, 2012
The Traitor And the Chalice closes the first adventure with Tevi and Jemeryl in a beautifully woven story. I loved it not only for the romantic tale between the two main characters, but the prominent themes of classism and societal struggles with it. I look forward to reading more from this series. Fletcher has created a rich world where we can easily see our own faults and fears mirrored.
July 7, 2017
To sum it up in 3 words: I was bored.
The writing isn't bad, but there are so many unnecessary events to read through and so many plotholes to ignore. And most of all, I didn't care for Tevi and Jem after they initially got together in the first book. They just don't seem well-suited for one another. The combination of contrasts like brawn and brains can work, but in this case it just... doesn't. For most of the book Tevi with her warrior strength is reduced to sitting around and waiting for Jem to (mostly) single-handedly solve the mystery of the chalice theft mostly on her own. What little interaction they do have (Tevi is not allowed on the school grounds where Jem is investigating) serves only as a showcase for Jem to explain the mystery. This imbalance gets a little better towards the end when both find themselves (endlessly) trekking through wilderness and Tevi does most of the heavy lifting (literally).
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of suspense here. The whodunit falls flat and feels cobbled together, the final fight between Jem and the bad sorcerer isn't really exciting (Tevi is once again waiting outside) and over very quickly, every time someone gets injured they get better soon. You never get to worry if they'll make it or not. I just didn't get involved emotionally, and ultimately that's what I want from a book. I want to care about the characters, I want to know how the plot develops, I want to be entertained. Unfortunately, nada.
I think with more editing, a bit more work on the mystery and if Tevi hadn't been demoted to "passive/admiring/slightly worried onlooker", this could've been a decent book. Book 1 was promising but I won't be following the Lyremouth Chronicles any more.
The writing isn't bad, but there are so many unnecessary events to read through and so many plotholes to ignore. And most of all, I didn't care for Tevi and Jem after they initially got together in the first book. They just don't seem well-suited for one another. The combination of contrasts like brawn and brains can work, but in this case it just... doesn't. For most of the book Tevi with her warrior strength is reduced to sitting around and waiting for Jem to (mostly) single-handedly solve the mystery of the chalice theft mostly on her own. What little interaction they do have (Tevi is not allowed on the school grounds where Jem is investigating) serves only as a showcase for Jem to explain the mystery. This imbalance gets a little better towards the end when both find themselves (endlessly) trekking through wilderness and Tevi does most of the heavy lifting (literally).
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of suspense here. The whodunit falls flat and feels cobbled together, the final fight between Jem and the bad sorcerer isn't really exciting (Tevi is once again waiting outside) and over very quickly, every time someone gets injured they get better soon. You never get to worry if they'll make it or not. I just didn't get involved emotionally, and ultimately that's what I want from a book. I want to care about the characters, I want to know how the plot develops, I want to be entertained. Unfortunately, nada.
I think with more editing, a bit more work on the mystery and if Tevi hadn't been demoted to "passive/admiring/slightly worried onlooker", this could've been a decent book. Book 1 was promising but I won't be following the Lyremouth Chronicles any more.
September 8, 2017
For whatever reason, I do not seem as interested in writing reviews for Fletcher books. Not sure why.
So, the story continues here in part two of the series and . . . I come immediately to why I didn’t write anything – the only real thing I wanted to say was something too spoilery to say so . . .
Tevi and Jemeryl continue on their ‘quest’ to find this chalice thingie – separate but close. Portions of the book take place in a city that includes an encampment of . . um . . herbal sorceresses . . . I’ve forgotten now what their specific title is/was; in several locations outside the Protectorate, when they were chasing someone, then random running around that includes a spot of time inside mountains with small people.
By the way – that’s one of my main problems with the book – how they kept just almost catching the person they wanted to catch. But kept failing. Then capturing. Then losing. Then . . bloody hell. Gets tiring, it does.
But still, enjoyable enough book. And what I said in the spoiler above is why I haven’t gone on to the rest of the chronicles, despite already owning them. Seems pointless.
Rating: 3.75
January 24 2017
So, the story continues here in part two of the series and . . . I come immediately to why I didn’t write anything – the only real thing I wanted to say was something too spoilery to say so . . .
Tevi and Jemeryl continue on their ‘quest’ to find this chalice thingie – separate but close. Portions of the book take place in a city that includes an encampment of . . um . . herbal sorceresses . . . I’ve forgotten now what their specific title is/was; in several locations outside the Protectorate, when they were chasing someone, then random running around that includes a spot of time inside mountains with small people.
By the way – that’s one of my main problems with the book – how they kept just almost catching the person they wanted to catch. But kept failing. Then capturing. Then losing. Then . . bloody hell. Gets tiring, it does.
But still, enjoyable enough book. And what I said in the spoiler above is why I haven’t gone on to the rest of the chronicles, despite already owning them. Seems pointless.
Rating: 3.75
January 24 2017
January 8, 2011
The follow up to Fletcher's Exile and the Sorcerer continues the high quality of character that made the first book stand out. Again, the plotting is a bit subdued, the first half easily bettering the second. The first plays a bit like a Harry Potter novel, with a mystery set in a sorcerer's school. The second half is the two leads chasing down the Traitor of the title. While I did like this one about as much as the first, my only caveat would be Fletcher's somewhat anti-climactic plot resolutions. However, the whole affair is often light in nature, so it's not so bad.
August 2, 2011
Science fiction/fantasy adventure books by and about women, with single (unmarried), childless, female protagonists, and plots that do not sound like dystopian newspaper articles, are hard to find. So I was very pleased to find this one. It has a few unexpected turns, thoughtful development, and two adventuring women characters to follow. I only wish the author would write more books.
May 28, 2019
I am a fantasy buff and enjoy all kinds. I was looking forward to Book 2 in this series with Tevi And jemalya and while I liked it, it seemed a bit disjointed. It felt like the author wanted to get someplace and skipped over parts to get to it. I enjoyed her takes on immortality and gifted vs. ungifted life as philosophy. I wanted more interaction between the main characters and I wanted to see how they developed. I guess I wanted more emotion but never really felt that. The return home felt stilted and anticlimactic Even so, looking forward to Book 3 to see how their lives actually go forward.
January 6, 2022
4.5 stars
The first half was a bit slow, but the second half more than makes up for it with quite a bit of action, betrayals, magic and adventure. Tevi and Jemeryl's relationship was really sweet and I liked how they didn't let anyone else's opinion separate them. The magic was still very interesting, if a bit difficult to understand. There were a few scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat and I simply couldn't stop reading. I loved the ending, it's one of my favourite endings ever, but I am glad that it's not the actual ending and that there are two more books in this series because I am not ready to say goodbye to Tevi and Jemeryl.
The first half was a bit slow, but the second half more than makes up for it with quite a bit of action, betrayals, magic and adventure. Tevi and Jemeryl's relationship was really sweet and I liked how they didn't let anyone else's opinion separate them. The magic was still very interesting, if a bit difficult to understand. There were a few scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat and I simply couldn't stop reading. I loved the ending, it's one of my favourite endings ever, but I am glad that it's not the actual ending and that there are two more books in this series because I am not ready to say goodbye to Tevi and Jemeryl.
September 23, 2020
Great 2nd chapter
This is a brilliant continuation of Tevi and Jemeryl's journey. There is lots of action and a few emotional sections which show case Jane Fletcher style perfectly.
The world building is extremely well done, I feel like I have been to the places that are in the book, there are written so well.
This book would appeal to anyone who is a fan of fantasy fiction lesbian characters
This is a brilliant continuation of Tevi and Jemeryl's journey. There is lots of action and a few emotional sections which show case Jane Fletcher style perfectly.
The world building is extremely well done, I feel like I have been to the places that are in the book, there are written so well.
This book would appeal to anyone who is a fan of fantasy fiction lesbian characters
June 24, 2024
Intriguing concept.
This is the second in the series, in which our heroines are in a relationship but seperated by their jobs. As a normie, Tevi is confined to town and her job as a mercenary, and as a sorcerer, Jem is using the guise of studying to infiltrate the magic college to find a traitor (and the chalice they stole).
The mystery elements were good, and the suspense and tensions is always on point in Fletcher's books.
This is the second in the series, in which our heroines are in a relationship but seperated by their jobs. As a normie, Tevi is confined to town and her job as a mercenary, and as a sorcerer, Jem is using the guise of studying to infiltrate the magic college to find a traitor (and the chalice they stole).
The mystery elements were good, and the suspense and tensions is always on point in Fletcher's books.
November 7, 2022
Solid 5 star read - possibly not as much spark as #1 but solid. Great fantasy book with FF main characters,
If you like Sword and sorcery you should like this series. Hopefully #3 will have more sword to restore the balance.
If you like Sword and sorcery you should like this series. Hopefully #3 will have more sword to restore the balance.
November 28, 2016
took me this long cause I was reading it at work during lunch..so 30mins ea read takes time. But really enjoy this series
January 24, 2019
I liked the first one better, but this one was good too. I'm really enjoying this series
August 14, 2018
The premise of tbe world Jane Fletcher created is great. The love story is great. The mystery is great. In fact, the whole book is really excellent.
August 11, 2016
It was good book from this series. The adventure and the drama was very captivating, as well as the action. The romance is not what I was expecting, there were kinky moments, but nothing beyond that. Still, it was an interesting book and it was worth reading. Hope to read more from her.
July 29, 2018
I binge read this in a little over twenty four hours. I absolutely love this series and think Jane Fletcher is probably my favorite lesbian author. Fun story, with pages that keep you turning and a sweet romance. I highly recommend.
January 2, 2015
Excellent characters and story. If you like Fantasy/SciFi and are queer you should really enjoy this series.
January 3, 2015
Awesome, on to the next one :D
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews