A Fall of Princes

Avaryan Rising #3

by Judith Tarr

Friends by chance, enemies by birth, Hirel of Keruvarian and Sarevan of Asanion were bound together by circumstances that made them hostages in the war that brewed between their two empires. Each prince was heir to a throne, and neither wanted to harm the other. Theirs was a forbidden bond that threatened to destroy not only themselves, but all their world as well.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Speculative Fiction, German Literature, Science Fiction Fantasy, Historical

401 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

AKA Caitlin Brennan, Kathleen Bryan.

Judith Tarr (born 1955) is an American author, best known for her fantasy books. She received her B.A. in Latin and English from Mount Holyoke College in 1976, and has an M.A. in Classics from Cambridge University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Yale University. She taught Latin and writing at Wesleyan University from 1988-1992, and taught at the Clarion science-fiction-writing workshops in 1996 and 1999.

She raises and trains Lipizzan horses at Dancing Horse Farm, her home in Vail, Arizona. The romantic fantasies that she writes under the name Caitlin Brennan feature dancing horses modeled on those that she raises.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been over 5 years since I read book two of this trilogy, but it didn't hinder the reading, thus could be read as a stand alone. I zoomed through the first 3/4 of the book before I came to a real slowdown despite the action and the twists increasing. I enjoyed the relationship building between the two princes who should be enemies. Tarr reinforces the themes of culture & racial clashes and gender roles as the two empires come closer to war, all wrapped in magic of course. Other reviewers felt this was the best of the trilogy, I just can't compare as I read the books so far apart.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Hall of the Mountain King a young man named Mirain proved his quality and became king of his late mother's kingdom. In The lady of Han-Gilen, his foster-sister seeks to help him become emperor. Now decades have passed, Mirain's empire is secure, and his heir has grown into a strong young man named Saraven. Saraven is poised to become a great prince, worthy of taking over the vast empire that his father has fought for. Then he meets the son and heir of his father's greatest foe, and his assurance that his family should rule the world is shaken. Saraven and Hirel fight and tease and mock each other, but eventually come to understand that in each other, they have found a perfect match. Unwilling to allow their fathers to destroy themselves in constant battle, Saraven and Hirel give in to a desperate plan hatched by even more desperate mages...They magically change Saraven's sex, gender and sexuality, so that he becomes a woman capable of bearing Hirel's children, thus combining the two bloodlines. Saraven reads very differently when he becomes a woman; his relationship with Hirel, in which formerly he was the masterful one, changes as well. That part is frustrating, but I was astounded by how unexpected the sex-switch plot twist was. I don't think I've ever seen it before.

These books are both enthralling and frustratingly purple. The prose is so very stylized that one has to be in a particular mood for them.

[Charmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love these stories. I love how Tar writes, it is so beautiful, she uses language in a way that makes me very envious of her skill. These books stay with you long after your finished reading and can be read and re-read numerous times and you still get sucked into the story and lose yourself in it. The themes are always love but she also looks at gender and sexuality and the nature of good and evil and how it can look incredibly black and white in one moment and then you turn around and the lines have moved and moved again. I love that her world looks so different through the eyes of the different characters in her stories how the subjective nature of truth and what is good comes through from one book to the next. The world she writes of is fantastical but the characters motivations and desires and impulses don't need a suspension of disbelief to be followed. If I were an author these are the books I would want to write.

[Therese Arkenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's best to read this one more than once, and slowly--characters have a habit of replying to what's implied as often as what is said, and the plot itself is baroque but rewarding. I especially loved seeing the representation of racial & sexual minorities in speculative fiction, though the times have moved on (somewhat) since this was first written.

[Dangermousie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It gets two stars solely because of the language (it's a love it or hate it style, and I am the former.)

The plot - no thanks. I am afraid the past two books made me solidly Team Mirain (and Team Mirain x Elian) so the reveal that they are supposedly on the wrong side and must die while a truly annoying pair of heroes/couple takes their place? No thanks. You killed your parents, enjoy your life. Seriously - I am dumping this series.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/10
Nope, didn’t see those plot twists or that ending coming...
Excellent story, and I wonder if author Judith Tarr originally meant to end the Avaryan saga here. The next book was published 5 years later...

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thing about Judith Tarr in my never so humble opinion is her character interactions. Also, come to think of it, the way she plays with gender and gender roles. Love this series.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature. We review SFF, horror, and comics for adults and kids, in print and audio daily. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

In this third novel of Judith Tarr’s AVARYAN RISING trilogy (which probably could stand alone), it’s been 15 years since the events of the previous book, The Lady of Han-Gilen. Mirain and Elian now have a teenage son named Saraven who is heir to the throne of his country. One day Saraven saves the life of Hirel, the son of the king of a neighboring kingdom. At first they have nothing in common and even despise each other, but after enduring a series of accidental adventures which include being captured and escaping a few times, the boys eventually overcome their prejudices and become friends. When they make several unsuccessful attempts to stop their fathers from destroying each others’ kingdoms, they end up resorting to a bizarre solution that shocks everybody (including me). As young leaders, they make a sacrifice to save their people, but the path they choose turns out to be even more dangerous than they expected.

A Fall of Princes has a couple of likeable protagonists, a unique plot, and a totally unexpected plot twist. Like The Hall of the Mountain King (the first book in the trilogy) and unlike The Lady of Han-Gilen (the second book), it also has several touching moments and produces some thought-provoking scenarios. I don’t want to give too many specifics, for fear of spoiling the plot twist, but one thing A Fall of Princes does well is to explore the nature of prejudice. According to psychologists, the fastest and most effective way to reduce prejudice is to spend time (preferably working together) with the people you have prejudiced attitudes about. In A Fall of Princes, Tarr forces her protagonists to work together and shows us how they come to understand and appreciate their differences.

Unfortunately (and like the previous novel), the plot moves at a glacial pace. Characters are given intense focus as they think, talk, or otherwise interact with each other. There are many moments where, for example, one character touches another, that take minutes to describe. We see a lot of riding, bathing, eating, and braiding of hair. Also lots of slapping, glaring, scowling, shivering, and fist clenching. The characters spend hours waffling over their feelings for each other. Do they hate each other? Do they love each other? Are they enemies, brothers, or lovers? There’s so much talking and SO MUCH DRAMA! Repetitive drama. The same kind of repetitive drama as in the last book. Oh, I already said that.

Again, Jonathan Davis gives a wonderful performance in Audible Studio’s version of A Fall of Princes, but he can’t save it from being another mostly boring angst-fest. A Fall of Princes is over 18 hours long on audio, but only about 5 of those hours are actually entertaining.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this third novel of Judith Tarr’s AVARYAN RISING trilogy (which probably could stand alone), it’s been 15 years since the events of the previous book, The Lady of Han-Gilen. Mirain and Elian now have a teenage son named Saraven who is heir to the throne of his country. One day Saraven saves the life of Hirel, the son of the king of a neighboring kingdom. At first they have nothing in common and even despise each other, but after enduring a series of accidental adventures which include being captured and escaping a few times, the boys eventually overcome their prejudices and become friends. When they make several unsuccessful attempts to stop their fathers from destroying each others’ kingdoms, they end up resorting to a bizarre solution that shocks everybody (including me). As young leaders, they make a sacrifice to save their people, but the path they choose ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

2013 reread. This was my favorite of the original trilogy when I first read it, and that hasn't changed. I didn't think the big plot twist was worked out well, and that hasn't changed, either.

The problem isn't that Sarevadin's sex change is WTF random, the problem is that he immediately identifies as she, she is heterosexual (when male Sarevadin claimed not to be very attracted to Hirel physically), and that she immediately becomes more indecisive and passive than she was. Now that I have it in ebook, I suppose I could run it through a gender-swap page and see if the problem is me reacting differently to women than to men, but I honestly don't think it is. They just do not feel like the same character to me.

I have much more mixed feelings about the gender politics than I used to, and some qualms about exoticization of Asanion.

[David H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retroactive Review (12 Sep 2021): I really enjoyed the evolution of the story, really getting into some of what uneased me from the first two books. The relationship between the two princes in definitely went in a very interesting direction! I really liked how the author slowly ramped up the overall conflict of light vs. dark in this trilogy. Simple at first, and then this book escalated the tension and my own conflict as a reader, rooting for Mirain and the characters we know, but conflicted by the good arguments for balance.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tarr is an acquired taste. She write more in prose style than straight forward dialog. It's sometimes hard to follow the story but worth the beauty of the words. She also sees to have a good metaphysical grasp of what magic might encompass to preform and describes it in believable terms. This is an older series of hers and I had to buy them used to even get to read them.

[Ricardo L. Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of this series. If you've read this far nothing should stop you from reading this most surprising of all the series. Enjoy. I have read several times and Tarr's writing or the tale she chooses to tell never bores me. Thrilling and fleshed out. You get lost in the world she creates and only wish to see the best for the characters whom you come to know and love.

[Viridian5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the characters and their development. Plus, this novel has one paragraph in it that consists of one word--"But."--that's incredibly effective. I've reread the book many times. I've always felt that the ending was a cop-out, though.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually a re-read; I believe I first read it in 1994 or 1995. I really liked it then, but I'm not quite sure what I think about it now.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't go on to 4, 5, and 6. They just ruin it.

This trilogy has the BEST book ending I've ever reading. It was a total surprise. There's magic, too.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3rd and best of trilogy