Split Heirs

by Lawrence Watt-Evans, Esther M. Friesner

High comedy combines with war and wizardry in an epic about the Ancient and Honorable Kingdom of the Hydrangeans; the mighty, though rather stupid, warrior Gudge; and the mysterious Black Weasel

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dragons

319 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1993

About the author

Also publishes as Nathan Archer

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very funny fantasy romp, a tale of mistaken identity and confused conjuring and a send-up of every convoluted high-fantasy trope that's too familiar. Queen Artemisia of Hydrangea is married to Gudge, a mighty Gorgorian barbarian conqueror. She gives birth to triplets, and it's all downhill (and uphill and around the hill and over and under the hills) after that... It's a fun story, a little more serious and sadder at times that you'd expect, which heightens the uproarious sections. There's a little sexual content, but nothing graphic or cringey like the latter Xanth books, so I think it's appropriate for almost everybody. Get ready to chuckle.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost heirs, barbarians, dragons, girl warriors, beheadings, rebels in the greenwood, palace intrigue, it's all here in this joke on epic fantasy. The characters race around bumping into each other and into the plot, until they all gather for a grand finale. My favorite character is Bernice, once a sheep, now a dragon, who realizes that she no longer is going to be eaten by anyone. Quite the opposite, in fact. The humor is sometimes a little fourteen-year-old clever for me, but still fun.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very chummy and funny book. It was very intriguing to see how the authors turn tropes on their heads and use comedy to explain why something important did or did not happen in the book. I will say that if this book was trying to be serious that I would have many objections, but the comedy aspect really made it a nice light read. I would say that there is a but more sexual references in this book than I thought would be in. Nothing explicit, but definitely a teenage book or higher.

[Susan Skylark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy a good spoof of the epic fantasy, but this book was not it. It started out quite well: amusing characters, abundant and ridiculous humor, and a silly, intriguing plot, but alas, like the Old Hydrangean Resistance, it soon grows old, tedious, annoying, and pointless. The best character is a sheep, that in itself should be pause for concern. The humor descends to levels only enjoyed in frat houses and high school locker rooms. The characters, aside from the aforementioned sheep, are less interesting than your average rock, at least the rock isn't out annoying people; most of them are superfluous and merely comedic asides. The plot took a wrong turn around page 75, perhaps intentionally getting lost, and I'm not sure it will ever be found, or wants to be. The writing is well done, but the insipidness of the humor, characters, and plot left me sympathizing with the Gorgorians, maybe it is just best to run around and kill everybody!

Go read 'Dealing with Dragons' if you want a good fantasy spoof that has a sense of humor more cultured than that of the average teenage boy.

[Al "Tank" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tongue-in-cheek fun with triplets born into royalty. Except twins or triplets are believed to be a sign of infidelity (different father for each child), so their mother, Artemisia, sends the girl and one of the boys away with her maidservant, who bungles the job and takes both boys, leaving the girl. A problem, because only men can inherit the throne.

Okay, let's back up. The Gorgorians have conquered Hydrangea and Gudge, their leader, has taken the throne and Queen Artemisia as his wife. Artemisia would love to slip a knife into her loving hubby (as would a lot of others), but that's easier said than done. His sword, Obliterator, has lopped off quite a few heads of people who annoy him.

I've never seen so many inventive curses Such outrageous dialog (the Hydrangeans have very flowery, and annoying, descriptions for people and places). Gunge, a more simple fellow, has a tendency to cut such flowery language short with a swipe of Obliterator.

Add a shepherd, a wizard in hiding, and a few other quirky characters and you have the makings for a great farce which I enjoyed thoroughly. I just wish Watt-Evans and Friesner would collaborate on a sequel.

[Joanne G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of the book before, and I was unfamiliar with the authors, so it was an unexpected treat to find such an amusing satire of the fantasy genre. As I was reading, I kept seeing the characters in a Mel Brooks' a-la-1970s movie. It's a shame he never got his mitts on it. It's broad, silly humor, and I enjoyed the romp.

[Nighteye · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a partly a funny book, and I think it's written to be fun and entertaining, but lacked deeper characters and sometimes also plot but it's skillfully written and taking together five totally different lives in unexpected ways to knit it together in the end!

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly light-hearted romp, From one of my favorite childhood authors.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really care for comedy in my novels. With a few exceptions written comedy tends to fall flat for me. Split Heirs is written well enough that, even when it got a bit slow or silly, I was willing to keep reading. This matters because I've come to the point where I'm willing to stop reading a poorly written story just for the sake of finishing it. Life is too short for bad writing.

Despite the fact that none of the characters are clever, (I question whether any of them are even intelligent really), I wanted to see how things were going to get to the inevitable conclusion. Inevitable because I didn't really see the story ending any other way. And while the ending was pretty much what I was expecting it finished on a strong enough note that I gave this four stars instead of three.

All in all, not a bad read.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous fantasy, not quite in the fractured fairytale arena, but not far off.

It is humorous, but in many ways, the humor is because just about every character is stupid. They can be judged by how many levels above utterly moronic they are, and most aren't very high in that regard, and none of them reach average intelligence. I would've appreciated the story more if there had been some intelligence behind the various hijinks in the story, but alas, there is none to be had.

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book that doesn't attempt to be anything more.

Queen Artemisia gives birth to triplets - a situation that dismays her, as her husband's people would take this as proof of her infidelity. She conspires to hide two of the children - but following a comedy of errors, two of the children are lost.

The story is simple, but it is ultimately a delightfully funny read.

[CONNIE BALTHROP · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just did not care for it. It starts out telling of a young man who is caught and his punishment is to be given to the royal guards. He's never the same. THAT'S NOT FUNNY. I can't believe two of my favorite authors wrote this. I did like the last chapter of the book.

[Mike Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated this! In the top 5 of my most disliked books. It reads like a cocaine dream while reading an old english dictionary.
I read about a third of the way through and just ditched it. I shouldn't have given it one star.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous and quirky book of princes, princesses, and dragons.

[CJ Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is typical Esther Friesner, but I didn't find it funny, which was a disappointment, because Esther is usually funny.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went into this one cold, and really wasn't sure what to think at first, but it was a fun and silly break from high fantasy.

[Bob Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as I had hoped but still entertaining.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not grab me. I got 70 pages in and then quit. Maybe the wrong time for it. Raw bawdy humor.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this at a second-hand bookstore solely for the silly looking dragon on the cover. It was weird and kind of funny, but not too memorable.

[Mike]

Violence, including sexual violence, played for laughs, and not particularly funny in general. Nope.

[Lindsey Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came into this book with high hopes because Esther Friesner is one of the authors. Unfortunately, while the book is madcap and amusing, it fails on one major count: the humor is so broad and exaggerated - things carried beyond their logical extreme - that it's hard to suspend disbelief or develop any empathy with the characters. That works fine in a short story, but over a novel, it's jarring and makes it difficult to maintain tension.

That said, once into the book, it's entertaining enough to watch - with amusing turns of phrase and event - that pages keep turning. The plot was well-paced and bounded along with some off-beat twists that I appreciated. However, I still feel I could have walked away from it any time.

I would give this 2.5 stars, but will be generous and round up.

[Keith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oonly made it halfway through this one, just couldn't handle the stupidity of most of the characters. Everything seemed to have a ridiculously long title which made reading it a chore. I began skipping paragraphs when I recognized that everything in that paragraph was going to be pointless and irritating. Would fit better for a children's book, but there are many sexual references and such so I'm not sure who this is supposed to be for.

[The Badger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be blunt. I hate epic fantasy. However, I apparently LOVE satirical epic fantasy (I say "apparently" because it doesn't seem to be a large genre--at the moment it seems to consist of 1). Anyway, this book is hilarious, and there's always the threat of someone being eaten by wolverines. If you don't find the humor in this book, you're obviously taking life too seriously and should take a break from looking from golems.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I once wrote a far too long review of this book, but I gushed over it immensely. It's quite funny, quite dark, and quite ironic in that girls pretend to be boys, babies are split up, families have no idea what is what. Watt-Evans and Friesner are a top-notch team, and the book is a quick, enjoyably read that should please anyone that got a kick out of such works as Twelfth Night.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I'm still kind of confused right now, but I'm very entertained. The queen had triplets, which is apparantly a sign of adultry, and sends two of them away to get rid of succession issues. But the nurse, who is blind and likely batty, takes the two boys, leaving only the princcess. Not good for politics, but wonderful for an exciting, funny, and slightly odd story.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantasy / wacky comedy. Features silly magic, mistaken identity, and a real plot.

Strangely, it was actually a better book than anything that either Lawrence Watt-Evans or Esther Friesner has written individually. Not sure how that worked out.

[David H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retroactive Review (12 Sep 2021): What a remarkably silly novel. Comic fantasy, though not quite at the level of Pratchett. I was impressed by all the moving pieces that the authors juggled to pull off the climax.

[Christopher Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun.

For me this book is right up there with Hitchhikers guide in terms of a funny, but still extremely well told story. If you like to laugh and classic high fantasy, this is the book for you.

[Cimuchowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little to off the wall for me.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friggin riot, as funny if not funnier than Princess Bride(the movie mind you, didn't like the book).