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Boreal Moon #2
Ironcrown Moon
King Conrig has finally united the warring factions of High Blenholm under his rule, but he faces new challenges as his enemies are on guard for the slightest weakness and rumors of his illicit magical talents surface. Reprint.
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
369 people want to read
About the author
Julian May
201 books590 followersJulian May was an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also used several pseudonyms including Ian Thorne, Lee N. Falconer and many others.
Some 1960's and 1970's biographies and children's science books may belong to Julian May (the science fiction & fantasy writer) profile but no reliable source has been found
Per Encyclopedia.com, May wrote juvenile science non-fiction along with the science fiction novels for adults. (https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/edu...)
Some 1960's and 1970's biographies and children's science books may belong to Julian May (the science fiction & fantasy writer) profile but no reliable source has been found
Per Encyclopedia.com, May wrote juvenile science non-fiction along with the science fiction novels for adults. (https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/edu...)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 8, 2020
Mostly liked it. Quite good, I would say. 4 stars, though I see why some didn't love it.
Julian May was a brilliant and inventive writer. She sometimes writes over my head, frankly, in many ways; for instance, I've found more new-to-me words in her writing than in any modern author. But I like that. Her historical knowledge in general and and of things medieval in particular are also impressive and used to good effect. I can't help but learn when I read her books.
Sometimes, as in this novel, the pace slows and excitement wanes as she weaves together many different points of view. We're following so many different characters, different individuals and groups plotting against and pitted against so many other groups, that it becomes an impenetrable tangle. The minutiae of their individual planning is sometimes tedious, and trying to remember who knows what and who is double-crossing whom gets to be a challenge.
So you just read and see if it makes sense at the end.... and I think it does.
I love the setting and world-building in this series, and that makes some of the slower bits tolerable. But when it gets good, it's very good. When we get to the scene on the river, with people watching from many different angles, it's very cool. And from that point on, from maybe 60% of the way through the book to the end, it's a lot of fun to read.
IMO, of course.
The very best characters are Deveron (also called Snudge) and a talented healer and magic-user named Induna. (slight spoiler-->) We see them together near the end, and I wanted to cheer when they finally connected. Almost all the main characters are morally compromised people, all engaged in murderous plots, and it's nice to find someone to actually root for.
I liked it overall, and especially the last third and a bit.
I hope the final book in the trilogy leads somewhere good. Fingers crossed.
Julian May was a brilliant and inventive writer. She sometimes writes over my head, frankly, in many ways; for instance, I've found more new-to-me words in her writing than in any modern author. But I like that. Her historical knowledge in general and and of things medieval in particular are also impressive and used to good effect. I can't help but learn when I read her books.
Sometimes, as in this novel, the pace slows and excitement wanes as she weaves together many different points of view. We're following so many different characters, different individuals and groups plotting against and pitted against so many other groups, that it becomes an impenetrable tangle. The minutiae of their individual planning is sometimes tedious, and trying to remember who knows what and who is double-crossing whom gets to be a challenge.
So you just read and see if it makes sense at the end.... and I think it does.
I love the setting and world-building in this series, and that makes some of the slower bits tolerable. But when it gets good, it's very good. When we get to the scene on the river, with people watching from many different angles, it's very cool. And from that point on, from maybe 60% of the way through the book to the end, it's a lot of fun to read.
IMO, of course.
The very best characters are Deveron (also called Snudge) and a talented healer and magic-user named Induna. (slight spoiler-->) We see them together near the end, and I wanted to cheer when they finally connected. Almost all the main characters are morally compromised people, all engaged in murderous plots, and it's nice to find someone to actually root for.
I liked it overall, and especially the last third and a bit.
I hope the final book in the trilogy leads somewhere good. Fingers crossed.
September 6, 2021
This is the second book in the Boreal Moon Tales. Lots of intrigue, betrayal, love, politics and magic in this book. The story continues with Conrig, Beyond and Deveron.
Many, many characters and lots to keep track of with intertwining plot lines. Entertaining and compelling.
The ending is a cliff hanger, so now I must find the third book.
Many, many characters and lots to keep track of with intertwining plot lines. Entertaining and compelling.
The ending is a cliff hanger, so now I must find the third book.
March 15, 2018
Such an interesting story. I am rather curious what the third book will be about as it seems to have a nice ending, but of course Killian an Beynor are not finished with their evil deeds yet....
January 1, 2015
reviews.metaphorosis.com
3, 2, 2 stars
I'm a big fan of the Saga of Pliocene Exile, and I also enjoyed the Galactic Milieu. So, since I was unable to get the books one by one as they appeared, I bought the entire Boreal Moon trilogy in one go, excited for a real treat.
This wasn't it. From the start, the first book failed to capture my interest, but eventually, I forced my way into the story, and after a few chapters, it got better. Sadly, not much.
The series relies on complex politics, and simplistic individual motivations. The evil foe (the Salka) are a caricature - literally stupid, evil, slimy, green, tentacled baddies - sidestepping the fact that they somehow created the special magic sigils the entire trilogy depends on. Worse, the entire story ignores the fact that the slimy creatures are the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, and that humans displaced them through conquest. The fact that they want their land back just proves their evil nature. Good creatures who want their land back are fine, though.
The omniscient narrator tends to forget that the characters are not (meant to be) omniscient, and central figures keep picking up key bits of information almost at random. The magic system is barely examined, and is highly inconsistent - for example, "windscrying" (clairvoyance) is widely used, but virtually no one takes even simple precautions against it. This means that all sides can easily pick up opponents' plans - except when scrying mysteriously doesn't work (or isn't considered) - all too apparently for the convenience of the author. Finally, the resolution of the trilogy is very much ex machina.
May relies here heavily on an omniscient, yet coy and perpetually vague oracle/fate. She used this same technique to slightly better effect (though near-equal reader frustration) in the Galactic Milieu books. Having now read all her major works (including parts of the Trillium and Rampart Worlds series), I can say that she was at her best in Pliocene Exile, when her voice was fresh and the setting unique. Much less successful, though still interesting in the Galactic Milieu, which built on part of the same background. The Boreal Moon trilogy, however, uses the same techniques in a fairly standard-issue fantasy setting, and it just doesn't work.
The trilogy is slightly dull and convoluted in the first volume, but still worthwhile for May fans. The second volume (Ironcrown Moon (The Boreal Moon Tale)) is substantially less interesting, but does carry the story forward. The final volume (Sorcerer's Moon (The Boreal Moon Tale)) is a very hard slog indeed, and worth reading only for those who just can't stand to quit a story part way through.
If you enjoy Julian May and epic fantasy, skip this series.
July 26, 2014
Ironcrown Moon is the story of people chasing other people, who are in turn chasing other people, ad nauseum, across the countryside.
Which is maybe a bit simplistic. I mean, there is more to it than that. There's a threat to the royal ruling family. There's a bad guy making a deal with a group humanity thought gone, or at least separate. There's the exploration of a trove of magical devices. There's themes of family and loyalty. If I try really hard, I can pull up details about these things. But if I think about the book as a whole, all I remember is people chasing people chasing people.
I thought maybe this was, again, the problem of reading the second book without reading the first book. But looking over other reviews, it seems like many people who had read the first book had the same thoughts I did - overly wordy writing, unengaging characters, a healthy and often intriguing tangle of political maneuvers and complicated loyalties and debts.
There's good things in here, definitely. The political cross-ups and the magic system are solid and interesting. A few of the characters are at least likeable, though I found only one or two in the entire cast I could connect to on any level. The book was also a quick read when I could get into it.
But for me at least, it felt overwritten. Endless passages of people walking or riding, chasing others or being chased. A story that sucked all the tension out of many scenes by showing up what everyone's doing. There's one point where character A thinks character B might be a spy. Then we swap to character B's POV and see him being a spy and *realizing* character A suspects him. So he acts to keep himself valuable to the group. Then we swap back to Character A who takes this as confirmation and leaves the guy behind. There was no tension. Everything was just explained, like a plot laundry list. And almost everything works out the way characters hope it will. They want to use a spell for something? It'll work. They want to kill someone? In general the person will die. If something does go wrong, it tends to happen in a way that benefits the characters. More tension sapping.
There's so much potential in this story. There's a lot of characters who are unlikeable because they're meant to be unlikeable, but they're also unfortunately one-dimensional in that. But I love the sort of books when you know you're supposed to be rooting for a character, but have a hard time because they're behaving in kind of a terrible manner. The magic was kind of interesting, if not to my taste.
Which is maybe a bit simplistic. I mean, there is more to it than that. There's a threat to the royal ruling family. There's a bad guy making a deal with a group humanity thought gone, or at least separate. There's the exploration of a trove of magical devices. There's themes of family and loyalty. If I try really hard, I can pull up details about these things. But if I think about the book as a whole, all I remember is people chasing people chasing people.
I thought maybe this was, again, the problem of reading the second book without reading the first book. But looking over other reviews, it seems like many people who had read the first book had the same thoughts I did - overly wordy writing, unengaging characters, a healthy and often intriguing tangle of political maneuvers and complicated loyalties and debts.
There's good things in here, definitely. The political cross-ups and the magic system are solid and interesting. A few of the characters are at least likeable, though I found only one or two in the entire cast I could connect to on any level. The book was also a quick read when I could get into it.
But for me at least, it felt overwritten. Endless passages of people walking or riding, chasing others or being chased. A story that sucked all the tension out of many scenes by showing up what everyone's doing. There's one point where character A thinks character B might be a spy. Then we swap to character B's POV and see him being a spy and *realizing* character A suspects him. So he acts to keep himself valuable to the group. Then we swap back to Character A who takes this as confirmation and leaves the guy behind. There was no tension. Everything was just explained, like a plot laundry list. And almost everything works out the way characters hope it will. They want to use a spell for something? It'll work. They want to kill someone? In general the person will die. If something does go wrong, it tends to happen in a way that benefits the characters. More tension sapping.
There's so much potential in this story. There's a lot of characters who are unlikeable because they're meant to be unlikeable, but they're also unfortunately one-dimensional in that. But I love the sort of books when you know you're supposed to be rooting for a character, but have a hard time because they're behaving in kind of a terrible manner. The magic was kind of interesting, if not to my taste.
June 11, 2021
07/10/2019
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English
Again I though this book of Julian May was very enjoyable. "Ironcrown Moon" is a fine sequel in an enjoyable series. All characters in the story develop slowly and that makes that you're getting to understand their reasoning. This way you connect with the characters a bit better. The plot of the story was not as good as in the first book in my opinion. I thought it would have more great things happen in it, but it stayed a bit flat.
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Dutch
Wederom vond ik dit boek van Julian May erg vermakelijk. “De Getijden van Blenholme” is een uitstekend vervolg in een vermakelijke serie. Alle karakters in het verhaal krijgen hier net iets meer diepgang dan ze hiervoor hadden. Dit zorgt er voor dat je keuzes meer begrijpt en je beter kunt inleven in de personages. Ik vond zelf het plot van dit verhaal minder dan in deel 1. Ik had meer spektakel verwacht.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
English
Again I though this book of Julian May was very enjoyable. "Ironcrown Moon" is a fine sequel in an enjoyable series. All characters in the story develop slowly and that makes that you're getting to understand their reasoning. This way you connect with the characters a bit better. The plot of the story was not as good as in the first book in my opinion. I thought it would have more great things happen in it, but it stayed a bit flat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dutch
Wederom vond ik dit boek van Julian May erg vermakelijk. “De Getijden van Blenholme” is een uitstekend vervolg in een vermakelijke serie. Alle karakters in het verhaal krijgen hier net iets meer diepgang dan ze hiervoor hadden. Dit zorgt er voor dat je keuzes meer begrijpt en je beter kunt inleven in de personages. Ik vond zelf het plot van dit verhaal minder dan in deel 1. Ik had meer spektakel verwacht.
January 16, 2011
King Conrig wears the ironcrown not by being peaceful. He rules over the whole island but trouble starts when rumors start to reach him about his believed dead first wife. If his secret will be revealed by her, he might loose everything he has.
At the same time a civil war is lurking and sorcery is involved in everything.
The book came with me when I found it in a box for not even two euros. Shortly after starting to read it I discovered it was the second of a serie but this didn't create problems for the story. From a confusing story it went to a very interesting, fast reading story. I ahve really enjoyed it and was interested in reading te ramaining story. WOuld have given it four stars, until I read the last sentence: '... and then she told him her choice.' and done...... ????????
At least write what the choice is she made and then start book three!
At the same time a civil war is lurking and sorcery is involved in everything.
The book came with me when I found it in a box for not even two euros. Shortly after starting to read it I discovered it was the second of a serie but this didn't create problems for the story. From a confusing story it went to a very interesting, fast reading story. I ahve really enjoyed it and was interested in reading te ramaining story. WOuld have given it four stars, until I read the last sentence: '... and then she told him her choice.' and done...... ????????
At least write what the choice is she made and then start book three!
May 15, 2013
I couldn't get invested in the people and what was going on in this book. King Conrig's enemies are ruthless, murderous, and powerhungry... but so is he, and at least they do their own dirty work instead of using and puppetmastering others. Conrig's enemies aren't so much more horrible than he is to make a difference, and he also lacks the charisma to tip the balance. The Source says that only Conrig has a chance of winning the upcoming war against evil things, but the Source hasn't been honest in a lot of ways either. Snudge is a decent guy but for the most part he's working on Conrig's orders without much wiggle room. I couldn't root for anyone here.
I felt bad for Ulla, in many ways another of Conrig's victims, but I guess she made her own choices and stood by her illusions.
I felt bad for Ulla, in many ways another of Conrig's victims, but I guess she made her own choices and stood by her illusions.
May 3, 2007
I had no troubles devouring this second book in the series (sequel to Conqueror's Moon). Julian May provides a massive cast of believable characters, and enough plot twists to please even the George R.R. Martin fans (in about half the word count). I continue to enjoy the multi-sided nature of her story-telling; it's as if she has inhabited each character's skin so as to determine what that individual would do in a given situation. So, rather than being pawns of a larger narrative, the characters really come alive. I'm eager to read the next book in the series...
November 7, 2007
Not a bad follow up to Conqueror's Moon and an entertaining read.
The plots and schemes continue. Deveron is now Sir Deveron but he's still Snudge in more ways than one. Conrig is now King and that old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely, may be starting to have its effect on him. Beynor, banned from using moon sigils by the Beaconfolk on pain of death, is now playing several sides off to his own advantage, or at least that was the plan.
The plots and schemes continue. Deveron is now Sir Deveron but he's still Snudge in more ways than one. Conrig is now King and that old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely, may be starting to have its effect on him. Beynor, banned from using moon sigils by the Beaconfolk on pain of death, is now playing several sides off to his own advantage, or at least that was the plan.
July 10, 2008
More engaging than the first book in this series, probably because it was easier to connect to the main character Snudge, and the book was a bit more fast paced.
July 18, 2010
Review at Speculative Book Review
December 20, 2014
Couldn't finish it.
October 31, 2022
Enjoyed reading this again.
June 3, 2016
Iets heel anders dan Het veelkleurige land etc - en toch ook weer niet want het gaat om macht en magische krachten.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews