The Great Alta Saga

Great Alta #1-3

by Jane Yolen

A foretold warrior and her dark sister join forces to dismantle and remake their embattled world in this epic fantasy saga from a Nebula Award–winning author.

One of fantasy fiction’s preeminent practitioners, Jane Yolen creates a world and mythology that are richly enthralling and vibrantly alive in this acclaimed trilogy.
 
Sister Light, Sister Dark: Three-times orphaned and raised secretly by the acolytes of the goddess Alta, the child Jenna studies the ways of the warrior in preparation for the day that has been prophesied. For she may well be the goddess reborn who, with the aid of Skada—her mirror twin who can reveal herself only in darkness—is fated to bring devastation to the world.
 
White Jenna: Grown to young womanhood, the warrior Jenna offers her allegiance to the rightful king of the Dales—and her heart to his brother, Carum—joining the fight against the malevolent usurper Kalas. But the powerful despot appears unstoppable, dedicated to the destruction of the worshippers of Alta, the society of women in which the orphaned Jenna was lovingly raised.
 
The One-Armed Queen: Having fulfilled an ancient prophecy, the Queen of the Dales must now keep her faltering kingdom safe from a looming terror, and prepare her chosen successor—a one-armed orphan girl she discovered on the battlefield—for the grim responsibilities of rule.
 
A sweeping adventure of destiny, peril, magic, and romance, The Great Alta Saga is a magnificent feat of storytelling that ingeniously blends world-building, myth, poetry, and song.
 

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

923 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2017

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give 5 stars for the style. The story is not just left to tell itself, but the future view of events is revealed through story, myth, ballad and even historical analysis - complete with scholarly competition and linguistic restrictions - and each has its own distinctive style. I was fascinated by Yolen's ability to hint at upcoming events through the songs and legends, and how truth had been warped or misinterpreted later.

Plot-wise, the shadow sisters are unique, giving a very new spin to the concept of women withdrawing from regular society to forge their own way. (Comparisons with the legendary Amazons and fictional Renunciates are almost required.)

On to the meat of the books, as spoiler-free as possible. Book I is about Great Alta's prophecy of the child thrice born and thrice orphaned. Book II is ultimately about acceptance, of people and the roles they must play. Book III is showing how the myth and history are intertwined, how relationships change as people age, and how sacrifices have to be made. Some are expected, others are not.

Overall, the first two books have a general feel of an old saga, while the third shows a step back from the heroic, more like the "after" in the happily ever after, more anchored in family than legend.

If you're like fantasy, strong female characters who hold their own in a world of men, stories that cover a lifetime, or are fascinated by how perception and perspective can alter truth, these will be an entertaining read. They're not fast, or full of witty snark; these are slower to build, but each step feels solid. (My one complaint is that the critical scholar's daughter was never identified, and it bugged me!)

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old read for me from the 1980s. The collected trilogy came my way and I discovered I'd not read the third book. As they're short, easily read YA books I decided to revisit the story and find out why I was so taken with it back then.

The '80s was when women's spirituality showed up in a lot of fantasy. In this trilogy not only is there a Goddess worshiped by communities of Amazon like women, there is also a side story of future historians discussing what they think happened, getting it wrong of course; which mirrors the reality of the diminishing of women's role in history.

The author creates a number of folk songs and other simple meter rhymes throughout the books to tell White Anna's story as she rallies an army that includes her warrior women, against a brutal and oppressive usurper of the rightful King. The historians in the book will refer to it as the Gender Wars. Additionally short fables at the beginning of chapters are spun off events illustrating how history can disappear into myth.

As to the magic, it consists of a shadow twin, a dark sister that each woman pulls from a mirror when they become an adult. The dark sister can only appear in moon or torch light at night, can affect reality and has all the abilities of her reflection including battle skills. There is also a brief interlude with elf like creatures and an underhill experience.

Considering how brutal a lot of the YA apocalyptic fantasies are in the C21st this is a very tame story. Given more to prose and lyrical philosophy then violent action or steamy romance it's an enjoyable read for those who like poetry/fairytales.

[Varadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the first book so much. Eternal favorite. The world seems to shift in the second book, a lot more focus on men and the Garuns. It's fine, I still like it a lot, but it hits different these days than it did when I first read it. This is the first time I read the One-Armed Queen, and I really enjoyed the mother-daughter interactions, the self-identity discovery, and the way it expressed that different people have different ideas and draw conclusions based on their own biases. Also I love Scillia. And the letters to the historical society. I do love the format of the books, too. And the music!!!

The interweaving of myth, legend, story, scholarship, and musicology is so cool!!

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two installments in this trilogy were a lot of fun -- feminist mythmaking that tempers the usual 'chosen one' dynamic with solid characters and a medieval world whose culture was both very familiar, and also neatly askew from British history. The magic here is sparse but fun: abandoned girls who are brought up in a system of matriarchal havens can call up a jungian shadow self or "dark sister" who appears only in moonlight or firelight, and acts as counsel and foil throughout her life. There's also some prophecy here, of course, and fair folk make a few rare appearances.

I wished the shadow sisters were more relevant to the plot. I respect Yolen's focus on plot over this mechanism, but there was more to mine from those relationships, so I was disappointed to see them almost entirely absent from the final installment. The tone and decision-making in that third book were also frequently mystifying (to the point that when a main character from the prior books finally got themselves packed off-plot, it's a relief). It isn't uncommon for YA lit to have former protagonists' generation lose all sense as soon as the next generation takes center stage, but it's hard to do this well.

I enjoyed the songs and the chapter introductions where folk tales, rhymes, and current-day historians' commentary reveal multiple (delightfully garbled) versions of the story we're reading. At its best this plural viewpoint added nuance, humor, and compassion.

Overall this has held up better than a lot of 80's/90s work I've seen. Hypothetically, if you were to tell me Tamora Pierce's Tortall and the nordic taoist society in Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles both owed something to the Dales culture in this series, I would not be at all surprised. This series feels fresh and different compared to the Conan/Xena type stuff I remember from that timeframe. Even with the current explosion of new fantasy stories unapologetically *for* women, this series has a lot to commend it.

[Jennifer Stintzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this initially when I was in 5th grade (I’m now 40 for reference). I found the first book in my grandma’s lake house (she was a voracious reader of all things sci/fi and fantasy). I have read-read this series many times and revisited it again a few months ago. The story interweaves between legends, prophesy, a modern archaeological findings, and the actual story. It follows a young woman as she embarks on womanhood. It is very well written (if you’ve ever read any Jane Yolen novels, she is a fantastic writer). I highly recommend it as a great YA novel if looking for something not very spicy, with a strong female lead.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trilogy is a highly enjoyable read. Yolen masterfully weaves a created world and its culture, mythology, and story. She also remarks upon its facts from the point of view of a cranky historian who challenges the written text from a years-later point-of-view. High fantasy in the vein of Alice Hoffman's matriarchy in The Foretelling; its wars and an imposter's struggle for power recall some of Game of Thrones.

[Melise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this trilogy. I reviewed a collection of retold fairy tales by Jane Nolan in an advanced reading copy earlier this month, and immediately sought out more of her work.

This was just as great a read, with an engrossing story featuring believable characters and an interesting world.

I will definitely be adding more of Yolen’s work to my TBR list.

[Burgoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reprints of an overlooked trilogy from late 80 - early 90s. The meat of the series is in the first two books, but all three are well worth a read.

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