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Sea King #1
Madbond
From the author of Wings Of Flame and the Books Of Vale comes the first of the Sea King trilogy. Two men embark on a fantastic quest for the source of magic that will restore their land.
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
11 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Springer
198 books2,366 followersBIO -- NANCY SPRINGER
Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery -- although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 21, 2010
This is fantasy. Maybe at its very best.
It is a romantic, yes thrilling series of three books. The main three characters all have their nicer and uglier qualities.
The story is not the usual in fantasy. It follows a bit different path than hero-magic stone-fighting evil-happiness forever.
I recommend this series to all fantasy-fans everywhere. Just maybe not to the youngest. It is pretty sexually explicit at some points.
It is a romantic, yes thrilling series of three books. The main three characters all have their nicer and uglier qualities.
The story is not the usual in fantasy. It follows a bit different path than hero-magic stone-fighting evil-happiness forever.
I recommend this series to all fantasy-fans everywhere. Just maybe not to the youngest. It is pretty sexually explicit at some points.
January 5, 2020
Despite not really having a specific fondness for short stories, I loved Chance Other Gestures of the Hand of Fate by Nancy Springer. So I bought more of her work.
Madbond is the story of a mountain hunter, Dannoc. Driven mad by some unspeakable trauma, he blunders into the domain of the seal tribe with a strange weapon and nearly kills their king, Kor. This opens a whole can of worms, where he’s on rocky ground with the seal tribe while still being too amnesiatic to really leave.
Thankfully, unlike so many other stories from the 1980s and 1990s that ruin everything with absurd amnesia (I’m looking at you, Twin Peaks), Springer weaves a more careful tale.
Dannoc’s amnesia is clearly portrayed as more of an unwillingness to remember trauma than a legitimate lack of memories. Small, easy memories come back to him even while he flounders for his own name, and I was curious about what he couldn't remember for fear of remembering too much.
That curiosity lasted about 50 pages, at which point I wanted something more. Normally I’m fine with books that follow a gentle pace, but I think Dannoc’s unusual predicament (paired with a first-person viewpoint) stunted the sort of character and world building that will keep me happily turning pages even without an evident plot. No, Dannoc is shunned and not feeling great mentally or physically, so we mostly get to watch him sulk or rage.
There’s a fun carnivorous horse that helps keep things interesting, but she can only do so much. By page 70, I was so bored I procrastinated reading. That’s almost always a death sentence for the book I’m reading. But I wanted to like Madbond, and I liked Chance a lot, so I decided to look at existing reviews. Promises of an unconventional fantasy kept me reading, albeit without much enthusiasm. Until, all of a sudden, I couldn’t put Madbond down.
Somewhere around halfway through the book the world grows around Dannoc, and shortly after that shit gets real. It’s like Nancy Springer lined up all the things I like about her writing to reward me for getting through the, in my opinion, overly long opening sequence.
One of my favorite things about Madbondis the world. It’s curiously atrophying, and the inhabitants of it are limited to six small tribes. That’s it. And because the livable world is small, and there are so few people, they all know each other. Together, the tribes almost feel like they comprise a family. Sure, there’s that one brother that’s such a jerk, and that other one who could use to get his shit together a little bit more, but somehow you make it work because … you’re stuck with each other.
There’s also a lot of overlap between tribes, and you get to see various sides of the same mythology as different characters speak up. And damn, I like the mythology, too.
Another thing I loved about Madbond is how Springer handles her arcs. Most things come full circle, and more than that, most things have a point. They’re not always called out or played up, but everything feels carefully put together. For a story with a relatively small scope (at least in this book of the series), this attention to detail makes everything feel bigger.
I also like how one of the biggest themes of Madbond is platonic love and friendship, but at the same time it feels like a bit much. Sure, it takes a little bit for Kor and Dannoc to overcome how they met, but once that’s behind them it’s not days before Dannoc is promising to serve Kor for eternity. And not to repay his debt of near-killing Kor. No, it’s out of a sudden yet deep-seated sense of love and respect.
Don’t get me wrong, I love stories about men who are good friends with other men (The Seven Citadels series and The Wizard’s Shadow both come to mind), but this goes from zero to sixty so quickly I kept wondering if they were falling in love with each other. Which would have been okay--and would have explained the dopamine dump. But no, they’re just friends.
Friendship so pure that it almost seems thoughtless feels … unnatural to me. And I don’t know if that makes me a cynic or a realist, but regardless it means I don’t find reading about it particularly interesting. I adored how The Seven Citadels starred an odd-couple style friendship where the friends were irrevocably committed to each other despite not really having any commonality. That’s interesting to me.
Anyway, if it sounds like I’m dumping on Madbond, I don’t intend to. I finished it eagerly and ordered the rest of the books in the series. I loved the world, I loved the mythology, I’m vastly intrigued by what I think is the series-arc, and Dannoc and Kor are both very likeable. As is Tassida, a companion that I suspect will become a big deal in the subsequent books. Though I’ll probably just continue to skim the parts of the book where Dannoc and Kor profess their feelings for each other.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]
Madbond is the story of a mountain hunter, Dannoc. Driven mad by some unspeakable trauma, he blunders into the domain of the seal tribe with a strange weapon and nearly kills their king, Kor. This opens a whole can of worms, where he’s on rocky ground with the seal tribe while still being too amnesiatic to really leave.
Thankfully, unlike so many other stories from the 1980s and 1990s that ruin everything with absurd amnesia (I’m looking at you, Twin Peaks), Springer weaves a more careful tale.
Dannoc’s amnesia is clearly portrayed as more of an unwillingness to remember trauma than a legitimate lack of memories. Small, easy memories come back to him even while he flounders for his own name, and I was curious about what he couldn't remember for fear of remembering too much.
That curiosity lasted about 50 pages, at which point I wanted something more. Normally I’m fine with books that follow a gentle pace, but I think Dannoc’s unusual predicament (paired with a first-person viewpoint) stunted the sort of character and world building that will keep me happily turning pages even without an evident plot. No, Dannoc is shunned and not feeling great mentally or physically, so we mostly get to watch him sulk or rage.
There’s a fun carnivorous horse that helps keep things interesting, but she can only do so much. By page 70, I was so bored I procrastinated reading. That’s almost always a death sentence for the book I’m reading. But I wanted to like Madbond, and I liked Chance a lot, so I decided to look at existing reviews. Promises of an unconventional fantasy kept me reading, albeit without much enthusiasm. Until, all of a sudden, I couldn’t put Madbond down.
Somewhere around halfway through the book the world grows around Dannoc, and shortly after that shit gets real. It’s like Nancy Springer lined up all the things I like about her writing to reward me for getting through the, in my opinion, overly long opening sequence.
One of my favorite things about Madbondis the world. It’s curiously atrophying, and the inhabitants of it are limited to six small tribes. That’s it. And because the livable world is small, and there are so few people, they all know each other. Together, the tribes almost feel like they comprise a family. Sure, there’s that one brother that’s such a jerk, and that other one who could use to get his shit together a little bit more, but somehow you make it work because … you’re stuck with each other.
There’s also a lot of overlap between tribes, and you get to see various sides of the same mythology as different characters speak up. And damn, I like the mythology, too.
Another thing I loved about Madbond is how Springer handles her arcs. Most things come full circle, and more than that, most things have a point. They’re not always called out or played up, but everything feels carefully put together. For a story with a relatively small scope (at least in this book of the series), this attention to detail makes everything feel bigger.
I also like how one of the biggest themes of Madbond is platonic love and friendship, but at the same time it feels like a bit much. Sure, it takes a little bit for Kor and Dannoc to overcome how they met, but once that’s behind them it’s not days before Dannoc is promising to serve Kor for eternity. And not to repay his debt of near-killing Kor. No, it’s out of a sudden yet deep-seated sense of love and respect.
Don’t get me wrong, I love stories about men who are good friends with other men (The Seven Citadels series and The Wizard’s Shadow both come to mind), but this goes from zero to sixty so quickly I kept wondering if they were falling in love with each other. Which would have been okay--and would have explained the dopamine dump. But no, they’re just friends.
Friendship so pure that it almost seems thoughtless feels … unnatural to me. And I don’t know if that makes me a cynic or a realist, but regardless it means I don’t find reading about it particularly interesting. I adored how The Seven Citadels starred an odd-couple style friendship where the friends were irrevocably committed to each other despite not really having any commonality. That’s interesting to me.
Anyway, if it sounds like I’m dumping on Madbond, I don’t intend to. I finished it eagerly and ordered the rest of the books in the series. I loved the world, I loved the mythology, I’m vastly intrigued by what I think is the series-arc, and Dannoc and Kor are both very likeable. As is Tassida, a companion that I suspect will become a big deal in the subsequent books. Though I’ll probably just continue to skim the parts of the book where Dannoc and Kor profess their feelings for each other.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]
March 31, 2018
This review is for the whole series-
This is quite a bit different than book of the Isle series. It still has the trademark Nancy, deep love and affection, conquering your fears, acceptance, bromance, horses (always horses) but it’s post-apocalyptic (generations later) with more of an Native American tribe inspiration which is quite refreshing. It’s also a little more adult as there is a bit of sex.
The series begins with Dan from the tribe of the Red Hart tribe awakening, captive in the Seal Kindred tribe…. or somewhat captive; he’s been restrained for his own and everyone else’s protection. He doesn’t remember what happened to get him where he is, as he was quite mad at the time.
Kor the King of the Seal tribe befriends him and they embark on journey to find the God Sakeema, to bring him back to help them conquer the Death Goddess Mahela and return the creatures of the world that she has stolen.
They are joined by Tassida a wandering horse rider, whom both the men love.
This is classic fantasy- a time when God’s wander the earth and the world is full with colorful people(literally) lore, songs, animal transformations and magic. This series as a whole is beautiful and is a quick read and by today’s standards this easily would have worked as one novel, instead of three and is probably the only issue I had with it. Each novel alone felt a little… well, I hate to say lacking, because the story was still enjoyable and I couldn’t put it down, but I also kept wondering where it was going and why it was split into three books.
So, as a whole, this series would be 5 stars. But as individuals I am going to have to say more like 3-4.
This is quite a bit different than book of the Isle series. It still has the trademark Nancy, deep love and affection, conquering your fears, acceptance, bromance, horses (always horses) but it’s post-apocalyptic (generations later) with more of an Native American tribe inspiration which is quite refreshing. It’s also a little more adult as there is a bit of sex.
The series begins with Dan from the tribe of the Red Hart tribe awakening, captive in the Seal Kindred tribe…. or somewhat captive; he’s been restrained for his own and everyone else’s protection. He doesn’t remember what happened to get him where he is, as he was quite mad at the time.
Kor the King of the Seal tribe befriends him and they embark on journey to find the God Sakeema, to bring him back to help them conquer the Death Goddess Mahela and return the creatures of the world that she has stolen.
They are joined by Tassida a wandering horse rider, whom both the men love.
This is classic fantasy- a time when God’s wander the earth and the world is full with colorful people(literally) lore, songs, animal transformations and magic. This series as a whole is beautiful and is a quick read and by today’s standards this easily would have worked as one novel, instead of three and is probably the only issue I had with it. Each novel alone felt a little… well, I hate to say lacking, because the story was still enjoyable and I couldn’t put it down, but I also kept wondering where it was going and why it was split into three books.
So, as a whole, this series would be 5 stars. But as individuals I am going to have to say more like 3-4.
August 31, 2019
3 and a bit stars rounded up.
Dannoc, a warrior of the Red Hart tribe, had witnessed horror overwhelming enough to rob him of his memory - and his mind. In his frenzy he has killed, and might again. Only the great humanity of Rad Korridum, king of the Seal Kindred, offered him a lifeline. And that might be too late. For the world was dying. Only the Six tribes remained. And even they were dwindling fast.
An interesting story. Eschewing the usual medieval fantasy, this story is set in a (possibly post-apocalypse) world of small tribes, named for the animals they live near, hunt or use, such as the Sea Otters, the Fanged Horse people and so on. These people live a primitive life, without the knowledge to work metal or make great buildings; they live in small communities and earn a living mostly by foraging and hunting, but even so their world is dying: the animals and birds are dying out – many species have already disappeared and with the rapidly dwindling resources some tribes are threatening to break the peace between the tribes and raid to take what they want. Dannoc and his new best friend Kor accompanied by the mysterious Tassida head out on a double-edged quest: at first to take Dannoc home to his people and after that to find a way to save their world.
The story is perhaps a little thin – I imagine nowadays the three books would’ve been released in one volume rather than three slim books – and the first half of the first book as our PoV character Dannoc tries to recover his memory is decidedly slow but nonetheless the unusual world setting and the characters kept me reading.
The other thing I want to mention is the relationship between the two main characters. Although both Dan and Kor are straight guys, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they fall in love, that sort of deep, constant love that close friends can sometimes display. They’re affectionate interaction is a delight to read; or it was for me, anyway.
I would caution letting youngsters read this as there is some sex in this novel and they may find some elements slightly disturbing.
Dannoc, a warrior of the Red Hart tribe, had witnessed horror overwhelming enough to rob him of his memory - and his mind. In his frenzy he has killed, and might again. Only the great humanity of Rad Korridum, king of the Seal Kindred, offered him a lifeline. And that might be too late. For the world was dying. Only the Six tribes remained. And even they were dwindling fast.
An interesting story. Eschewing the usual medieval fantasy, this story is set in a (possibly post-apocalypse) world of small tribes, named for the animals they live near, hunt or use, such as the Sea Otters, the Fanged Horse people and so on. These people live a primitive life, without the knowledge to work metal or make great buildings; they live in small communities and earn a living mostly by foraging and hunting, but even so their world is dying: the animals and birds are dying out – many species have already disappeared and with the rapidly dwindling resources some tribes are threatening to break the peace between the tribes and raid to take what they want. Dannoc and his new best friend Kor accompanied by the mysterious Tassida head out on a double-edged quest: at first to take Dannoc home to his people and after that to find a way to save their world.
The story is perhaps a little thin – I imagine nowadays the three books would’ve been released in one volume rather than three slim books – and the first half of the first book as our PoV character Dannoc tries to recover his memory is decidedly slow but nonetheless the unusual world setting and the characters kept me reading.
The other thing I want to mention is the relationship between the two main characters. Although both Dan and Kor are straight guys, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they fall in love, that sort of deep, constant love that close friends can sometimes display. They’re affectionate interaction is a delight to read; or it was for me, anyway.
I would caution letting youngsters read this as there is some sex in this novel and they may find some elements slightly disturbing.
November 28, 2011
I read this book when I was 17. I'm now 40, and think this book is one of my favorites! =-) This is the story of the Seal tribe King Rad and his best friend Dannoc.
Rad is facing a dilemna... Save his newfound friend, accused of murder, or free him and defy the laws of the tribe. To make matters worse, the animals from the forests surrounding their windswept coastal village seem to be mysteriously disappearing. With game scarce the villagers are growing hungry, and the other tribes are talking of raiding and taking what they want.
The friendship between Rad and Dannoc is very moving. Their quest to save their village and the animals has an epic quality. I recommend this novel for people who like books about heart-moving friendships. Springer writes like a dream.
Don't forget to read MindBond and Godbond, the sequels.
Rad is facing a dilemna... Save his newfound friend, accused of murder, or free him and defy the laws of the tribe. To make matters worse, the animals from the forests surrounding their windswept coastal village seem to be mysteriously disappearing. With game scarce the villagers are growing hungry, and the other tribes are talking of raiding and taking what they want.
The friendship between Rad and Dannoc is very moving. Their quest to save their village and the animals has an epic quality. I recommend this novel for people who like books about heart-moving friendships. Springer writes like a dream.
Don't forget to read MindBond and Godbond, the sequels.
June 19, 2022
I read this directly after Springers the white hind. There are some similarities in themes but I found this much less compelling.
The main issue is that the story revolves around deep friendship between male characters much as the white hart did.
The problem is springer just seems to have poor theory of mind for male friendship. Kor and Dan constantly feud and then reconcile with loud protestations of their love for each other. They rarely seem to act in loving ways the just talk and think a lot about how much the love each other.
This reminded me of friendships I have seen play out women in my life but much less so the deep friendships I have seen among men.
In the White Hart this fault is masked by a more heroic and less personal tone and by the mysteriousness of the central character.
The setting is fascinating appearing to be a kind of post apocalyptic pacific northwest area, with seal folk living in rainy lush rain forest on the west coast, and high mountains behind which the climate is arid and dominated by desert, grassland and pine forests.
There are fanged carnivorous horses, and alien creates that attack from the oceans, but overall the plot and charecters just didn't do much for me.
The main issue is that the story revolves around deep friendship between male characters much as the white hart did.
The problem is springer just seems to have poor theory of mind for male friendship. Kor and Dan constantly feud and then reconcile with loud protestations of their love for each other. They rarely seem to act in loving ways the just talk and think a lot about how much the love each other.
This reminded me of friendships I have seen play out women in my life but much less so the deep friendships I have seen among men.
In the White Hart this fault is masked by a more heroic and less personal tone and by the mysteriousness of the central character.
The setting is fascinating appearing to be a kind of post apocalyptic pacific northwest area, with seal folk living in rainy lush rain forest on the west coast, and high mountains behind which the climate is arid and dominated by desert, grassland and pine forests.
There are fanged carnivorous horses, and alien creates that attack from the oceans, but overall the plot and charecters just didn't do much for me.
October 5, 2020
Very surprised by the writing quality of this book! I got it second-hand in a big bag of books and didn't really expect much, to be honest, but this is a book where I could "see" the environments and creatures as vividly as if I was there. The scenery isn't put down into detail on 100 pages to make it so, instead just a few artful but abstract words dropped here and there make complete sense and just magnify and illuminate it all. I would read it again just for some of those descriptions.
I can "see" and like the main characters and several side characters, but some feel hard to relate to or don't feel as strongly there, like it lacks some more foundation or body to it. Nothing that completely breaks the experience though.
Storywise I so far enjoy it, but I also feel like I have a bigger memory and impact of the environments and god-lore than the actual goal of the story. I feel this will be books that I'll remember a bit clearer for its gorgeous mental images rather than its plot.
That doesn't have to be a bad thing!
I can "see" and like the main characters and several side characters, but some feel hard to relate to or don't feel as strongly there, like it lacks some more foundation or body to it. Nothing that completely breaks the experience though.
Storywise I so far enjoy it, but I also feel like I have a bigger memory and impact of the environments and god-lore than the actual goal of the story. I feel this will be books that I'll remember a bit clearer for its gorgeous mental images rather than its plot.
That doesn't have to be a bad thing!
November 27, 2017
Read around 60% and the darn plot didn't move ANYWHERE! No more patience to plod through what was wavering between gay YA and straight YA (just pick one and get on with it, will ya?!). YOLO, so gave up on this.
February 27, 2022
I will not be continuing the trilogy.
June 3, 2025
Extremely Arthurian. Didn't like it enough to keep reading the series.
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October 23, 2025Tor Books #55486-8, 1987. Stated first printing in near fine condition. Some rubs to the edges of the wrappers. Cover by Kevin Eugene Johnson.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews