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Gandalara Cycle #4,6,5
The Gandalara Cycle II
Contains the novels:
4. The Well of Darkness
5. The Search for Ka
6. Return to Eddarta
WARNING*****
I'M NOT SURE WHICH EDITION I HAD, BUT IT WAS PRINTED WITH #6 RETURN TO EDDARTA BEFORE #5 SEARCH FOR KA AND I GOT INTO 6 BEFORE REALIZING THAT IT WAS OUT OF ORDER IN THE BOOK, SO CHECK CAREFULLY
4. The Well of Darkness
5. The Search for Ka
6. Return to Eddarta
WARNING*****
I'M NOT SURE WHICH EDITION I HAD, BUT IT WAS PRINTED WITH #6 RETURN TO EDDARTA BEFORE #5 SEARCH FOR KA AND I GOT INTO 6 BEFORE REALIZING THAT IT WAS OUT OF ORDER IN THE BOOK, SO CHECK CAREFULLY
439 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1986
99 people want to read
About the author
Randall Garrett
440 books87 followersRandall Garrett's full name was Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett. For more information about him see https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?239
He was married to Vicki Ann Heydron
His pseudonyms include: Gordon Randall Garrett, Gordon Aghill, Grandal Barretton, Alexander Blade, Ralph Burke, Gordon Garrett, David Gordon, Richard Greer, Ivar Jorgenson, Darrel T. Langart, Blake MacKenzie, Jonathan Blake MacKenzie, Seaton Mckettrig, Clyde (T.) Mitchell, Mark Phillips (with Laurence Janifer), Robert Randall, Leonard G. Spencer, S.M. Tenneshaw, Gerald Vance.
He was married to Vicki Ann Heydron
His pseudonyms include: Gordon Randall Garrett, Gordon Aghill, Grandal Barretton, Alexander Blade, Ralph Burke, Gordon Garrett, David Gordon, Richard Greer, Ivar Jorgenson, Darrel T. Langart, Blake MacKenzie, Jonathan Blake MacKenzie, Seaton Mckettrig, Clyde (T.) Mitchell, Mark Phillips (with Laurence Janifer), Robert Randall, Leonard G. Spencer, S.M. Tenneshaw, Gerald Vance.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 16, 2018
Before we get completely started here I should point out the most important fact anyone approaching this volume should know . . . namely, that the books inside are out of order. I mean, they're printed on the cover correctly but for some reason the folks at the publisher who put it together didn't bother to actually read the books they were compiling or they might have noticed if you read the book from front to back that the story makes slightly less sense, as "Return to Eddarta" comes before "The Search for Ka" despite the former immediately referencing events that transpired at the climax of the latter. Its an easily managed goof even as its utterly perplexing but the unwary who plow through books in the typical fashion of people from long ago (that is, sequentially) may find themselves inadvertently spoiled if they aren't paying attention.
Public service announcement out of the way, let's get to the story itself. Anyone coming into the story at this point hopefully noticed the "II" on the cover and read the first compilation but for those who prefer jumping in with the series half over or need a refresher we are still following the adventures of Rickardon (a blend of an American professor and veteran named Ricardo and a Gandalaran whose corpse he leapt into) and his amazing giant telepathic cat. On a desert world, he's made plenty of friends and enemies (about equal numbers of both honestly . . . however both are probably double digit numbers), discovered the presence of an ancient gem that enhances the abilities of people with mindpowers, encountered and fallen in love with one of those mindpowery people (an illusionist named Tarani) and then decided you needed to help her retake a throne in a whole city of people who are also proficient in being mentally swell. Sound like fun? For Ricardo its only Tuesday.
One of the interesting things about this series as we go along is how the separations between the books becomes almost meaningless as the subplots chug along, fall to the background, then rear up again in a slightly transformed fashion to merge with the main plot, which has also shifted in the interim. The first book had a basic "locked room" premise (who stole the gem from a room that was always guarded?) which had been Randall Garrett's specialty as a writer in the old days (and probably marked he had the most input on beyond plotting) but after that it veers into more expansive territory as Rikardon and his increasing entourage roam from one place to another to deal with situations that wind up tying into the larger unfolding plot.
Thus the books become distinguished more by their climaxes signifying the resolution of some long running thread than by acting as individual books in their own right. This isn't a bad thing but it does mean they read better as one huge four hundred page chunk of prose with breaks every hundred pages or so than treating them as distinct entities.
What makes it fun is how essential all of it feels and how each twists expands on what we've been already told about this world and either causes us to reassess what we were told before or forces the world to adjust to the new status quo. When during "The Well of Darkness" Rikardon goes to the land where the big cats play (i.e. mate) and causes a new development, the reactions he subsequently receives depict how ground shaking the changes are. When we find out the nature of Tarani's blending with another Earthwoman and its finally dealt with it both simplifies and complicates the relationship between them. When they finally go back to Eddarta its not the same place we saw the first time around and they're not the same people.
For a series that's seven books long it does its best to justify the length (although the individual books themselves aren't that long) by cramming in enough plot for several series, placing our heroes in a detailed world that seems to be constantly changing even under the guise of the status quo (the Rider stronghold of Thagorn seems to have an entire novel going on off to the side in between Rikardon's visits) while they race around trying to see the larger picture before that picture consumes them.
It does what it does well. When the book needs flashbacks, they're well placed, when we need swordfights, we get them in spades (and the action scenes are, if anything underrated, written with an eye toward not only the size and shape but the skill of the two opponents) but there are just as many conflicts resolved without throwing a punch at all, making it the rare fantasy novel where everyone stands around and reasons out the solution instead of laying forth with a mighty "Have at thee!" And when it needs to shake things up, whether literally through he introduction of an active volcano or metaphorically via a plot twist that feels both smooth and surprising (and forces us to reconsider chunks of earlier portions of the cycle), it deploys those with a well oiled ease. It doesn't even necessarily need magic, because the setting itself feels exotic enough even though we've spent enough time in Gandalara to make it feel like my living room.
What it doesn't have, and what some folks might be looking for in this post-"Game of Thrones" world is a huge amount of sex (its clear it happens, just not often due to the characters being busy staying alive and when it does its not that explicit) or graphic violence and in that sense can feel oddly old-fashioned at times. But it harkens back to an older style of adventure in the same way that "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" reminded us of Saturday matinee serials, where discovery and excitement are what matter. But it never flags or feels bloated, keeping to a crackling pace even in the more introspective moments. Rikardon might narrate the story but he rarely comes across as navel-gazing and even minor characters come across as people with full lives (the interactions are often a highlight). Its far from ground breaking but it knows what its aiming for and hits the target squarely almost every time. A lot of series start off slam-bang and lose steam as the saga winds on (*coughWheelofTime*cough* though its not the only offender in that department) but this one has maintained a consistent pace through six-sevenths of it and unless it totally blows the ending will probably keep that up right to the finish. An enjoyable slice of obscurity and well worth giving a shot if you ever see used copies floating about (if by some miracle you even see a used bookstore these days).
Public service announcement out of the way, let's get to the story itself. Anyone coming into the story at this point hopefully noticed the "II" on the cover and read the first compilation but for those who prefer jumping in with the series half over or need a refresher we are still following the adventures of Rickardon (a blend of an American professor and veteran named Ricardo and a Gandalaran whose corpse he leapt into) and his amazing giant telepathic cat. On a desert world, he's made plenty of friends and enemies (about equal numbers of both honestly . . . however both are probably double digit numbers), discovered the presence of an ancient gem that enhances the abilities of people with mindpowers, encountered and fallen in love with one of those mindpowery people (an illusionist named Tarani) and then decided you needed to help her retake a throne in a whole city of people who are also proficient in being mentally swell. Sound like fun? For Ricardo its only Tuesday.
One of the interesting things about this series as we go along is how the separations between the books becomes almost meaningless as the subplots chug along, fall to the background, then rear up again in a slightly transformed fashion to merge with the main plot, which has also shifted in the interim. The first book had a basic "locked room" premise (who stole the gem from a room that was always guarded?) which had been Randall Garrett's specialty as a writer in the old days (and probably marked he had the most input on beyond plotting) but after that it veers into more expansive territory as Rikardon and his increasing entourage roam from one place to another to deal with situations that wind up tying into the larger unfolding plot.
Thus the books become distinguished more by their climaxes signifying the resolution of some long running thread than by acting as individual books in their own right. This isn't a bad thing but it does mean they read better as one huge four hundred page chunk of prose with breaks every hundred pages or so than treating them as distinct entities.
What makes it fun is how essential all of it feels and how each twists expands on what we've been already told about this world and either causes us to reassess what we were told before or forces the world to adjust to the new status quo. When during "The Well of Darkness" Rikardon goes to the land where the big cats play (i.e. mate) and causes a new development, the reactions he subsequently receives depict how ground shaking the changes are. When we find out the nature of Tarani's blending with another Earthwoman and its finally dealt with it both simplifies and complicates the relationship between them. When they finally go back to Eddarta its not the same place we saw the first time around and they're not the same people.
For a series that's seven books long it does its best to justify the length (although the individual books themselves aren't that long) by cramming in enough plot for several series, placing our heroes in a detailed world that seems to be constantly changing even under the guise of the status quo (the Rider stronghold of Thagorn seems to have an entire novel going on off to the side in between Rikardon's visits) while they race around trying to see the larger picture before that picture consumes them.
It does what it does well. When the book needs flashbacks, they're well placed, when we need swordfights, we get them in spades (and the action scenes are, if anything underrated, written with an eye toward not only the size and shape but the skill of the two opponents) but there are just as many conflicts resolved without throwing a punch at all, making it the rare fantasy novel where everyone stands around and reasons out the solution instead of laying forth with a mighty "Have at thee!" And when it needs to shake things up, whether literally through he introduction of an active volcano or metaphorically via a plot twist that feels both smooth and surprising (and forces us to reconsider chunks of earlier portions of the cycle), it deploys those with a well oiled ease. It doesn't even necessarily need magic, because the setting itself feels exotic enough even though we've spent enough time in Gandalara to make it feel like my living room.
What it doesn't have, and what some folks might be looking for in this post-"Game of Thrones" world is a huge amount of sex (its clear it happens, just not often due to the characters being busy staying alive and when it does its not that explicit) or graphic violence and in that sense can feel oddly old-fashioned at times. But it harkens back to an older style of adventure in the same way that "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" reminded us of Saturday matinee serials, where discovery and excitement are what matter. But it never flags or feels bloated, keeping to a crackling pace even in the more introspective moments. Rikardon might narrate the story but he rarely comes across as navel-gazing and even minor characters come across as people with full lives (the interactions are often a highlight). Its far from ground breaking but it knows what its aiming for and hits the target squarely almost every time. A lot of series start off slam-bang and lose steam as the saga winds on (*coughWheelofTime*cough* though its not the only offender in that department) but this one has maintained a consistent pace through six-sevenths of it and unless it totally blows the ending will probably keep that up right to the finish. An enjoyable slice of obscurity and well worth giving a shot if you ever see used copies floating about (if by some miracle you even see a used bookstore these days).
August 9, 2023
This compilation volume contains the fourth, fifth and sixth novels in the Gandalara series, ‘The Well of Darkness’, ‘The Search for Ka’, and ‘Return to Eddarta’. However, readers should be aware that the last two are printed the wrong way round, with ‘Return to Eddarta’ appearing second instead of third. Make sure you read ‘The Search for Ka’ before ‘Return to Eddarta’.
The plot follows the continuing adventures of Rikardon and Tarani as they attempt to recover the Ra’ira, a sacred gem. Along for the ride (literally) are sha’um Keeshah and his new mate, Yayshah, plus their young. The authors don’t seem to be able to decide whether to call the young sha’um cubs or kittens, switching randomly between the two terms, which I found distracting.
The book as a whole could have done with some editing. There are various errors in the text, such as typos like “wsa” for “was”, and the names of characters and places changing their spellings. At one point, one of the Gandalarans calls Rikardon by his Earth name, Carillo – an indication that he knows Rikardon is from another world? No, just a mistake – no-one even acknowledges it. It seems the authors simply wrote “Carillo” when they meant “Captain.” Worst of all is the character of Milda. She was introduced in the first book in the series as Markasset’s mother’s father’s sister. Here, she is referred to as his mother’s sister in ‘The Search for Ka’ and his father’s sister in ‘Return to Eddarta’! Authors really should be able to keep their own characters straight.
These errors are irritating, but the books are definitely enjoyable and make an entertaining read.
The plot follows the continuing adventures of Rikardon and Tarani as they attempt to recover the Ra’ira, a sacred gem. Along for the ride (literally) are sha’um Keeshah and his new mate, Yayshah, plus their young. The authors don’t seem to be able to decide whether to call the young sha’um cubs or kittens, switching randomly between the two terms, which I found distracting.
The book as a whole could have done with some editing. There are various errors in the text, such as typos like “wsa” for “was”, and the names of characters and places changing their spellings. At one point, one of the Gandalarans calls Rikardon by his Earth name, Carillo – an indication that he knows Rikardon is from another world? No, just a mistake – no-one even acknowledges it. It seems the authors simply wrote “Carillo” when they meant “Captain.” Worst of all is the character of Milda. She was introduced in the first book in the series as Markasset’s mother’s father’s sister. Here, she is referred to as his mother’s sister in ‘The Search for Ka’ and his father’s sister in ‘Return to Eddarta’! Authors really should be able to keep their own characters straight.
These errors are irritating, but the books are definitely enjoyable and make an entertaining read.
May 22, 2012
What a ride! Continuing on from the first 3 books, the wild ride never lets up. The locations are exotic and unique. The Sharith are intriguing, traveling from one end of the known world to the other, finding the lost city of Ka, discovering more about Tarani - just all of it combines into a fast-paced race that never lets up. Wonderful series.
March 14, 2014
Not as good as the first 3 novels but not bad either. I still enjoy the fantasy world but there was way too much. writing wasted on Rickardon's coming to terms with his love life and even his friendships. over & over. made him seem a bit immature or even unreasonably macho. Otherwise, the new adventures are an enjoyable read.
May 11, 2013
Reread in May 2013. I'm loving rereading these awesome books, although I still think the woman/female cat bonding was a plot point and not a natural and inevitable event. But still - giant cats FTW!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews