| This one is set in an apparently new universe. The land of Gernia has a rigid social hierarchy. If you are a noble, your first son is your heir, the second son is a soldier, the third a priest, fourth dedicated to the arts, etc. etc. Soldier sons make more soldier sons for ever, unless for some reason they are ennobled and the whole cycle starts over. This is what has happened in the Burvelle family. Nevare Burvelle’s father is part of a group of new aristocracy, created by the young King from a cadre of soldier sons who have successfully expanded the kingdom eastward into the empty plains. Nevare has been brought up on a rural estate, in a family dedicated to the King and military honour, and is about to take up his rightful position as a student at the military Academy, to prepare him for his future career as a cavalry officer.
So far, so straightforward. Except of course the plains weren't empty. The last remnants of the plains tribes are living in reservations or learning a new life as peasant farmers or herdsmen under the new landholders. And the old aristocracy are not happy about the shift in the balance of power, and believe the eastward expansion should not have been prioritised over the old old war with the rival civilisation to the west. The cavalry charge eastward has run into the Barrier Mountains. The tribespeople here are stronger, and have a more dangerous magic. The forts and outposts on the fringes of the mountains suffer regular outbreaks of a virulent plague, and from their holding on one of the main routes east young Nevare regularly watches as bright troops of cavalry ride east to glory and wagon loads of cripples stagger west to die. It's easy to imagine the characters and landscape, you just need to dredge up some John Ford/John Wayne Seventh Cavalry movies. Nevare isn't John Wayne though, he is the prissy young officer who knows nowt save honour. His father is vaguely aware that this is a shortcoming, and in order to give Nevare a head start at the Academy he decides to give him a practical education. As part of this, he sends him on some sort of Outward Bound course with a local Native Gernian. Dewara of the Kidona has his own agenda for Nevare’s future, however, and so our story really starts. The bulk of this book takes place at the Academy (think West Point), and forms a self-contained story. Given that it is advertised as the first part of a trilogy, though, I guess I'm free to speculate that there is a “ novice officer in the field” to come. But based on the author’s proven originality in both developing characters and devising logical but surprising plots, I’m reluctant to second-guess the plot of book three.
The book is narrated by Nevare – as he is both naive and slightly prudish, you as reader have to expend some effort in working out what's really going on, and the motivations of other characters. The author’s done it very well, so it isn't that difficult, but you do have to pay attention. The fellow students at the Academy, the instructors and the internal politics are all well-defined, lovable or hateful as appropriate, with lots of twists and turns and excellent dramatic crises. The magical aspect is woven in well, it isn't intrusive, and sits logically in the plot structure. No random “ with one wave of his wand she was free” rubbish, it's much more about the spirituality of different cultures, and some of the practical aspects of shamanism. There's also quite a lot of discussion about the roles and goals of women, especially intelligent women, in such a restrictive society, and what happens when you force young men from all levels of society into predefined roles. Especially when they know that their success or failure will determine what happens to their bloodline for ever.
The only criticism I have to make is that the texture perhaps wasn't as rich as I remember her previous books being - but I'd need to reread the first ones of the other trilogies to check whether that texture wasn't built up during the whole body of work, and if the first ones were less complex across-the-board.
Overall, it was a really good book, the traditional “ couldn't put it down” - which meant staying up all night, as it is physically a big book and difficult to read in bed. I would recommend it, especially if you’re not a traditional fantasy reader or if you like Firefly/Serenity or other Western/SF crossovers – or even if you like John Wayne movies. It certainly isn’t full of elves and dwarves and magical bits and bobs, the heroes are as likely to be engineers or mathematicians as brave warriors, and the women are Real People. The main reason not to read it now is that it's only just out in hardback, which means ages to wait for the next one. You could always fill in the time by reading her other trilogies, though!
Title: Shaman’s Crossing
Series Number: 1
Series: The Soldier Son
Author: Robin Hobb
Reviewer: Fran Dowd
Reviewer Email: thesofa@gmail.com
Publisher: Voyager / Harper Collins
Publisher URL: http://www.HarperCollins.co.uk
Publication Date: 2005
Review Date: September 2005
ISBN: 0 00 719612 1
Price: 18.99 UKP
Pages: 533
Format: hardback
Topic: fantasy
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