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juushikaTitle: The House of the Stag (Lord Ermenwyr Book 2)
Author: Kage Baker
Published: New York: Tor, 2008 (2008)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 164,062
Text Number: 479
Read Because: recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
phoenixfalls, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: The story of the Yendri liberation from slavery, and their goddess's marriage to a demon lord. The House of the Stag has a slow start, one too epic, archetypal, and, frankly, predictable: it reads as parable more than a human story. But as the characters develop, the book improves. Baker has a knack for combining heavy-handed with surprisingly subtle. While less exuberant than Anvil, it benefits from that book's humor and varied worldbuilding; the politics are too clear-cut, but the interpersonal narratives have welcome nuance. The central cast has personality and charm, and (while I take issue with how Baker handles everything related to sexuality) the love story develops a quiet conviction. I preferred The Anvil of the World, but The House of the Stag lives up to expectations as a prequel—it's (anti)heroic enough to make history, but human enough to be a story worth telling.
It can also be read as a stand-alone.
Author: Kage Baker
Published: New York: Tor, 2008 (2008)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 164,062
Text Number: 479
Read Because: recommended by
phoenixfalls, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County LibraryReview: The story of the Yendri liberation from slavery, and their goddess's marriage to a demon lord. The House of the Stag has a slow start, one too epic, archetypal, and, frankly, predictable: it reads as parable more than a human story. But as the characters develop, the book improves. Baker has a knack for combining heavy-handed with surprisingly subtle. While less exuberant than Anvil, it benefits from that book's humor and varied worldbuilding; the politics are too clear-cut, but the interpersonal narratives have welcome nuance. The central cast has personality and charm, and (while I take issue with how Baker handles everything related to sexuality) the love story develops a quiet conviction. I preferred The Anvil of the World, but The House of the Stag lives up to expectations as a prequel—it's (anti)heroic enough to make history, but human enough to be a story worth telling.
It can also be read as a stand-alone.
