This installment concerns a Fantasy novel by an esteemed Dame of the Genre. I've haven't read much of her work, but I concur with my dear reviewer Jojo, and have to wonder why. I hope you will enjoy this month's installment. by Jane Yolen Aside from the various short stories and poems found in various anthologies, and her short novel Briar Rose, I'm not all that familiar with Jane Yolen's work. From the small sampling that I've had, I find myself wondering why that is. This book (or two books, depending on how you are counting them) was a very good read, in my opinion. The set up, the lay-out of novel lent the story itself a different feel, adding to the charm of an already good tale. There is the story of Jenna, or Jo-an-enna, or Annuanna, a child born with white hair, dark eyes; a child orphaned thrice, a child prophecied in the Book of the Light as the Anna, destined to come and change the world. A fairly common fantasy theme, and one that can be done well or done terribly; Jane, I feel, has done well. Jenna is brought up in her tribe of Altalites (a race of all women tribes that dot the Isles, similar to Amazons in myth) as a regular child and she is, indeed, a regular child who has this destiny heaped on her. The telling of the story, the tale of Jenna, is interrupted in the novel by different sections: myths, legends, songs, and histories, written as though by scholars years later, studying this long-forgotten way of life. It illustrates quite nicely just how greatly time and oral retellings can change many facts. In one part you'll read of a legend that has survived to the present time, and then in the next part you'll read more of the story and can see how it really happened. This layout struck me as very creative once I got used to the interrupted storyline, and it most definitely gave the whole reading experience an interesting air. As far as the actual story goes ~ I didn't connect individually with most of the characters, though I did care about their outcome pretty much from the start. It became really interesting early on ~ I liked the magic, I liked the concept of the dark sisters, I liked the story ~ and it held steady for the duration of the novel. This was no ground breaking, earth-shattering, world changing tale, but it was good. And I would recommend it. ~Jojo Back to Reviews Index |