(just trying to generate on-topic posts)
This is the 11th novel (plus a number of short stories found in 3
collections) of a fantasy series. The primary setting is the southeast
portion of a continent. North of a mountain range that runs west to east
to the ocean are the Eight Kingdoms, 4 are south of a large river that
runs west to east to the ocean, and 4 are north of that river. While all
8 are named, four dominate the series. Three are south of the river,
from west to east., they are Fintha, Tsaia and Lyonya. North of the
river is Pargun, which has a river border with both Tsaia and Lyonya.
While the eight countries are referred to as kingdoms, I don?t remember
any mention of Fintha?s monarch (besides, a prequel had the monarchy overthrown by a peasant rebellion). South of the mountain range is
Aarenis, a country without a central authority (there might had been
one, but, if so, it had collapsed centuries earlier). Other than some
areas still ruled by hereditary nobles, Aarenis is dominated by
city-states run by local councils. There is frequent conflicts between
them and mercenaries companies are heavily involved. One of these is the
Fox Company, commanded by Kieri Phelan, who also is a Duke in Tsaia,
with Jandelir Aroclin and Dorrin Verrakai as two of his senior captains.
In the beginning, there was the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy
(_Sheepfarmer?s Daughter_, _Divided Allegiance_, _Oath of Gold_),
published in 1988, with an omnibus edition in 2003. Paksennarion, the principal viewpoint character in the original trilogy was a member of
Fox Company in _Sheepfarmer?s Daughter and retuned to it in _Oath of
Gold_. Then, there was a prequel duology, set several centuries earlier, _Surrender None: The Legacy of Gird_ and _LIar?s Oath_ in 1990 and 1992. Starting in 2011, with yearly releases, was a 5 book sequel series,
Legend of Paksenarrion, of the Deed (_Oath of Fealty, which overlapped
the end of _Oath of Gold_, _Kings of the North_, _Echoes of Betrayal_,
_Limits of Power_, and _Crown of Renewal_). Paksennarion appears briefly
in all 5 titles, but is not a viewpoint character. The two threads
dealing with Dorrin Verrakai and Kieri Phelan were the main threads, but
there were other threads.
_Horngard_ starts several years after the end of _Crown of Renewal. It
is focused on the continuation of those other threads. The 3 principal
threads deal with Camwyn Maihieran, the younger brother of the King of
Tsaia and who suffered what would had been fatal wounds in _Crown of
Renewal_ if wasn?t for the intervention of the Elder power known as the
Dragon (but he still suffered permanent amnesia), and the younger
daughter and son of Duke Marrakai of Tsaia, Gwennothlin and Aris
Marrakai. Gwennothlin spent most of the Legends series being one of
Dorrin Varrakai?s squires. She has since become a knight. Aris, who had
a bit role in _Oath of Gold and had appeared in all of the Legend
titles, had a moment of importance in _Crown of Renewal_. At the start
of _Horngard_, he is a squire for Jandelir Aroclin, who has been awarded
all of Kieri Phelan?s honors in Tsaia and is also the commander of the
Fox Company. As for Camwyn, he has been trained by the Dragon for a significant role, the King of Horngard, a city state in the west side of Aarenis, that a human associate of the Dragon had founded centuries ago,
but had recently been abandoned.
After some adventures (which might be relevant for the rumored sequels), Camwyn leads a party to Horngard and starts the process of restoring the
city. Aris Marrakai, while being Aroclin?s squire, falls into a very
difficult position. Eventually, he is sent to Horngard to join Camwyn
(they were friends before Camwyn?s injuries). Gwennothlin Marrakai,
having determined a position in the Tsaia Royal Guard to be
unsatisfactory (they were not accustomed to having female knights as members), eventually is hired by Fox Company as a junior captain of a
cohort (i.e., a lieutenant to a senior captain for a formation of about
120 soldiers). There are factions in Aarenis that don?t want to see
Horngard reestablished (IMHO, they oppose an honest government there)
and have assembled a large force to prevent this from happening. Other
forces, including theFox Company, are assembled to oppose this.
However, the attacking forces arrive at Horngard first and put it under
siege. Camwyn and Aris led the defense for several days before the
relief force shows and routs the attackers. If what I found searching
the Internet is true, _Horngard_ is the first book in a new series
(perhaps a trilogy). Thus, I expect to read more on the identity and
motives of whoever financed the attack on Horngard (a large and
expensive mercenary company was hired for the project) in the subsequent titles.
--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. ?-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward
robertaw@drizzle.com
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