Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars

[THT]

Anybody here read them? Sort of a guilty pleasure. It has a feminist take on Catholicism, a deep historical background, a bit of magic, some interesting characters, and the wait for the next book is interminable.

 

[ChrisW]

Yah, "Crown of Stars" is currently my 2nd favourite series. Oh and the cover art is great so they look really good

.

 

[Shadowen]

Yep, love these books. Amazon.co.uk has the publication date for book 5 'Crown of Stars' as July 2nd, 2002, so less than a year to go.... sigh.

 

[SirRob]

Yeah these books are great. They're my favourite series as they're really interesting and have brilliant characters ,and weave a complete picture of the world its set in, even though I don't really care for the feminist stuff. And the similiarities to the medieval world makes it even better. Thanks for the bit of information about the publication date of the fifth one Shadowen I've been looking for that for ages.

 

[azaz]

I've got the first 3 books in paperback, and I couuldn't wait to read 'Child of Flame', so I brought it in hardback. Now I only wished I had brought all of them in Hardback.

Her world building is top-notch, one of the best, the characters well drawn out and very different to one another.

****** Maybe Spoiler ******
In 'Child of Flame' where she shows what happened and how everything begin 2700 years ago is excellently done. The technology and setting is in that time are also shown differently, with more of a bronze age feel to it.
****** End Maybe Spoiler ******

The only bad thing I found about this series is the religious stuff can sometimes get too carried away.

I can't wait till the Fifth book comes out. 2nd July 2002. Yippi ka yeah.

 

[Eventine]

I sort of liked the religious part to it - it was an intersting take on Christianity, and how some of the characters came to their beliefs, and how they accept the repercussions makes for some interesting conflict.

 

[Lady Fox]

I enjoyed this series too. The religious and feminist overtones didn't take away from the plot or storyline - they fit very naturally into the action. Anybody know when Child of Flame will be released in paperback?

 

[THT]

Amazon.com says Child of Flame ships Nov 7 this year.

About Alain, I'm still mystified about his destiny and his history. He can perform miracles, is blessed by the gods, and can't kill. It almost seems he's a Forrest Gump character

 

[Eventine]

Alain is definitely very interesting, particularly when you consider what happened to him in Child of Flame.

Spoiler
*************************************
What are the repercussions of the lady of battles abandoning him? Can he regain her favour?

 

[ChrisW]

He doesnt need to. Alain can fight but he can't kill. You see this in child of flame when he fights those underground guys. He kicked there butts without having to kill any of them. So why would he won't her back?

 

[Hans]

Don't forget to put spoiler's guy's.
****** SPOILERS ******

One of the great mysteries is of Alain's background, who was his mum? Why do the hounds obey him?
Another puzzle is that deal that women(forgotten her name) made with the count of Lavas, where she traded the hounds for that baby. (I can't seem to remember the names now, damn).

****** END SPOILER ******

Child of Flame is already out in PB in the UK.

 

[Maya]

Alain's probably the descendant of Taillefer which explains the hounds. This series is superb.

 

[Postaurch]

Kate Elliott: In the Ruins/Crown of Stars (Merged)

Well, I have to say I'm thoroughly disgusted. Elliott's Crown of Stars series started with promise but has degenerated into a lackluster vehicle for making a last bit of cash.

I won't go through the various issues of the series that have been discussed before. I'll simply leave it at this:

Elliott has pushed out several hundred more pages with the end result of . . . nothing. She could have advanced the plot to the same degree with the same effect in fifty pages. Thus ends my support via the marketplace of this author's efforts. I may grab a library copy or sit for an hour at B&N just to get the conclusion.

Phfft.

* grumbles at the lack of authorial integrity *

 

[Oroth]

I gave up on this author about 600 pages into book 4. It wasn't exactly bad, just nothing interesting had really happened; it didn't seem to be going anywhere, and too much time was spent with characters I found boring + annoying etc. etc.

 

[Julian]

Well, I have to say I'm thoroughly disgusted. Elliott's Crown of Stars series started with promise but has degenerated into a lackluster vehicle for making a last bit of cash.

Oh-oh! I have this on order. More ominously perhaps, I still have the very hefty The Gathering Storm to read, too! This is one of those series that got a bit mislaid during the last few years or so.

When did your disillusionment with the series start? If it was during Child of Flame or before - I might be alright, since I liked those volumes. If it's from "Storm" onwards, though...

 

[Rob B]

I'm sort of in the same boat as Julian, I've only read up until Child of Flame, and liked it so far. I was planning on waiting until the final volume Crown of Stars publishes to catch up on all the books.

 

[Postaurch]

When did your disillusionment with the series start? If it was during Child of Flame or before - I might be alright, since I liked those volumes. If it's from "Storm" onwards, though...

It's hard to pinpoint where/when, for as noted above, Elliott can come up with well crafted stories and plots.

I feel resonance with the critique I've seen here in other threads that Liath's path has been too convenient at times. I liked Child of Flame, as it seemed that volume where the author can finally bring out the big guns of imagination without going over the top, having built credibility with the previous storyline.

I was luke-warm on The Gathering Storm, but ultimately ended up on the positive side, figuring it positioned the story nicely for the final volume.

In the Ruins is basically a reprise of this position, but no new details are revealed. The good are shown to bee good, the evil confirmed evil, those driving events still shape them, and those with no say are still shaped. I literally can think of only a single spoiler-type event, and while it might be emotional it in no way alters the direction of the plot that I can see.

Unless you are committed enough to the series that you’d rather not pull out, I’d recommend browsing the book before buying. Personally, I’d be happier reading a 200-word summary of this latest book and saving the money for the final one, knowing it was final.

 

[Julian]

In the Ruins is basically a reprise of this position, but no new details are revealed. The good are shown to bee good, the evil confirmed evil, those driving events still shape them, and those with no say are still shaped. I literally can think of only a single spoiler-type event, and while it might be emotional it in no way alters the direction of the plot that I can see.

Unless you are committed enough to the series that you’d rather not pull out, I’d recommend browsing the book before buying. Personally, I’d be happier reading a 200-word summary of this latest book and saving the money for the final one, knowing it was final.

Thanks, Postaurch! You know what? I think I'll perservere, even if at the end it's only to say how right you were! You certainly didn't make me overly enthousuiastic, I'll admit, but I'll chance it. A great many series have - quite rightly - been criticised for being, well, dull at one point or another - but I'll admit that, given a certain obdurate attitude on my part - I still manage to feel them worthwhile. And I sort of hate the idea of giving up halfway.

So I'm thinking - if you feel that the series has hit decidedly sluggish territory with In the Ruins, but nothing worse - well, that's not good, but it's not dreadful, either.

As I said, I'll chance it, I think.

 

[Evil Agent]

Elliott is one author that I bought, based on some positive comments I heard on this site. Several people were comparing her books to the medieval setting in Martin's aSoIaF...

So anyway, I have the first 5 books sitting on my shelf (bought them used, for about $5-$6 each), but ever since I bought them I've started hearing more negative things. I still haven't read them, and they don't seem to be very high in priority on my to-read list either....

<scratches head>

 

[Eventine]

I though Crown of Stars was going to be the next release! I didn't realise she'd stretched it out to include another book. It's a bit disapointing considering I felt most of the plot threads were tied up in the last book and I couldn't even work out how she'd get a full length novel out of Crown of Stars. I'll still buy and read it though.