Aan`allein
22nd March 2002, 18:09
Long ago the Star People came to the world of Ea, bringing with them greatest of the magical stones known by the name of gelstei, the Lightstone. With it they were to build a new civilization. However, madness caused one of these first Star People to steal the Lightstone and disappear with it. Thousands of years later the Lightstone was found again, but before mankind finally discovered how to use it, Morjin, a follower of the fallen angel Angra Mainyu managed to get possession of the Lightstone. His plan of using it to release Angra Mainya from the dark world of Damoom, was thwarted as one of his own followers in turn stole off with the Lightstone.
Since then the Lightstone has never been seen again. Now however, a prophecy has fortold that once again the Lightstone will be found and that a great Maitreya will be born. If succesful, this Maitreya will make all men rediscover their true nature as Star People and return them to the heavens. If not, Morjin will use the Lightstone to free Angra Mainyu who will then threaten the heavens themselves.
Valashu Elahad is one of the people called out to undertake the quest to find the Lightstone. As a Valari knight, he tries to live by their code, polishing his soul even before his sword. And that is one of the things I like best about Zindell, that no matter what he writes, internal combat is as important to him and his characters as the regular kind. Struggles of the soul portrayed in a way that has actual meaning, both for the story and to the reader.
Beyond this 'The Lightstone' is a regular fantasy novel (the first in the four book Ea Cycle) in which a small party goes on a heroic quest to find a magical object, gathering other magical objects (other kinds of gelstei in this case, used for everything from healing to mind-speaking), learning about themselves and the world all that is needed for them to be succesfull in their quest. There are two things about this that make 'The Lightstone' stand out. First of all there's the fact that 'The Lightstone' is the ultimate pinacle of this type of book. David Zindell does _everything_ right. He faultlessly weaves myriad themes and events into a flawless whole, paying tribute to everything from Arthurian legends to Tolkien. Most of all I like the outlook of his characters on prophecies, acknowledging that they can never hope to truly anticipate the way in which they are meant to happen, something that is more than refreshing after the stupidity displayed by characters such as you can find in (for example) Goodkind's books.
The second thing that makes 'The Lightstone' rise above the other books in this genre is Zindell's prose. His words sing. There is an intensity and depth in his descriptions that is quite nearly unmatched.
Taking up the book to look for a good example of this, my eyes fell upon the very first paragraph in the book. It's not the best in this way, nor does it even come close, but I think it does already show what I mean, and as an example of the average quality instead of the best, I think it says a lot more:
On clear winter nights, I have stood on mountains just to be closer to the stars. Some say that these shimmering lights are the souls of warriors who have died in battle; some say that at the beginning of time, Arwe himself cast an infinite number of diamonds into the sky to shine forever and defeat the darkness of night. But I believe the stars are suns like our own. They speak along the blood in fiery whisperings of ancient dreams and promises unfulfilled. From there long ago our people came to earth bearing the cup called the Lightstone; to there we would someday return as angels holding light in our hands.People who have read 'Neverness' and 'A Requiem for Homo Sapiens' (books that unlike 'The Lightstone' I will not recommend to most anyone), will recognize many things in this book (and be stunned how well Zindell's style works for fantasy). Valashu Elahad has many of the features of Mallory and Danlo, even though he is quite his own person. One of his closest friends, Maram, will instantly make you recall Bardo. Beyond this, the universe in which Ea is located also is quite similar. The Ieldra are known, as is the ancient riddle "how to capture a beautiful bird without killing its spirit?", and then I'm not even mentioning the ineffable flame. There are scryers and remembrancers, and countless other little similarities. I have an (as of yet) unfounded hope that by the end of this series Zindell will more clearly show that both universes are the same and mesh fantasy with science fiction on a scale that will leave us staggering, maybe even somehow making clear that the Maitreya's quest and that of Danlo are just different aspects of one and the same fight.
Although the Lightstone can't compare to 'Neverness' and 'A Requiem for Homo Sapiens' (most certainly not when looking at the philosphical aspects of the book), it reads far easier and just by itself it's already one of my all time favourite fantasy books, ranking just below the Lord of the Rings. As the series will unfold over the coming years (oh despair! - more waiting), I think its true quality will yet leave us all stunned.
Anyhoo, as of right now I recommend anyone to pick up this book. Don't go expecting more than regular fantasy, and you'll be rewarded with the best of the best in the genre, never relenting for all 840 pages of it (in the hardcover version; that's over a hundred pages more than the biggest WoT hardcover).
=== David Zindell - The Lightstone; 840 pages; published by Voyager (http://www.fireandwater.com); ISBN 0-00-224756-9; hardcover price: £17.99 ===
See the cover at my website (http://juima.org/default.asp?pageid=424), but this is not intended as a plug of said site. This really is just a recommendation of the book. Has anyone else here read it yet?
Since then the Lightstone has never been seen again. Now however, a prophecy has fortold that once again the Lightstone will be found and that a great Maitreya will be born. If succesful, this Maitreya will make all men rediscover their true nature as Star People and return them to the heavens. If not, Morjin will use the Lightstone to free Angra Mainyu who will then threaten the heavens themselves.
Valashu Elahad is one of the people called out to undertake the quest to find the Lightstone. As a Valari knight, he tries to live by their code, polishing his soul even before his sword. And that is one of the things I like best about Zindell, that no matter what he writes, internal combat is as important to him and his characters as the regular kind. Struggles of the soul portrayed in a way that has actual meaning, both for the story and to the reader.
Beyond this 'The Lightstone' is a regular fantasy novel (the first in the four book Ea Cycle) in which a small party goes on a heroic quest to find a magical object, gathering other magical objects (other kinds of gelstei in this case, used for everything from healing to mind-speaking), learning about themselves and the world all that is needed for them to be succesfull in their quest. There are two things about this that make 'The Lightstone' stand out. First of all there's the fact that 'The Lightstone' is the ultimate pinacle of this type of book. David Zindell does _everything_ right. He faultlessly weaves myriad themes and events into a flawless whole, paying tribute to everything from Arthurian legends to Tolkien. Most of all I like the outlook of his characters on prophecies, acknowledging that they can never hope to truly anticipate the way in which they are meant to happen, something that is more than refreshing after the stupidity displayed by characters such as you can find in (for example) Goodkind's books.
The second thing that makes 'The Lightstone' rise above the other books in this genre is Zindell's prose. His words sing. There is an intensity and depth in his descriptions that is quite nearly unmatched.
Taking up the book to look for a good example of this, my eyes fell upon the very first paragraph in the book. It's not the best in this way, nor does it even come close, but I think it does already show what I mean, and as an example of the average quality instead of the best, I think it says a lot more:
On clear winter nights, I have stood on mountains just to be closer to the stars. Some say that these shimmering lights are the souls of warriors who have died in battle; some say that at the beginning of time, Arwe himself cast an infinite number of diamonds into the sky to shine forever and defeat the darkness of night. But I believe the stars are suns like our own. They speak along the blood in fiery whisperings of ancient dreams and promises unfulfilled. From there long ago our people came to earth bearing the cup called the Lightstone; to there we would someday return as angels holding light in our hands.People who have read 'Neverness' and 'A Requiem for Homo Sapiens' (books that unlike 'The Lightstone' I will not recommend to most anyone), will recognize many things in this book (and be stunned how well Zindell's style works for fantasy). Valashu Elahad has many of the features of Mallory and Danlo, even though he is quite his own person. One of his closest friends, Maram, will instantly make you recall Bardo. Beyond this, the universe in which Ea is located also is quite similar. The Ieldra are known, as is the ancient riddle "how to capture a beautiful bird without killing its spirit?", and then I'm not even mentioning the ineffable flame. There are scryers and remembrancers, and countless other little similarities. I have an (as of yet) unfounded hope that by the end of this series Zindell will more clearly show that both universes are the same and mesh fantasy with science fiction on a scale that will leave us staggering, maybe even somehow making clear that the Maitreya's quest and that of Danlo are just different aspects of one and the same fight.
Although the Lightstone can't compare to 'Neverness' and 'A Requiem for Homo Sapiens' (most certainly not when looking at the philosphical aspects of the book), it reads far easier and just by itself it's already one of my all time favourite fantasy books, ranking just below the Lord of the Rings. As the series will unfold over the coming years (oh despair! - more waiting), I think its true quality will yet leave us all stunned.
Anyhoo, as of right now I recommend anyone to pick up this book. Don't go expecting more than regular fantasy, and you'll be rewarded with the best of the best in the genre, never relenting for all 840 pages of it (in the hardcover version; that's over a hundred pages more than the biggest WoT hardcover).
=== David Zindell - The Lightstone; 840 pages; published by Voyager (http://www.fireandwater.com); ISBN 0-00-224756-9; hardcover price: £17.99 ===
See the cover at my website (http://juima.org/default.asp?pageid=424), but this is not intended as a plug of said site. This really is just a recommendation of the book. Has anyone else here read it yet?