Elven Star
Encyclopedia
Elven Star is the 2nd book in The Death Gate Cycle
series written by Margaret Weis
and Tracy Hickman
. It was released in 1990.
The book covers the reconnaissance of Pryan, by Haplo at the behest of the Lord of the Nexus. Pryan is one of the four elemental worlds in the universe of the series, created by the sundering of the Earth.
), and it is always daytime. The "ground" is not the ground at all, but rather moss and the leaves of huge, mile-high trees; most people don't know where the real ground is, or if there even is a real ground. And, although there is no night, there are "stars": little pinpoints of light that appear sporadically in the sky, some apparently burning out while others remain longer.
Paithan Quindiniar, an elven magical weapons merchant, makes a deal with a pair of human smugglers, half-siblings Roland and Rega Redleaf, who pretend to be married as a cover story. The two accompany Paithan to the dwarven buyer of the magical weapons in an attempt to swindle him. During the trip, Rega is supposed to seduce him; much to her surprise, however, she finds they are falling in love with each other, a romance tainted by distinct prejudice and interracial tensions. It all falls apart, however, when the convoy is attacked by the tytans
, giant lumbering humanoids with no eyes and crude defensive rune-magic. These tytans ask only a single question— Where is the citadel?— and if they don't like the answer, they destroy everything in sight. They haven't yet found an answer they like. They are rescued by the dwarven buyer, Drugar, and the four set out for Paithan's home. Drugar has an ulterior motive, however; the tytans wiped out his people since they had no adequate means to defend themselves, thanks to the Redleafs' failure to sell him Quindiniar weapons in time.
Conditions have deteriorated in the Quindiniar household. Paithan's father Lenthan is obsessed with the idea of rocket
ry, as he is sure his late wife now lives in the stars - a heretical belief among the elves of Pryan. Lenthan's eldest daughter, Calandra, is a tight-fisted spinster under the best of conditions, and is incensed that Paithan has brought humans into the household. His younger sister, Aleatha, is just as she has always been: an extremely lovely young woman, but shallow, vain and lazy. Lenthan has sent away for a human expert on rocketry but has instead gotten Zifnab, a bizarre long-bearded fellow who seems utterly senile, especially since he seems to think he's some person named "James Bond
" one moment, and "Dorothy Gale
" the next; his "dog Toto" (actually one of Pryan's native "dragons") spends a lot of time reining him in. Finally, the newest member of the household is Haplo. His dragonship proves extremely useful when the tytans show up; even Haplo's rune-magic cannot defeat them, and Calandra stubbornly chooses to stay behind during the evacuation.
Haplo sets course, on Zifnab's suggestions, for one of the winking stars in the sky. This period of empty travel is devoted mostly to romance: Paithan and Rega struggle to handle their relationship, Aleatha and Roland resist each other with all their might and almost succeed, and Haplo himself has flashbacks to his time in the Labyrinth, and the woman he met there; they became lovers and travelled together for a time, and she was suspected by Haplo to be carrying his child when they separated. It doesn't bother him that he hasn't seen her in years. Or so he tells himself.
Arriving at the white star, Haplo travels up a mountain to a glowing, abandoned city that is nearly identical to the Nexus. He leaves the mensch to fend for themselves and enters the central stronghold, where he discovers a great deal of data on the nature of the worlds, although all the Sartan here have disappeared. He then leaves for Death's Gate and his next mission.
Meanwhile, Zifnab apparently sacrifices himself to save the Redleafs, Quindiniars and Drugar from his dragon; it chases the remaining mensch to the gates of the citadel, which Drugar is able to open with an amulet inscribed with Sartan runes. The mensch are now safe— a fact that Zifnab, hale and hearty, celebrates with his dragon companion.
, Library Journal
, Publishers Weekly
, and Voice of Youth Advocates.
The book hit the bestseller lists for Locus
, Waldenbooks
, and B. Dalton
.http://www.trhickman.com/Biblio.html
The Death Gate Cycle
The Death Gate Cycle is a seven-part series of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The main conflict is between two powerful races, the Sartan and the Patryns, which branched off from humans following a nuclear/anti-matter holocaust...
series written by Margaret Weis
Margaret Weis
Margaret Edith Weis is a fantasy novelist who, along with Tracy Hickman, is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in fantastic worlds.-Early life:Margaret Weis was born in 1948 in Independence, Missouri, and later attended...
and Tracy Hickman
Tracy Hickman
Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
. It was released in 1990.
The book covers the reconnaissance of Pryan, by Haplo at the behest of the Lord of the Nexus. Pryan is one of the four elemental worlds in the universe of the series, created by the sundering of the Earth.
Plot
Pryan, the World of Fire, does not orbit a sun— at least, not in the normal manner. It is a giant stone sphere containing four suns (similar to a Dyson SphereDyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
), and it is always daytime. The "ground" is not the ground at all, but rather moss and the leaves of huge, mile-high trees; most people don't know where the real ground is, or if there even is a real ground. And, although there is no night, there are "stars": little pinpoints of light that appear sporadically in the sky, some apparently burning out while others remain longer.
Paithan Quindiniar, an elven magical weapons merchant, makes a deal with a pair of human smugglers, half-siblings Roland and Rega Redleaf, who pretend to be married as a cover story. The two accompany Paithan to the dwarven buyer of the magical weapons in an attempt to swindle him. During the trip, Rega is supposed to seduce him; much to her surprise, however, she finds they are falling in love with each other, a romance tainted by distinct prejudice and interracial tensions. It all falls apart, however, when the convoy is attacked by the tytans
Titan (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
, giant lumbering humanoids with no eyes and crude defensive rune-magic. These tytans ask only a single question— Where is the citadel?— and if they don't like the answer, they destroy everything in sight. They haven't yet found an answer they like. They are rescued by the dwarven buyer, Drugar, and the four set out for Paithan's home. Drugar has an ulterior motive, however; the tytans wiped out his people since they had no adequate means to defend themselves, thanks to the Redleafs' failure to sell him Quindiniar weapons in time.
Conditions have deteriorated in the Quindiniar household. Paithan's father Lenthan is obsessed with the idea of rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
ry, as he is sure his late wife now lives in the stars - a heretical belief among the elves of Pryan. Lenthan's eldest daughter, Calandra, is a tight-fisted spinster under the best of conditions, and is incensed that Paithan has brought humans into the household. His younger sister, Aleatha, is just as she has always been: an extremely lovely young woman, but shallow, vain and lazy. Lenthan has sent away for a human expert on rocketry but has instead gotten Zifnab, a bizarre long-bearded fellow who seems utterly senile, especially since he seems to think he's some person named "James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
" one moment, and "Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
" the next; his "dog Toto" (actually one of Pryan's native "dragons") spends a lot of time reining him in. Finally, the newest member of the household is Haplo. His dragonship proves extremely useful when the tytans show up; even Haplo's rune-magic cannot defeat them, and Calandra stubbornly chooses to stay behind during the evacuation.
Haplo sets course, on Zifnab's suggestions, for one of the winking stars in the sky. This period of empty travel is devoted mostly to romance: Paithan and Rega struggle to handle their relationship, Aleatha and Roland resist each other with all their might and almost succeed, and Haplo himself has flashbacks to his time in the Labyrinth, and the woman he met there; they became lovers and travelled together for a time, and she was suspected by Haplo to be carrying his child when they separated. It doesn't bother him that he hasn't seen her in years. Or so he tells himself.
Arriving at the white star, Haplo travels up a mountain to a glowing, abandoned city that is nearly identical to the Nexus. He leaves the mensch to fend for themselves and enters the central stronghold, where he discovers a great deal of data on the nature of the worlds, although all the Sartan here have disappeared. He then leaves for Death's Gate and his next mission.
Meanwhile, Zifnab apparently sacrifices himself to save the Redleafs, Quindiniars and Drugar from his dragon; it chases the remaining mensch to the gates of the citadel, which Drugar is able to open with an amulet inscribed with Sartan runes. The mensch are now safe— a fact that Zifnab, hale and hearty, celebrates with his dragon companion.
Criticism and praise
Elven Star was reviewed by BooklistBooklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
, Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, and Voice of Youth Advocates.
The book hit the bestseller lists for Locus
Locus (magazine)
Locus, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field", is published monthly in Oakland, California. It reports on the science fiction and fantasy publishing field, including comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade...
, Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware as well as a children's edutainment chain under Walden Kids...
, and B. Dalton
B. Dalton
B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by the Dayton's department store chain. Located primarily in shopping malls, B. Dalton competed primarily with Waldenbooks, and operated 798 stores at its peak...
.http://www.trhickman.com/Biblio.html