The Isle of Glass / Judith Tarr

The Isle of Glass

category: fantasy, author:

Judith Tarr

book 1 of The Hound and the Falcon
original copyright 1985

read in November 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

Historical fantasy. A mix of real history -- I guess -- with the added element of elves. (I'm not an historian so I only guess that the history is real. Though I guess that it is "real" history that is largely based on dubious documents and word-of-mouth myths. Anyway.)

It's a religious fantasy: an elf who is a monk who accepts the then-current religious belief that elves have no soul. Which raises a severe barrier to my enjoyment of the book.

I have just read a book where people use religious stories as the basis for their own drive for power (The Doomsday Prophecy). To me, Doomsday portrays an accurate view of religion: No matter what the basis of the religion there are always people who will misuse the religious beliefs for their own uses. Isle builds on that view.

The central character of Isle is an elf. A very religious elf -- in the sense that he believes and he is as close to saintly as it is possible to be. And his religious beliefs tear him apart...

This saintly, religious elf believes -- as his religion teaches -- that he has no soul. So he is doomed to have no after-life. No matter how saintly his actual life.

What a miserable premise for a story.

What a depressing book.

Worse yet, nothing much of interest happens.

I have a book from the library: The Hound and the Falcon. It contains three complete novels of which Isle is just the first. My question now is... should I read the next novel?

Probably not, if it's going to be more miserable religious prejudice.

Oh well.

..o0o..

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