A young heir is drawn into a labyrinth of deception, death, and magical destiny in this bold adventure in the bestselling Witch World series.
Kethan is heir to the throne of Car Do Prawn in the realm of Arvonâ??but there is little he has to be proud of. He can sense trouble brewing amongst the people. And he can feel the weight of those who wish to bend his will to their own. From his overbearing mother, the Lady Heroise, and her duplicitous Wise Woman, Ursilla, to his vindictive cousin, Maughus, they all want to rule through him when he comes of age.
But his attention is turned from such palace intrigues when a strange traveler gifts him a belt of leopard skin embossed with a stoneâ??a jargoonâ??carved in the shape of a predatory snow cat.
At first, the belt intrigues Kethan. Then it entrances him, for it possesses great magical powersâ??and it is up to Kethan to learn how to control them. He will need to tread a crooked path between good and evil if he is to retain his soul even as his body transforms into a form more lethal than anything he's ever dreamed… (plus d'informations)
This story follows on from 'The Year of the Unicorn' as I realised when I began reading - although the characters were not named, I could tell that the woman having her baby in the shrine of Gunnora, at the same time as the mother of the narrator of this novel, is Gillan, the woman with powers in that novel, and her husband is Herrel, the Were, or shape shifter who can transform into a snow leopard. They come back into the novel much later.
I also realise on doing this review that I've missed out a couple of volumes in this second Witch World series, book 0 and book 1 - however, I don't think it prevented me from understanding or enjoying this one. Briefly, Heroise, the protagonist's mother, goes to the shrine to have her baby believing it will be a son and through him she will be able to rule, as their land follows the custom of the sister's son of the ruler inheriting. The baby is a girl - but a ready solution presents itself as Gillan is in the room next door having her baby which they realise is a son. The mother's nasty wise woman sidekick Ursilla puts Gillan and her midwife into an entranced sleep and makes them forget so that when they wake up they think the baby girl is her own child.
However, things don't work out as Heroise hoped, as the son, whom she names Kethan, is not the malleable tool she and Ursilla hoped. He is too independent and he also faces enmity within the keep because Heroise's sister-in-law hates him and wants her own son Maughus to succeed the father, against custom. Kethan grows up in an atmosphere of tension and hatred, although this is character building in the long run. His time of trial comes when he is betrothed to Maughus' sister, and her mother gives him a gift to commemorate it - a belt he had already been drawn to when a mysterious trader visited the keep. The belt has the effect of turning him into a pard - a big cat - probably because it brings out his innate gift from his real father, Herrel. Everyone, including him, assumes it is a curse laid on him by the belt. The intention is either to kill him as an animal, or else to denounce him as a thing of the Dark. So he has to go on the run, unable to turn back into his human form, and pursued by multiple enemies.
It is quite a short book in comparison to some of the other Witch World novels and a quick read. It isn't outstanding, but I enjoyed it nevertheless, with the suspense as to whether Kethan would prevail, whether he would learn who his real parents are, and whether he would come into his true heritage. So I would award this a page turning 3 stars. ( )
Just did another reread Feb 2019. Still love this book.
Another of my all time favorites. I love shifter stories to this day maybe because of this book. High Hallack stories are my favorites of the Witch World series. Lots of Norton's hallucinaginic type magic. A mistreated hero. A bit of a love story. Love it. ( )
The Jargoon Pard is the companion piece to Crystal Gryphon and the prequel to The Year of the Unicorn. A science fiction story with a fantasy twist. Kethan is the chosen one. From the moment of his birth he was destined to lead his family. With the help of a magic belt, his fate is solidified, despite the jealousies of an evil woman, his mother's Wise Woman. Full confession: I didn't really get into The Jargoon Pard. ( )
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances allemand.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
Acknowledgments The author wishes to express her appreciation for the aid rendered on two technical matters connected with this book. First to Mrs. Merrill Gladstone of the "Rock Pile" who produced a jargoon and also the information concerning the finding of such semiprecious stones, their weight, color and the like. Second to Mrs. Phyllis Schlemmer, the sensitive, who demonstrated the various forms of tarot and then worked out the proper horoscope tarot reading for Kethan.
Premiers mots
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
Many are the chronicles of Arvon, for that is a land old beyond the imaginings of men, even though those men may be born of the Elder Races and, therefore, long in their own lives.
Car Do Prawn was not the greatest of the Keeps that gave allegiance to the Red Mantle Overlord, nor the richest.
Citations
Derniers mots
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
"Welcome home, Kethan!" said my father, as Aylinn drew me forward to walk down the door path of the garden.
A young heir is drawn into a labyrinth of deception, death, and magical destiny in this bold adventure in the bestselling Witch World series.
Kethan is heir to the throne of Car Do Prawn in the realm of Arvonâ??but there is little he has to be proud of. He can sense trouble brewing amongst the people. And he can feel the weight of those who wish to bend his will to their own. From his overbearing mother, the Lady Heroise, and her duplicitous Wise Woman, Ursilla, to his vindictive cousin, Maughus, they all want to rule through him when he comes of age.
But his attention is turned from such palace intrigues when a strange traveler gifts him a belt of leopard skin embossed with a stoneâ??a jargoonâ??carved in the shape of a predatory snow cat.
At first, the belt intrigues Kethan. Then it entrances him, for it possesses great magical powersâ??and it is up to Kethan to learn how to control them. He will need to tread a crooked path between good and evil if he is to retain his soul even as his body transforms into a form more lethal than anything he's ever dreamed
I also realise on doing this review that I've missed out a couple of volumes in this second Witch World series, book 0 and book 1 - however, I don't think it prevented me from understanding or enjoying this one. Briefly, Heroise, the protagonist's mother, goes to the shrine to have her baby believing it will be a son and through him she will be able to rule, as their land follows the custom of the sister's son of the ruler inheriting. The baby is a girl - but a ready solution presents itself as Gillan is in the room next door having her baby which they realise is a son. The mother's nasty wise woman sidekick Ursilla puts Gillan and her midwife into an entranced sleep and makes them forget so that when they wake up they think the baby girl is her own child.
However, things don't work out as Heroise hoped, as the son, whom she names Kethan, is not the malleable tool she and Ursilla hoped. He is too independent and he also faces enmity within the keep because Heroise's sister-in-law hates him and wants her own son Maughus to succeed the father, against custom. Kethan grows up in an atmosphere of tension and hatred, although this is character building in the long run. His time of trial comes when he is betrothed to Maughus' sister, and her mother gives him a gift to commemorate it - a belt he had already been drawn to when a mysterious trader visited the keep. The belt has the effect of turning him into a pard - a big cat - probably because it brings out his innate gift from his real father, Herrel. Everyone, including him, assumes it is a curse laid on him by the belt. The intention is either to kill him as an animal, or else to denounce him as a thing of the Dark. So he has to go on the run, unable to turn back into his human form, and pursued by multiple enemies.
It is quite a short book in comparison to some of the other Witch World novels and a quick read. It isn't outstanding, but I enjoyed it nevertheless, with the suspense as to whether Kethan would prevail, whether he would learn who his real parents are, and whether he would come into his true heritage. So I would award this a page turning 3 stars. ( )