Gordath Wood by Patrice Sarath
Jan. 26th, 2009 04:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Into the woods.
Lynn Romano is a tough woman with a big job. As stable manager for Hunter's Chase, north of New York City, she manages horses that weigh more than a ton, have unpredictable tempers, and are worth more than most people make in a year. Emergencies are what she's paid for. When an earthquake tremor - almost unheard of in this part of the world - spooks the stable's most valuable stallion, Lynn decides to ride him home through Gordath Wood rather than try to load him into a van. They never get there.
Something has happened in Gordath Wood. The police think they have a murderer on their hands, but the truth is stranger than that. Lynn has stumbled into a hole between worlds and now finds herself in a world at war - a medieval society that doesn't have much use for women. Somehow she needs to keep herself alive long enough to figure out who the good guys are - and to find a way home.
In this competent debut novel, Gordath Wood is a portal between our world and that of Red Gold Bridge, a medieval world based on 'traditional' gender roles. Lynn Romano is a stable manager living in New York state who finds herself transported into Red Gold Bridge when she accidentally crosses through the portal while trying to get herself and Dungiven (the prize stallion of her boss, Mrs Hunt) home through the woods one night. Red Gold Bridge is in a state of war and its ruler, Lord Tharp, is using the wood to bring through guns to give him an advantage over the Council, whose campaign is led by General Marthen. Taken prisoner by Lord Tharp, Lynn must navigate her way through this strange world and its antiquated view of women if she is to get back home; and the same is true for teenager Kate Mossland who finds herself in the hands of General Marthen when she goes out looking for Lynn.
The advantage of having two female characters placed in the fantasy world is that it enables Sarath to show both sides of the war and the reasons for it - the depiction of battles and camp life seems well researched and feels true, particularly as seen through Kate's eyes, who gets to see the sickness and day-to-day grind. Also well researched and credible are the horsey-elements to the story, with Sarath giving the animals personalities without sentimentalising them. The story unfolds naturally and without the use of info dumps that would slow down pace, the world building is credible and the reaction of the Lords to the new technology well portrayed.
Where I had issues it was with the fact that because the book moves along so quickly, certain elements didn't feel as developed as they could be. In particular the romances between Kate and Colar (the son of a young lord) and Lynn and Crae (a captain) felt rushed and needed to establish more of a connection between the characters on the page - particularly in the Lynn/Crae/Joe triangle, which suffered because you see very little of Lynn and Joe's relationship early on and what is given is in exposition form. The twist on the identity of the main villain was easy to guess early on, which robbed the revelation of power and the ending is a breezy affair with loose ends tied up very quickly while leaving the potential for a sequel. Despite these, the story and world were entertaining enough for me to be willing to read more.
The Verdict:
Although the romance elements failed to convince me, this is an entertaining novel, fast-paced and convincing in its depiction of war.
Lynn Romano is a tough woman with a big job. As stable manager for Hunter's Chase, north of New York City, she manages horses that weigh more than a ton, have unpredictable tempers, and are worth more than most people make in a year. Emergencies are what she's paid for. When an earthquake tremor - almost unheard of in this part of the world - spooks the stable's most valuable stallion, Lynn decides to ride him home through Gordath Wood rather than try to load him into a van. They never get there.
Something has happened in Gordath Wood. The police think they have a murderer on their hands, but the truth is stranger than that. Lynn has stumbled into a hole between worlds and now finds herself in a world at war - a medieval society that doesn't have much use for women. Somehow she needs to keep herself alive long enough to figure out who the good guys are - and to find a way home.
In this competent debut novel, Gordath Wood is a portal between our world and that of Red Gold Bridge, a medieval world based on 'traditional' gender roles. Lynn Romano is a stable manager living in New York state who finds herself transported into Red Gold Bridge when she accidentally crosses through the portal while trying to get herself and Dungiven (the prize stallion of her boss, Mrs Hunt) home through the woods one night. Red Gold Bridge is in a state of war and its ruler, Lord Tharp, is using the wood to bring through guns to give him an advantage over the Council, whose campaign is led by General Marthen. Taken prisoner by Lord Tharp, Lynn must navigate her way through this strange world and its antiquated view of women if she is to get back home; and the same is true for teenager Kate Mossland who finds herself in the hands of General Marthen when she goes out looking for Lynn.
The advantage of having two female characters placed in the fantasy world is that it enables Sarath to show both sides of the war and the reasons for it - the depiction of battles and camp life seems well researched and feels true, particularly as seen through Kate's eyes, who gets to see the sickness and day-to-day grind. Also well researched and credible are the horsey-elements to the story, with Sarath giving the animals personalities without sentimentalising them. The story unfolds naturally and without the use of info dumps that would slow down pace, the world building is credible and the reaction of the Lords to the new technology well portrayed.
Where I had issues it was with the fact that because the book moves along so quickly, certain elements didn't feel as developed as they could be. In particular the romances between Kate and Colar (the son of a young lord) and Lynn and Crae (a captain) felt rushed and needed to establish more of a connection between the characters on the page - particularly in the Lynn/Crae/Joe triangle, which suffered because you see very little of Lynn and Joe's relationship early on and what is given is in exposition form. The twist on the identity of the main villain was easy to guess early on, which robbed the revelation of power and the ending is a breezy affair with loose ends tied up very quickly while leaving the potential for a sequel. Despite these, the story and world were entertaining enough for me to be willing to read more.
The Verdict:
Although the romance elements failed to convince me, this is an entertaining novel, fast-paced and convincing in its depiction of war.
