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33rd out of 44 books
—
183 voters
Watchtower (Chronicles of Tornor #1)
Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that guards the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, a young prince is the tower's last hope-in an enchanting story of a time far removed from our, and a land alive with warriors, lovers, war and honor. The Watchtower is the first in the memorable Chronicles of Tornor Trilogy by one of speculative fiction's...more
Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages
Published
November 30th 2004
by ibooks
(first published 1979)
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this is high fantasy world-building without the fantasy. the novel - indeed, the trilogy - is less about constructing a thrilling narrative and more concerned with characterization and illustrating the author's central theme: change in the world must always come - the only question is in how it is accepted, how it can be made personally transformative. how will the wheels of time and change slowly exert their influence within our central character and the prince (and change-agent) that he guards...more
I grabbed this because I think I've read the third book in the trilogy. Or maybe I meant to read it? It's been so long that I can't remember. Sigh. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this and I'm also surprised at how many books I read when I was younger had same-sex couples in them and I never noticed. The relationships in this are so natural and realistic that it never dawned on my younger self that I should see something different or strange in it. While there isn't a lot of action in this...more
When Tornor Keep is captured by southern raiders, Ryke must become one of the new Lord's guardsmen in order to protect the life of the Keep's overthrown Prince--until both can find an avenue of escape. Watchtower has a terse, staccato, repetitive style that gives it deceptive speed and simplicity, but at its heart it's a deeply personal tale. This is fantasy without magic: a familiar but foreign setting, intricately realized and intensely problematic; the conflict between worldviews that arises...more
da: http://www.webalice.it/michele.castel... Un romanzo del 1979, mai apparso in Italia, e nemmeno i suoi due seguiti, che compongono la trilogia di Tornor. Abbastanza apprezzati in America, tanto da essere ristampati piuttosto spesso. Questo primo romanzo ha anche vinto il World Fantasy Award nel 1980. Leggendo i commenti dei lettori su Amazon, si puo' vedere che i giudizi si dividono nettamente in due: da una parte gli entusiasti e dall'altra i denigratori totali. L'aspetto che causa questa fr...more
Published originally at www.fantasyliterature.com
Watchtower, the first book in the award-winning THE CHRONICLES OF TORNOR series by Elizabeth A. Lynn, follows the tale of a young prince — why is he called a prince when his father is a lord? I have no idea. This bothered me through the whole book — who has to fight against a usurper to regain his lands.
Watchtower is frequently included on lists of feminist and gay SFF. It does deal with an underlying homoerotic tension between the prince and his...more
Watchtower, the first book in the award-winning THE CHRONICLES OF TORNOR series by Elizabeth A. Lynn, follows the tale of a young prince — why is he called a prince when his father is a lord? I have no idea. This bothered me through the whole book — who has to fight against a usurper to regain his lands.
Watchtower is frequently included on lists of feminist and gay SFF. It does deal with an underlying homoerotic tension between the prince and his...more
Prestado por un compañero de trabajo que pretende introducirme en el arcano mundo de la literatura fantástica y al que voy a matar en cuanto le vea de nuevo...
Resulta que es el primer libro de una trilogía (primera noticia) y, en contra de mis previsiones, no me ha desagradado en absoluto, de forma que ahora tengo que tragarme las dos partes siguientes... ¿Será la hora de intentar leer a Tolkien de nuevo?
En cualquier caso, mi venganza será terrible: como no hay traducción de las dos partes que...more
Resulta que es el primer libro de una trilogía (primera noticia) y, en contra de mis previsiones, no me ha desagradado en absoluto, de forma que ahora tengo que tragarme las dos partes siguientes... ¿Será la hora de intentar leer a Tolkien de nuevo?
En cualquier caso, mi venganza será terrible: como no hay traducción de las dos partes que...more
The story of Ryke, a soldier of Tornor Keep, a harsh castle in a wintry land. When the fortress is taken by raiders, Ryke stays loyal to his prince (now lord, since the old lord was killed in the battle), and contrives a way for them to escape the fort with the help of two neutral messengers, Sorren and Norres, whose gender and identities are secret....
They travel to a secret valley, named after a mythical land of always-summer, where an exiled soldier, Van, is teaching small groups of followers...more
They travel to a secret valley, named after a mythical land of always-summer, where an exiled soldier, Van, is teaching small groups of followers...more
the problem with tolkein is that his writing is so dense that it feels like you're wading through setting concrete to get to the good story buried underneath. this book, the first in a trilogy, has the exact opposite problem: sentences are so short and choppy that they become distracting to the good story.
'watchtower' has taken a familiar story - the kingdom is overthrown by an interloper and the young prince must rally help to reclaim his birthright - and throws enough new twists to make it int...more
'watchtower' has taken a familiar story - the kingdom is overthrown by an interloper and the young prince must rally help to reclaim his birthright - and throws enough new twists to make it int...more
What an immensely satisfying book! The back of my copy says that it is, "AN ADVENTURE STORY FOR HUMANISTS & FEMINISTS!" It totally is! All the battles and lost kingdoms and heirs posing as acrobats you could ask for, but with real characters. The end is wonderful, if sad--I'm so glad I finally read a fantasy novel that explicitly acknowledged the homoeroticism inherent in the magical unbreakable bond between prince and manly warrior sworn to protect him.
Apr 05, 2013
Antony Castellano
added it
Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that guards the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, a young prince is the tower's last hope-in an enchanting story of a time far removed from our, and a land alive with warriors, lovers, war and honor. The Watchtower is the first in the memorable Chronicles of Tornor Trilogy by one of speculative fiction's most honored and exciting voices.
Feb 10, 2008
Tabatha
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
No one, it's really not that good.
Recommended to Tabatha by:
Someone in an IRC channel.
The plot felt flat the whole time I read this book. There was too much going on that had no relation to the plot at all. It had very little detail and sometimes I felt it hard to follow because it jumped around and forgot to tell you where they were or something. Too many characters that had very little significance. I really couldn't get into the characters, other than Sorren. It's as if none of them had any feeling, they felt so plain and empty, so lacking in character. I wish the story would...more
Lo más extraño de que haya ganado el World Fantasy Award es que no es una historia de fantasía. Ocurre en un reino medieval inventado, como tantas novelas del género, pero no tiene ningún elemento fantástico.
I picked up the trilogy to which this belongs because I'd heard it mentioned as pro-fic with a slash-vibe. I read it less than a year ago, and had to look up the amazon reviews to remind myself of which one it is.
This book, the first in the trilogy, has nothing exceptionally slashy in it beyond a bit of feudal allegiance-swearing. It's rather dull, and it feels like the author is making her protagonists travel because she can't think of anything else for them to do. It's not interestingly or te...more
This book, the first in the trilogy, has nothing exceptionally slashy in it beyond a bit of feudal allegiance-swearing. It's rather dull, and it feels like the author is making her protagonists travel because she can't think of anything else for them to do. It's not interestingly or te...more
An okay read. Had trouble caring about the characters and the story just moved too slowly for my tastes.
This was a popular trilogy in the 1980s. It was thought progressive because of the prominent role of a same-sex couple. It took me a while to track down used paperbacks of all 3 books, but it is not all that compelling a read.
my all-time favorite fantasy series. 100% love.
What can I say? Loved it.
13
I found it interesting for the prominent role a fictionalized version of Aikido plays in the book.
A story about how the warlike mentality can come to thirst for something akin to peace, and the ways in which peaceful ones fight. A socially and psychologically rich and nuanced imaginary world which comes to full fruition in the reader's mind when Book I is read along with the rest of the trilogy (Dancers of Arun and Northern Girl).
Plot, character and prose is incisive, economical, precise. It won't satisfy readers who enjoy long-winded fantasies that spell everything out.
Plot, character and prose is incisive, economical, precise. It won't satisfy readers who enjoy long-winded fantasies that spell everything out.
The story is decent. It is just so poorly written.
I read this because it was on the recommended reading list of the Feminist Fantasy, Science Fiction and Utopian literature group. I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. I know why it's considered important, but the story is just ok and nothing really felt new.
Jun 23, 2009
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fantasy fans
Recommended to Erik by:
Denise Griebler?
Shelves:
sf
Starting in seminary I was introduced to science fiction-fantasy literature written by women with feminist and gay themes. Presumably I read this as part of that effort, but it left no real impression.
Truly different fantasy. First to use real martial arts and dancing/kinesthetics as the backbone of the narrative. One of the first to explore not quite het sexuality. Very nuanced in places.
I'd read a lot of great reviews of Lynn's work, but the books just didn't live up to the hype. Watchtower was probably the best of the bunch.
My review for this book can be found on Examiner.
I didn't know this was a trilogy! I guess I'd better read the other two.
Good fantasy book. Psi powers involved.
Couldn't finish it. Too juvenile in scope.
May 17, 2013
Genny
marked it as to-read
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Elizabeth A. Lynn is a US writer most known for fantasy and to a lesser extent science fiction. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the GLBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.
More about Elizabeth A. Lynn...
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