What do you think?
Rate this book
The Latter Annals of Lystra #8
All Mirrors and All Suns
When a poisoner attempts to murder Surchatain Ares-again-Ares decides the time has come to step down from the throne and go underground to find out who is trying to take over the province. In his clandestine searches, he discovers a hidden room containing a vast cache of gold. While Ares is preoccupied with establishing a link between the gold and his would-be assassin, Henry is experiencing his own torments in getting his betrothed, Ares' daughter Sophie, to agree to a wedding date. However, prompting her to act turns out to be a trivial matter compared to his discovery that the task of arranging his nuptials has been assigned to Westford's chief his sister Renée. All Mirrors and All Suns is the eighth book of the Latter Annals of Lystra, but new readers may jump into the series at any point. Robin Hardy is the author of The Annals of Lystra, the Streiker Saga, the Sammy Series, The Idecis, Padre and its sequel, His Strange Ways, and Unknown Name, Unknown A Wimsey Reade Mystery. She is also the editor of W.W. Melton's classic devotional, Sifted But Saved. For photos, articles, and updates on new releases, see www.robinhardy.com.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2010
4 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Robin Hardy
57 books48 followersI've written a new series! It's a distant sequel to The Annals of Lystra (begun in Chataine's Guardian) and The Latter Annals (begun in Nicole of Prie Mer). This is where it begins:
Thirty-five years after the assassination of Henry, Surchatain of Lystra, the province is no more and its capital Westford a shadow of its medieval greatness. With the fever now ravaging the palace, the army, and the town, a new Surchatain has ascended the throne of Westford, requiring a loyalty oath for all his subjects and soldiers.
Efran, Captain of the Red Regiment of the Army of Westford, is Polonti—a member of the brown-skinned, black-haired race generally regarded with contempt by Southerners on the Continent, including many in Westford. Knowing of the loyalty oath required on pain of death, Efran lays plans to leave once he has recovered from the fever himself.
But Efran is hindered by entanglements with the Surchatain’s two daughters—one who despises him and one who adores him.
He is appointed guardian of one Chataine. When the palace begins crumbling on its foundations, Efran takes his charge and a street urchin to an abandoned fortress south of Westford in the midst of wolf territory. While he gathers more homeless children at the fortress, the other Chataine prepares to lead an army against him for the legendary treasure hidden in the desolate Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea.
The Stories of the Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea comprise 36 novellas, each around 50,000 words, that make for one continuous story from the beginning to a definite end. To introduce this series, I'm offering free pdf and epub downloads of all the stories. Each pdf includes links, pronunciations, maps, and an illustration with notes. (The epubs contain all of the above except maps.)
Thirty-five years after the assassination of Henry, Surchatain of Lystra, the province is no more and its capital Westford a shadow of its medieval greatness. With the fever now ravaging the palace, the army, and the town, a new Surchatain has ascended the throne of Westford, requiring a loyalty oath for all his subjects and soldiers.
Efran, Captain of the Red Regiment of the Army of Westford, is Polonti—a member of the brown-skinned, black-haired race generally regarded with contempt by Southerners on the Continent, including many in Westford. Knowing of the loyalty oath required on pain of death, Efran lays plans to leave once he has recovered from the fever himself.
But Efran is hindered by entanglements with the Surchatain’s two daughters—one who despises him and one who adores him.
He is appointed guardian of one Chataine. When the palace begins crumbling on its foundations, Efran takes his charge and a street urchin to an abandoned fortress south of Westford in the midst of wolf territory. While he gathers more homeless children at the fortress, the other Chataine prepares to lead an army against him for the legendary treasure hidden in the desolate Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea.
The Stories of the Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea comprise 36 novellas, each around 50,000 words, that make for one continuous story from the beginning to a definite end. To introduce this series, I'm offering free pdf and epub downloads of all the stories. Each pdf includes links, pronunciations, maps, and an illustration with notes. (The epubs contain all of the above except maps.)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 29, 2015
As ever this instalment was riddled with anachronisms, and modern terms and phrases which do not fit in with the setting, in common with the entire series. Strictly speaking very little really seemed to happen at least little that was different from what took place before.
This I believe is one of the foremost weaknesses of this series, it has simply dragged on for too long, and so storyline and plot devices get `recycled' and re-used and the stories become ever more repetitive as the series progresses. Again there are secret tunnels, and sliding panels, and much romancing between Sophie and Henry, or Bonnie and Ben, again Ares falls ill from poison, Renee has is tormenting and abusing those around her freely and with impunity, not much change there then.
In this novel, the identity of the poisoner is revealed. Trying to poison the ruler no fewer than three times would seem to be an act arising extreme hatred and malice- yet the person responsible is a minor character who has never been introduced before, and one could be left questioning why on earth he wanted to kill Ares and Henry- a question left unanswered as his motives are never revealed.
Really the whole thing just seems to be something of a cop out, and rather unsatisfactory and implausible.
The most unlikely and unrealistic aspect of this novel, however, was Ares faked 'death'.
Not only did half the prominent figures in the palace know Ares was alive (though this was out of necessity), but they frequently visited and consulted with him in his room.
Nicole insisted in her conjugal rights, and they both simply carried on as before.
The idea that nobody would hear or notice the regular consultations between Ares and palace officials, or Ares and Nicole's activities, or become suspicious at the several sightings of him in the corridors and outside the palace makes the novel all the more implausible. Are people in Westford really so gullible and witless as to believe everything they are told, especially some nonsensical story about Ares 'ghost' from Renee, and not suspect the Ares was not dead with all the happenings above?
Henry, who takes on the title of Surchatian (equivalent of the King) in this story is supposed to be learning how to rule the country and assert himself- yet he lacks the courage and backbone to even do so much as stand up to his sister Renee who does not even have a royal title, yet Lords over him. He is so afraid of incurring her wrath (really, what is the worst that she can do- shout at him, throw a tantrum?) that he has to creep around performing important business in secret for fear of being caught, and even has to marry his betrothed in secret.
Methinks a King or ruler who was terrified of upsetting and offending his jumped up tart of a sister who has no real power is hardly worthy to be a ruler at all, especially in relation to matters that could be of great import to the entire kingdom. What is so wrong with the ruler just asserting himself and refusing to let Renee order him around? Do some people simply think this would be sexist or tyrannical?
One of the most objectionable aspects of this series is the way that the characters appear to condone immoral and sinful behaviour, and this particular novel is no exception. In one passage, Nicole sees Renee’s latest lover leaving her bedroom at night, and it is obvious what she has been up to. Nicole’s response is to smile and feel happy for Renee. Apparently, she sees no problem with casual fornication.
One might think such behaviour on the part of an unmarried noblewoman might be regarded as entirely inappropriate if not taboo in the medieval period, but none of the characters seem to regard it as such, and really the novels in this series rarely accurately represent the standards and values common at the time.
The man in question however is far from a willing victim (at least at first) as Renee lures him into her bedroom where she proceeds basically rape him, for lack of a better word, all the while talking about 'honour'.
Altogether another less than satisfying instalment, all of which seem to be getting rather similar in a rather tired series that has perhaps simply gone on for too long. Thankfully there is only one left.
This I believe is one of the foremost weaknesses of this series, it has simply dragged on for too long, and so storyline and plot devices get `recycled' and re-used and the stories become ever more repetitive as the series progresses. Again there are secret tunnels, and sliding panels, and much romancing between Sophie and Henry, or Bonnie and Ben, again Ares falls ill from poison, Renee has is tormenting and abusing those around her freely and with impunity, not much change there then.
In this novel, the identity of the poisoner is revealed. Trying to poison the ruler no fewer than three times would seem to be an act arising extreme hatred and malice- yet the person responsible is a minor character who has never been introduced before, and one could be left questioning why on earth he wanted to kill Ares and Henry- a question left unanswered as his motives are never revealed.
Really the whole thing just seems to be something of a cop out, and rather unsatisfactory and implausible.
The most unlikely and unrealistic aspect of this novel, however, was Ares faked 'death'.
Not only did half the prominent figures in the palace know Ares was alive (though this was out of necessity), but they frequently visited and consulted with him in his room.
Nicole insisted in her conjugal rights, and they both simply carried on as before.
The idea that nobody would hear or notice the regular consultations between Ares and palace officials, or Ares and Nicole's activities, or become suspicious at the several sightings of him in the corridors and outside the palace makes the novel all the more implausible. Are people in Westford really so gullible and witless as to believe everything they are told, especially some nonsensical story about Ares 'ghost' from Renee, and not suspect the Ares was not dead with all the happenings above?
Henry, who takes on the title of Surchatian (equivalent of the King) in this story is supposed to be learning how to rule the country and assert himself- yet he lacks the courage and backbone to even do so much as stand up to his sister Renee who does not even have a royal title, yet Lords over him. He is so afraid of incurring her wrath (really, what is the worst that she can do- shout at him, throw a tantrum?) that he has to creep around performing important business in secret for fear of being caught, and even has to marry his betrothed in secret.
Methinks a King or ruler who was terrified of upsetting and offending his jumped up tart of a sister who has no real power is hardly worthy to be a ruler at all, especially in relation to matters that could be of great import to the entire kingdom. What is so wrong with the ruler just asserting himself and refusing to let Renee order him around? Do some people simply think this would be sexist or tyrannical?
One of the most objectionable aspects of this series is the way that the characters appear to condone immoral and sinful behaviour, and this particular novel is no exception. In one passage, Nicole sees Renee’s latest lover leaving her bedroom at night, and it is obvious what she has been up to. Nicole’s response is to smile and feel happy for Renee. Apparently, she sees no problem with casual fornication.
One might think such behaviour on the part of an unmarried noblewoman might be regarded as entirely inappropriate if not taboo in the medieval period, but none of the characters seem to regard it as such, and really the novels in this series rarely accurately represent the standards and values common at the time.
The man in question however is far from a willing victim (at least at first) as Renee lures him into her bedroom where she proceeds basically rape him, for lack of a better word, all the while talking about 'honour'.
Altogether another less than satisfying instalment, all of which seem to be getting rather similar in a rather tired series that has perhaps simply gone on for too long. Thankfully there is only one left.
Displaying 1 of 1 review