Lens of the World

Lens of the World #1

by R.A. MacAvoy

An outcast of small stature and the offspring of unknown parents, Nazhuret is forced out of the military Royal School of Sordaling. He is soon taken under the wing of Powl, a mysterious mentor, madman, and master of optics, who pushes Nazhuret to his mental and physical limits while teaching him the arts of astronomy, languages, swordsmanship, and—most importantly—mind and body control.

When Nazhuret take his leave of Powl, he embarks on a journey through war, darkness, and death, rising above his humble beginnings and taking his destiny into his own hands . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Young Adult

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Roberta Ann (R. A.) MacAvoy is a fantasy and science fiction author in the United States. Several of her books draw on Celtic or Taoist themes. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984. R. A. MacAvoy was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Francis and Helen MacAvoy. She attended Case Western Reserve University and received a B.A. in 1971. She worked from 1975 to 1978 as an assistant to the financial aid officer of Columbia College of Columbia University and from 1978 to 1982 as a computer programmer at SRI International before turning to full-time writing in 1982. She married Ronald Allen Cain in 1978.

R.A.MacAvoy was diagnosed with dystonia following the publication of her Lens series. She now has this disorder manageable and has returned to writing. (see http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...)

Reviews

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, what a book. I was reaching for a way to describe the feel of it, and I suppose the best one was 'Diana Wynne Jones meets Umberto Eco,' and yet not. There is the sense of a thoroughly sensible fantasy setting, not flashy but deep. Erudite things happen, there is learning and science (mindfulness!) and wisdom, and then, later, oh, yes, the wars and the intrigue and the occasional hint of the supernatural. Often dark, never grim, sometimes horrible, always told with a light touch that emphasises the narrator's interests and perceptions, revealing character and world by omission or brusque understatement.

Nazhuret is raised in a military academy with no knowledge of his origins, as much a servant as a student, putting off the inevitable day when he must take service with a Duke or hit the road. On the eve of his final day, he comes oddly under the tutelage of the mysterious Powl, and an apprenticeship begins. Powl makes Nazhuret ready for the world, but is the world ready for Nazhuret? Sent out to find his own way, Nazhuret wanders and has adventures and learns unpleasant lessons and has ambiguous and confusing encounters that culminate in an attempt to thwart an attack on the king.

It's a terrific tale, a bildungsroman and a fantasy classic that shows what you can do with a short tight tale and a little thought and learning about the world and about people. A new favourite.

Feb 2022 - listened to the audio book - doing that a lot lately amn't I? - because I finally got my hands on the next two volumes. Unfortunately there's a pile of books on top of them, so I lacked the patience to wait until I had the other books ready to go, so unless I get my hands on the audio versions of them as well, it could be a month or two before I get to them. Sloppy reading management, Nigel, tsk tsk. Excellent reading, though, lovely calm voice.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Originally posted at FanLit
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

Nazhuret was an ugly half-breed orphan when he started life at an exclusive military school, but now he’s someone important. So important, in fact, that the king has asked him to write his autobiography. Who is this man who has fascinated a king, what is he now, and how did he come so far in the world?

Lens of the World, published in 1990, is the first book in R.A. MacAvoy’s LENS OF THE WORLD trilogy. It’s a coming-of-age story which reminds me of several fantasy epics I’ve read, especially Ursula K. Le Guin’s EARTHSEA series, Robin Hobb’s FARSEER saga and, more recently, Patrick Rothfuss’s KINGKILLER CHRONICLE.

Those are some big names I’ve used as comparison. Can MacAvoy really stand up to that? Mostly yes. Nazhuret is not quite as likable as FitzChivalry Farseer and not quite as interesting as Kvothe, but he’s an appealing hero, as are a couple of the other main characters such as Nazhuret’s enigmatic teacher, Powl, who lives in a strange round building and teaches Nazhuret to sit still, think, speak several languages, dance, fight, and appreciate optics, linguistics and other academic subjects. Then there’s a girl named Charlin who Nazhuret thinks he loves, though he’s not sure. (Sexuality is confusing to Nazhuret since he was raped by his schoolmasters when he was a boy.) And finally there’s Arlen, a thief who remembers Nazhuret from his school days, and the red-headed King whom Nazhuret meets later in the story and to whom we assume he’s writing.

Plot-wise, Nazhuret’s story is always interesting and I often found it absorbing, but I wouldn’t say that it quite reaches the level of “exciting.” For nearly half of the book he’s being educated before he sets off on his own and works odd jobs such as farm hand, janitor, and bouncer. He encounters bar fights, murderers, a wedding, a werewolf, a dragon, and makes friends with a dog. All this time, of course, we’re aware that he’s casually addressing the king as he writes his autobiography, so this makes us realize with anticipation that something important is going to happen. Toward the end we find out why his teacher is so interested in him, and learn that perhaps Nazhuret has a destiny. Other revelations about Powl and Arlen made me want to read on.

This doesn’t sound too much different from many other coming-of-age fantasy novels I’ve read, but what makes Lens of the World stand out is R.A. MacAvoy’s style, and this is why I’ve compared her to Hobb and Le Guin. Like those authors, MacAvoy’s prose is both beautiful and succinct — something that I truly admire but rarely experience.

I listened to Audible Frontier’s audio version of Lens of the World which was narrated by Jeremy Arthur, who did a perfect job with voices and cadence. It was the lovely thoughtful prose and the excellent narration that really carried me through this story, letting me just sit back and enjoy a beautifully told tale. I’m looking forward to the next book, King of the Dead.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a unique fantasy novel is different from your standard fantasy fare. It is always nice to find a book that doesn't fit in the same old fantasy mold. Well written with a good main character. Not exciting enough for me to rush out and read the sequel but I will eventually get to it.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read several of the author's books before and been disappointed by one or two, I was pleasantly surprised by this one which I thoroughly enjoyed. It takes the form of a series of letters by a man who is telling the story of his younger self to a friend, who we gradually realise is a King and later, exactly who it is.

Nazhuret grows up in a boy's school which takes only those of a certain social standing and yet he has no clue as to his parentage. His fees are paid by an uncle he doesn't know, who at one point fails to pay for a whole year so that Nazhuret has to work as school servant role. When the fees are subsquently paid, he receives a year's wage. The bright spot in his existence when he is around 12 years old is a friendship with the daughter of a local Duke, but she suddenly disappears and rumours circulate that her father has killed her, or that she has been sent away pregnant.

Nazhuret is a surprisingly sunny boy considering that some of his experiences at school, especially being sexual abused by at least one of the masters, wouldn't seem to lend him a phlegmatic disposition. He gradually becomes a fixture of the school and takes on an unpaid teaching role, but eventually the school decides to pay someone and his only choice is either to be recruited into the army of the duke who may have killed his daughter or to abscond. He does the latter and meets a mysterious character in a building on the outskirts of town: an encounter that will shape the whole of his life. For this man will teach him, among other things, to become a trained killer and an optician.

I won't say any more about the plot but I loved the oblique style of narrative and the characters, especially Arlin, an old acquaintance from school days who turns up at opportune moments and is, among other things, a card sharp and an expert with horses, knife throwing and rapier fighting, plus other larger than life people such as King Rudof and Nazhuret's mentor. Nazuret himself is interesting: he views himself as horribly ugly but it gradually becomes clear that he resembles the people who live in another country who are traditional enemies of the land where he lives. Even horses are well developed as personalities, especially Arlin's horse, Sabia. There are some good twists in the story also. So a well deserved 5 stars.

[Zdravko · Rating 1 out of 5]

No chapters. No breaks. No chapters I say. Imagine you receive a letter. A long letter. Long, pretty boring and odd letter from an unlikable person.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I decide to create a "guilty pleasure" shelf, this book will be the first one on it. Ooooooo, I just love it. It reminds me of These Old Shades, which goes next to it. Swashbuckling and melodrama laid on with a trowel. It's the rare fantasy novel written in the first person, and it's also an epistolary novel, which is, um, novel in this genre, at least to me. (Sorry.)

I do wish it had had pictures, which I feel about most fantasies I like. I wish Nazhuret spent less time kicking people's butts and more time grinding lenses, dancing, translating, dancing, being clever, or any of the other things he learns to do. Or having sex. I wish it were a little harder to read, so I would have read it slower, because sometimes I found it hard to follow.

But overall I found it terrifically enjoyable and can't wait for a chance to run back to the Tazewell County Public Library and discover that they don't have any of the rest of the freakin' series and I have to order used paperbacks again.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of the much more recent the Name of the Wind, another novel that is set in a fantasy world and recounts how a figure of power and mystery grew into his current reputation. But, I enjoyed Lens of the World much more - it is more tightly plotted, with better control of narrative voice, and a lovely writing style. The main character is also more likable, once he has finished his training. He is far from perfect, but his impulses are good, sometimes despite his better judgment, and he has an unshakeable core of autonomy. The way the author handles sexuality and desire is also appealing - directly, yet without letting it dominate any aspect of the story. While this book is the first in a trilogy, it makes for a satisfying stand-alone read, and I may not get back to the later volumes for a while.

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not my kind of content.

[Contrarius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I listened to Lens of the World alllllllll day and alllll evening, and finished it off this morning.

IOW, yes, I liked it. :)

I'd never heard of this before very recently, and I don't understand why it isn't better known; on the other hand, it has been mentioned here on the forum before, and since it was published smack in the middle of the period in which I was doing the least sff reading, I may just have missed it. It's really very nice -- mostly gentle and charming in voicing and story, though there is plenty of action to go along with. Not a lot of wasted words, either. Think McKillip, Le Guin, Beagle.

The first book is sort of epistolary. It's the tale of Nazhuret, an orphan, being written down by Nazhuret because his king has asked for the story of his early life, and in it Nazhuret is addressing himself to the king. But we're only reminded that this is a long letter to a king once in a very long while, so it's mostly just a first-person story. Nazhuret is 40 when he's writing the story, and he basically starts at age 19 with some brief summations of the years before that. It starts with the dreaded special-kid-in-a-tough-military-school trope -- but that doesn't take up much of the book, so never fear.

I think this is only my second MacAvoy book, and though I liked the first one (The Grey Horse), this one is much better. This is the sort of book that is very enjoyable on first reading, but you get the feeling that there's a lot of things going on that you'll only notice on a second approach. Logically enough given its "lens" title, and the fact Nazhuret himself is referred to as the Lens of the World, the reader is often not quite sure what's really going on -- there are often questions about perception vs. reality, how perspective changes that perception, what and who people really are, what is motivating them, and how those motivations can be shaped by the people themselves or by others. I'd love to give some examples, but I don't want to spoil any of the book's surprises; and the story can be read as an enjoyable straight coming-of-age adventure, if that's what you're looking for, so the multiple meanings and reality-shifting can be overlooked if you just don't want to be bothered. But do keep in mind that Nazhuret is very likely an unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to his reflections about himself, and watch how his claimed physical, mental, and emotional inadequacies match up against externally verified realities. For one small example: As a 40-year-old man he tells us quite forcefully, at the beginning of the book, that he is an extremely ugly/deformed dwarf, and he has always been teased for supposedly looking like a monkey; yet later in the book we find out that he looks exactly like a large number of people in a neighboring country. So, actually, he is neither a dwarf nor hideous, though he still perceives himself that way; he simply belongs to a race shorter than the people he grew up with who have different facial features, which were seen as deformed by the ignorant children in his adopted country. He knows all this, but he still calls himself a hideous dwarf. Oh, also: there is little to no magic in the book, depending on how you interpret certain events -- whether they have anything to do with magic or not is pretty much up to you to decide.

Anyway, big thumbs up. I'm already well into book #2, and enjoying it just as much so far.

Oh, and as for the narrator: this is a new one to me, Jeremy Arthur. I thought he did a fine job, though I would have been happier if he had done some accents. They weren't strictly needed, but they would have made sense in context.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of a trilogy told in first person by the protagonist, an ugly boy-child of no certain origin named by an unknown 'uncle' with the unusual name of Nazhuret. Raised in a class and race conscious society this person transcends his world like the Jungian archetypal Law Giver. He becomes the one who is able to be both among and separate from his society so lead them to a new path. Thus Nazhuret becomes the lens of the world.
This first is the story of Nazhuret's journey beyond his known world, into madness, then the slow return in order to understand. On the way he is forced to learn discipline of mind and body by a teacher, Powl, who has passed this way before Nazurhet.

The Lens of the World trilogy:

1. The Lens of the World
2. King of the Dead
3. Belly of the Wolf

[Douglas Beagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacAvoy does as she pleases. That's the oddest thing about her books. She doesn't feel obligated by expectations of a novel, she just picks what she wants to write about and writes it. So in Tea With the Black Dragon you get a very odd narrative detective romance that has only just enough sauce to hold the dish together, in The Gray Horse--no, I can't explain the Gray Horse-- and here in the Lens of the World you get a character with no clear or abiding quest or narration getting trained for no reason. An invented fantasy world with glances of various invented cultures but no magic and no unifying reason for it all to exist at all... And yet it all works. I have a profound trust in this author now.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic of the genre, which should be on everyone's to be read pile.

[Bronwyn Hegarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it after 'wading' a little through the first part and getting used to a different style of writing. The story becomes really interesting once Nazhuret is turned out of Powl's brutal 'teaching academy', by page 60, and makes his way in the world. However, looking back, the significance of N's earlier life as described at the beginning is really important information for the development of the story. Many adventures unfold and secrets are revealed as the narrative progresses. It is easy to see how this author may have influenced others who came behind, for example, Robin Hobb.

Apparently, Nazhuret is ugly to look at, but his inner character is just and empathetic to others he encounters. He is a fair man who takes many situations into his own hands with outcomes that appealed to my sense of social justice. The storytelling is sound, the characters well formed and interesting, and overall the plot and storytelling kept me intrigued all the way through.

Unusually, the book has no chapters but the flow of the story obliterates the need for them, and I certainly wasn't looking to see when a chapter might end.

[Ian Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 reread: still superb. I’m struck again by how modern a lot of MacAvoy’s books are. She wrote about thirty years too soon, I think.

——————

The early life and education of Nazhuret, consisting of his childhood, schooling, early employment and coming-of-age. And in the hands of someone like Ms MacAvoy, it is a magical thing of beauty. At the time, this was hailed by some as her masterwork; to us, her fans and admirers, it was just business as usual.

[Phil Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read this book since it came out. I gave it 5 stars originally because of my fond memory of it from childhood, but i only just now got around to re-reading it. Still totally stands up. This book could have been written today, doesn't feel dated at all, incredibly fun and compelling. I'm now going to go back and read all of her other books that i didn't get around. Just wonderful.

[Evenstar Deane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I never read this book before. I love the voice of the main character and the world that we see out of his eyes. Reminds me a lot of Robin Hobbs' Assassin series, although MacAvoy probably wrote these first, I'd have to check publication dates.

[Kiro Selanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Nazhuret becomes an apprentice to Powl, a mysterious man he finds in an observatory. Powl teaches him monk-like skills: superb combat with and without weapons, as well as observation and lens grinding. After his apprenticeship Nazhuret starts to wander the world, more or less aimlessly. He gets involved in a few local matters (raiding parties; a possible werewolf sighting), where his unusual skillset proves helpful. He occasionally runs across a mysterious man called Arlin that claims to know Nazhuret from the school he had attended before he met Powl, but Nazhuret doesn't remember Arlin.

The first half of the book lacks dramatic tension because there's no antagonist or conflict. An inordinate amount of time is spent describing Nazhuret walking around in the wilderness, what he eats, and which types of branches he uses to make his bed each night. This made it hard to keep my interest, but because the prose is good and the book is short I pushed on. The second half is a little more focused: Nazhuret gets involved with the King of his realm and helps him out of a jam, and from then on Nazhuret is either with or near the King. But even then, the story lacks urgency.

The prose is very good, although it uses more unfamiliar vocabulary than anything this side of Gene Wolfe. Also like Gene Wolfe, occasionally there's dialogue whose meaning isn't clear: people seem to be landing a point but you don't understand what that point is. So, like in Wolfe's books, you've got to accept some befuddlement.

I've seen this book compared to "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. There are a few similarities: elevated prose; first-person POV of a young protagonist with high skills; and even a sequence where the protagonist fights a "dragon" (which turns out not to be a classic dragon). But "The Name of the Wind" is a much better book in every respect, so the superficial similarities do not make for a similar reading experience.

Normally I would DNF a book like this because the good prose isn't enough to outweigh the lack of tension and the occasional confusion. But it's only 200 pages so I did finish it. The book has two sequels, but I'm bowing out.

[Lenora Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book on my eReader. It had been several years since the series first came out, in 1990 I think, and therefore several years since I first read it. I have been a fan of MacAvoy's for years, and have read most, if not all of her books at least once, so finding this was like meeting an old friend after a long absence.

This book reads like a letter from an old friend. One who is catching you up on all that's gone on in his life since you last met. Fortunately for you, he's led a fascinating life since last you talked, and it is so hard to put this book down.

Nazhuret is an orphan of unknown parents and an outcast who is educated in a rather exclusive school until turned out. He then stumbles into the home of Powl, where his real education begins. Until he knows all that Powl can teach him, and he must make his own way in the world. (There are a few typos in the book, where Powl is spelled Fowl. Just know they are there and keep reading. Typos happen.)

I can't help but wonder if GRR Martin didn't get his idea for Tyrion Lannister from reading these books. Nazhuret and Tyrion are not the same character, but, still....

MacAvoy is a superb storyteller. I've never been even slightly disappointed in her books, and this one held up nicely to being re-read. Now that I think about it, all of her books have held up nicely to being re-read. If you haven't been introduced to Ms. MacAvoy's books, please, allow me to introduce you to Nazhuret.

[Janet S · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the very beginning, I learned this is the auto biographical telling of the life of a forty year old man named Nazhuret. told in the form of a letter to the King. The telling is in a familiar voice, the voice of a friend or between those with mutual trust or respect between them. The telling starts with Nazhuret as a child. As such, this would be a coming of age story, but as the narrator looks back on a longer journey, the story is much more than that.

The author has given Nazhuret the grace to observe this fantasy world, its customs and characters, and his relations and experiences within it with clarity. We are not subjected to much in the way of head rumbles (my way of describing the voice in my head saying, why did I do that, or what did she mean by that?) from Naz - he records what happened and what he observed and clearly labels when he wanders from that.

I loved the format of a letter, with no chapters to interrupt the telling. I found I liked Naz and appreciated his viewpoint, his reading of the character of others. In this respect, Naz is the Lens of the World, in this fantasy world created by MacAvoy.

[Gareld Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a story of a half-breed orphan. He starts out living at a military school and eventually finds himself as an apprentice to a man who appears to be a magician/optical lens maker. This man teaches him many languages in addition to teaching him how to survive. The man leaves him after a few years and the young man starts wandering across the countryside, working enough to eat and helping people out where he can. The pace of the entire book is leisurely, and there are no great plot twists or high points to change the pace of the action. Although the story is well-written, I had a tough time staying interested and put the book away for fairly long periods of time. I did eventually finish it and will start on the next book in the series in the hope that the pace picks up a bit.

[roy douglas lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I found this book to be enjoyable. I don’t like the narrative at all. At times it’s to simplistic and others it’s overly complicated.
At times it reads as a young adult novel than drops into child rape and other adult indulgence that is far from suitable for young readers.

There are parts to this story that is really good. The middle part of the story with the King and the protagonist is crafted well. The twist with Arlin is once again a genius stroke of writing.

I am still not sure if the story and the writing failed me or if I failed the author as a reader. That rarely happen for me.
I will recommend the book for adult readers. I think there is something here worthwhile.

[Joy]

Nazhuret, misshapen and of high but mysterious birth, escapes from military school and finds himself a different kind of education. Shut into isolation except for one teacher, Nazhuret's new education is based on science and observation. Suddenly that schooling ends, and he is alone in the world. A beggar in rags, he holds odd jobs and fights with a skill that few can match. The young man who was trained never to get involved finds himself in a tangle of conflicting loyalties. Love will always drive out his attempts at detachment. Beautifully written, highly atmospheric.

Read 2 times

[Zeke171 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only 500 reviews on this book, sad! Then again, it was written almost 30 years ago. This is a work that should be re-issued on a regular basis and passed around by the masses. A very enjoyable, well written tale recounting the hardships and adventures of the likable character Nazhuret. Ms. MacAvoy has a wonderful flowing writing style that i feel was quite unique in it's presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will someday seek out the next book in the series. Well done.

[Endoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reviews comparing this novel to other contemporaries does them no justice.

The writing is overly complicated, the protagonist keeps jumping around with his thoughts and since this is written as some kind of memoir in letter-form to his friend, the king, we get an earful of the protagonist talking about himself, while constantly interrupting the narrative of the actual story.

It has not aged well and is by my personal standards absolutely unreadable.
0/5 stars.

[Jim H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lens of the World" offered a great degree of innovation in a time when I had lost interest in the repetition of the exhausted tropes and archetypes so prevalent within the genre. As several previous reviewers have mentioned, the epistolary format was used to great effect to play with the idea of the faulty narrator, whose sardonic wit and unflinching self deprecatory humor were definitely the highlight of the novel for me.

[BruceSB · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I said that this book moves at a snail's pace I would be exaggerating! I could summarise the first half of the book in a single sentence without leaving anything out. The writing is reasonable enough and so is the story.
It is just that my time is precious and I don't want to waste it! Feel free to buy it and have a read just as long as you are prepared.
Hope that helps.
Bruce

[Blair Gormley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lens of the World

Nazhuret is the whipping boy of Soldaling where he grows up being beaten and abused. Once he reaches the age of sixteen he leaves the safety of Soldaling and comes across the new young king whose life he saves. He finds out his friend Arlin is actually the girl he loved back in school. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book.

[Anna Furtado · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, a little rambling, but the prose grows into something deep and profound. At the end, it felt like a deep sigh. One less star only because of the rambling bit. But I still look forward to book two of this series.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

FCN: Nazhuret (Warrior, linguist, astronomer, philosopher, lens grinder, lord, dwarf), "My first. real memory of myself was that of my own remarkable ugliness, revealed in the great, badly silvered practice mirror at school.

[Liz Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable quick read. It has ingredients that seem familiar (mysterious origins, intense training from a mysterious teacher, etc.) but that don't come together quite as expected, which I liked. I will probably read more from this author.