The Bear and the Serpent
The Echoes of the Fall series, Book 2
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Pan Books
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Once, the girl Maniye was torn between the tribe of her mother - the Tiger people - and the tribe of her father - the Wolf's disciples. She was chased across the crown of the world, forming unlikely alliances with a traveling snake priest and visitors from the distant southern lands, even spending time among the taciturn Bear folk, before finding her destiny as a Champion: one who, in addition to taking the animal forms of her parents' tribes, also holds the soul of a creature from ages past, a hulking carnivore of black fur and sharp teeth. But the northern tribes merely turned her from unwanted outcast to potential pawn in their eternal squabbles, even as the priests and wise folk talk of a coming doom that will destroy those who cannot unite to face it. Maniye decided to head south with the warrior Champion Asmander while she learns her new strength (and gives the crown of the world time to come to grips with the first Champion in their midst in untold generations - a Champion who cannot be used as a simple tool to address petty grievances or advance personal ambitions). With her travels a small war band, outcasts from their clans seeking to make a name for themselves in a distant land, as well as the Hyena woman Shayari, the reborn Serpent priest (now priestess) Hesprec - and, unexpectedly, the Wolf priest Kalameshi Takes Iron. What Maniye finds among the River Lords is a world as different from her own as night from day, the realm of Old Crocodile and chaotic Dragon and tribes and gods she has no names for, all embroiled in politics she does not understand. She soon finds herself plunged into a struggle that may best even her great Champion soul.
Meanwhile, in the far north, Loud Thunder of the Bear tribe struggles to fulfill the burden placed on him by his wise mother: a war leader charged with uniting the feuding tribes and clans of the crown of the world. But when word comes that the foretold threat has arrived - their ancient enemies from across the sea, the soulless Plague People, who destroy all they touch - the north is more divided than ever. He never wanted the mantle of war leader, but now he has no choice, not if he wants to save his land and his gods from these invaders.
REVIEW: Picking up not long after the first book (The Tiger and the Wolf) ended, The Bear and the Serpent departs from the first tale by splitting the action into two theaters, the south and the north. Maniye Many Tracks must grow into her Champion role, leading an unlikely band into foreign territory and foreign politics that nonetheless carry a certain similarity to the politics and squabblings she left the north to escape. The Sun River Nation stands poised on the brink of civil war as the son and daughter of the old Kasra both claim the title of their dead father - and River Lords like Asmander's scheming father show more loyalty to their own fortunes than either potential ruler. Securing the services of the legendary Iron Wolves of the north was supposed to be a political coup for Tecuman, the son (and for Asman, Asmander's father), but Tecumah, the daughter, has made many gains while Asmander was away in the crown of the world... and the southern Champion himself, raised as friend and near-kin to both rulers, despairs as his own heart and loyalties are torn between them. Meanwhile, Hesprec returns to a priesthood he no longer recognizes, one that has inserted itself into the political wheels of the kingdom in ways that seem counter to the teachings of the Serpent... and they have made strange, potentially treasonous alliances. Up in the north, reluctant leader Loud Thunder finds himself in over his head as he tries - and initially fails - to pull the fragmented people together despite an endless list of internal feuds and rivalries, even as the true depth and horror of the threat becomes terribly clear by the arrival of a traumatized survivor of the ravaged Seal people. There's a nice twist to the nature and identity of the invaders, and Tchaikovsky continues to grow the shapeshifter world and its complex political and mythological landscape in interesting ways, and the characters do a fair bit of growing, if not without stumbles. As before, sometimes the dialog and tangle of alliances and rivalries can get a trifle dense and stilted, and some side characters seem a bit underdeveloped, but overall it remains just as intriguing and action-filled as the first volume. This one, however, ends on something closer to a cliffhanger, whereas the first one wrapped itself up reasonably well. I suppose I'll have to see if the third and (presumed) final installment is available on Overdrive now, to see how it all ends.
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