Hidden Warrior

In March I reviewed the first part of the The Tamir Triad, The Bonedoll's Twin. I wasn't all that impressed with the book but it was not entirely without promise so I read the second book, Hidden Warrior, as well. Book two covers the events between the moment Tobin learns of his real gender and the time he is restored to female from. It's a pretty decent book but it suffers from some of the same flaws as the first book, the story is straightforward and rather predictable.

We pick up the story when Tobin wakes up in his childhood home after the events in which he learned of his birth and how Lhel, Arkoniel and Iya disguised and hid him. There is no hiding this time though, Tobin will have to return to court and take up his role in the Companions, a group of boys surrounding the crown prince Korin. Tobin delays though. Ki has been hurt by Tobin's ghost brother and needs some time to recover. Tobin ignores his guardian's demands that he return immediately. When the two do finally return to court the confrontation between Tobin and his guardian ends badly with the man dead at brother's hand. To make his life at court even more interesting a truce between Skala and Plenimar means king Erius will be returning to the capital shortly. Tobin's position at court is slowly becoming impossible.

While Tobin is somewhat shielded from events in the larger world, the wizards Arkoniel and Iya find themselves uncomfortably exposed. Lord Niryn, one of the king's closest advisor, is continuing his which hunt. All wizards entering the capital are required to register and receive a number. The burning of "traitors", i.e. those supporting the view a woman should rule Skala, are becoming more frequent. Iya travels the country to try and unify the wizards while Arkoniel, who has become the caretaker of the object Iya has been guarding since the beginning of the story, stays at Tobin's childhood home and gathers in the malcontents. Slowly a a coalition is forming that may support Tobin's bid for the throne. Arkoniel doesn't stop there though, he has a goal of his own.

The problem I had with the previous book continues in this one. Every character plays their part and the story rolls on, at the same pace throughout most of the book, to it's inevitable conclusion. Nobody steps out of line, rebels against the faith the gods have dealt them or does anything unexpected in any way. Even the battle scenes are rather anti climatic. Not until the very end of the book does the pace pick up and does Flewelling manage to inject some excitement into the tale. Still nothing unexpected though. The foreign enemy is even kind enough to get rid of the king, sparing Tobin the need to commit regicide.

It is quite obvious at the end of the book Tobin's problems aren't all solved now that the will of the gods is done. Flewelling also leaves herself the task of sorting out Tobin's complicated relationship with his squire Ki and the nature of Tobin's feelings for him (I literally groaned when it became clear what the nature of those feelings is to the reader). And there is also Arkoniel and his mysterious object. We learn a little more of it but Flewelling hasn't made it's relevance to the overall story known yet. I suppose we have something to look forward to in Oracle's Queen.

The second book also hasn't made me like the characters any better. Iya is still cold hearted and obsessed with making her godsend vision come true. Life still happens to Arkoniel, he bravely ventures into the directions Iya and Lhel point out to him without considering following his own path. In fact, he shows something of the same meekness Tobin does. Tobin plays his roll to perfection, keeping up a brave face among the companions even if he should be a psychological mess, haunted as he is by a dead twin brother and the fact that he is living in a male body when he, or maybe I should say she at this point, is quite aware of the fact (s)he is in fact a woman. Potentially Tobin is a memorable character, there is so much in him to work with, especially now that he is in the years that will define his character, but Flewelling makes him an almost mild character. The boy's life has been a drama from the day he was born and only when he completely forgets himself does he even raise his voice about it.

In short, the story and the characters don't work for. That being said, it is hardly an effort to read this book, Flewelling's style is pleasant to read and unlike in The Bonedoll's Twin, she does finish the book with a major part of the story concluded. I thought it was a more satisfying read in that sense than book one of this triad. Still, it disappointed me in other accepts so overall I don't think Hidden Warrior is a better book than The Bonedoll's Twin. Let's hope for the best in Oracle's Queen, I am going to finish this series.

Other Reviews of works by Lynn Flewelling

The Oracle's Queen - Jun 20, 2008

The Bone Doll's Twin - Mar 30, 2008

Luck in the Shadows - Oct 6, 2005