Fortress of Eagles - Hardcover

In Fortress in the Eye of Time, C.J. Cherryh demonstrated that she can do something quite different from the tough-minded space operas of warrior elites and technobarons with which she made her name. No-one knows quite who, or what, young Tristen is, or was before; he drifts into the lands of Men when his master's, or creator's, immemorial citadel falls to the magic of his enemies, and becomes a crucial player in the game of thrones. Now young King Cefwyn has to use the victory that Tristen's off-hand magic and gallantry won him-- and the church is not happy either with Cefwyn's choice of half-elven bride or with his choice of friends. Sent from court with a brand new dukedom and a border province to make loyal, Tristen learns governance in the same ingenuous way that he learned human relationships--charm and intelligence see him through in spite of a distinct oddity of affect. This is a likeable and clever book in what is presumably set to become an extended series--it perhaps lacks an entire capacity to stand on its own. It shares with its predecessor a dreamy sense of the magical quite their own. --Roz Kaveney:

"Bodes very well for future volumes in this series."-- "Locus