Diplomacy of Wolves: Book 1 of the Secret Texts (Paperback)

After 85 pages, I have absolutely no interest in finding out what happens to the characters. Kait is the sort of character who seems really cool when one is inventing her, but it is very hard for a reader to relate to someone who seems to have every possible talent and charm invented in Matrin. I completely agree with a previous reviewer's label of "Mary-Sue."

My main objection, however, was the excessive pointless violence. In the first 85 pages, there were two graphic rape scenes, a near rape, and a few beatings. This wasn't unbearable; I have read and watched violence before. (I have, in fact, happily watched Gladiator upwards of 18 times. The difference, I suppose, is that I actually care what happens to Maximus.) However, the level of violence did nothing either to enhance the realism or to further the plot. It was as if Lisle felt she had a quota of graphic violence to meet so the book would qualify as hard-core fantasy. Maybe I'm just too squeamish for the majority of fantasy.

Along the same lines, I found the idea of magic fueled by blood to be disgusting, as well. It made it difficult for me to condone the actions even of the "good" (are they really?) magic users when I had this eerie feeling that they were actually quite evil. Again, this is probably just because I don't read a lot of fantasy.

Many reviewers have applauded the contemporary feel of the world. This is certainly a personal thing, but I prefer fantasy to have a certain immediacy, but with a definite sense of the past. This objection, of course, has more to do with my personal expectations of fantasy than with the book itself.

On the whole, I understand that fantasy worlds cannot be perfect and remain realistic, but I have to agree with other reviewers that Lisle focuses far more on the negative, ugly aspects of the world. In this writing characteristic, she is probably just picking up on a trend in the genre, but I have to disapprove. While keeping the world realistic (and realistically bad), the writer need to give me some reason to think it's an interesting world so I will find it worth my while to direct my imagination there.

I don't see myself mentally frolicking in Matrin anytime soon.

Now, this book, of course, was not completely terrible--hence the two star rating. Lisle's worldbuilding skills are certainly thorough, and the map would be really neat if it had been printed properly. (I'm even thinking of looking up spoilers online to find out what caused the circles.) A great deal of detail is evident in Matrin, and I also give Lisle a THOROUGH round of applause for creating a fantasy world that bears no resemblance whatsoever to Middle Earth, medieval Europe, or even Norse or Celtic mythology. (At the same time, however, I can't help but wonder if a greater connection to real world history and mythology might have made the book more compelling.)

The prose is by no means bad. Lisle isn't Faulkner, by any means, but she's a notch above many fantasy writers--like Terry Goodkind and (in my opinion) even the much-lauded Robert Jordan--in her prose style.

In conclusion, I can't give many absolute judgments against this book. If you want to read fantasy, you can certainly find FAR worse books out there (Goodkind's WIZARD'S FIRST RULE would be a good start). At the same time, DIPLOMACY OF WOLVES utterly failed to appeal to me personally.

I should also note that if you are more of a seasoned pro in the fantasy genre, you will probably have a different opinion from me. I like Tolkien, Lewis, and even J.K. Rowling, but I do not like Robert Jordan. As far as Jordan goes, however, I didn't realize how good he actually is until I compared him to Terry Goodkind. I digress intentionally in order for you to know if my opinion is likely to be the same as yours. If you're a fan of Jordan or Goodkind, you just might think DIPLOMACY OF WOLVES is the best book you have ever read. If you haven't read anything but Jordan or Goodkind, you probably will.

I was immediately drawn into Kait's world, and fell in love with the characters. Holly Lisle's words really come to life on the pages, and in the reader's mind. You could find me walking through the school, my nose buried in the pages of the book.

I find all of Holly Lisle's work to be spectacular, but this one, being the first book by her I'd read, is definitely my favourite. It's got a little bit of everything, and it's the kind of book that I read for myself, lent to my brother, and we both enjoyed it, despite different tastes. Finishing the book was disappointing - I didn't want to be drawn out of the story!

It's still just as interesting today, over four years later, despite my reading it several times. Buy the book - you won't be disappointed, until you hit the end.

I think the thing that grabbed my attention the most was Lisle's worldbuilding. I'm a sucker for history in a fantasy book that has been forgotten by most of the characters. I enjoy learning about that history along with them. Lisle comes through in spades here. A Wizard War a thousand years ago that killed of most of humanity and mutated a large number to boot? And the current population has no memory of this, except for a select few? Very nice. Not only that, but Ms. Lisle has also apparently done quite a bit of work in developing the every day things for this world: a daily clock with names for each hour; the naming conventions for days of the week, months, and years; as well as religious and governmental institutions. All make for a very convincing world in which to explore the story being told.

A lot of times, after spending so much time developing the world, authors tend to come up with one dimensional characters to populate it. That is definitely not the case here. Each main character, and there are at least four, has their own personality quirks, their own fears, their own weaknesses, and, most importantly, their own personality. What's interesting is how Ms. Lisle uses each to affect the other. Her dialogue flows well and the characters interactions are, for the most part, believable.

Lisle also has a very good grasp of pacing. Enough action to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, but not so much that there is no character development. She intersperses her action scenes with down time that is used study her characters or to uncover a bit more of the world's past or to explain the magic systems or any of a number of other things that make the book enjoyable and well rounded, rather than one big action scene.

Overall, I have to say I am very impressed with this author. Not enough for a five star review, but enough that I will eventually track down some of her other books and definitely finish this trilogy. Well written and with interesting characters, it's definitely something that I'm sure I will continue to enjoy beyond the first book.