From Publishers Weekly
In this chivalric sequel to her medieval saga Devoted, Borchardt returns to ninth-century France and the city of Chantalon, where the bishop, Owen, and his wife, Elin, confront Viking raids and treachery as they try to bring peace to their people. Hoping to fortify his meager troops, Owen, with the aid of the mysterious forest people, journeys to his father's stronghold to entreat his aid. Instead, he is captured by a hedonistic community of Bretons who offer him safety and peace for his people if he agrees to be their king?and death if he does not. As Owen undertakes this hero's journey, Elin is left to defend Chantalon against treason and a deceptive inciter sent by the Viking lord Hakon. Like her sister, Anne Rice (who contributes an introduction to this novel, as she did to Devoted), Borchardt delights in wordiness and overwrought prose, especially in her graphic depictions of sex (in language way over the purple top) and war (complete with disembowelings, beheadings, etc.). Fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley and other purveyors of historic fantasy and adventure will enjoy the richly rendered historic detail with which Borchardt embellishes her baroque portrait of a turbulent, violent time. (Jan.)
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Borchardt is a far more profound author than her sister, Anne Rice. Instead of spinning superficial fantasy with bad poetry, Borchardt is a literary lion who is well grounded in reality. Yes, Beguiled, the sequel to Devoted (Audio Reviews, LJ 1/96), is a fabulous love story, but it's also a focused, carefully researched book that paints the human condition against a backdrop of Brittany in the melancholy ninth century and the waves of Viking invaders that, over a century, changed the face of Europe. While there are minute historical flaws, so profound is Borchardt's understanding of the era's psychology and the transition from Druid magic to Christian miracles that few will notice. The recording takes us into Viking war councils and presents such details of daily life as the everyday diet, justice, medicine, entertainment, and vices of a demoralized society that, thanks in part to the new religion, is finally getting its act together. Beguiled is full of war, treachery, and the lustful passions of a youthful society. Michael Page dramatizes the work like a master. Until you have heard him roar, you have never heard rage on tape. This saga will keep listeners in thrall; highly recommended.?James Dudley, Copiague,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
