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Available
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Publication
Ballantine Books (1984), Mass Market Paperback, 311 pages
Description
First in the series from a New York Times-bestselling author and "fabulously talented writer" featuring a brilliant mercenary and his fierce female partner (Charlaine Harris). Gifted with courage, strength, and the intelligence to know when to fight, Sun Wolf is the greatest mercenary in a land overrun by war. With his first lieutenant, Starhawk--a woman more deadly than any man--at his side, he has laid waste to countless cities, taking the best of their treasures for himself, and distributing the rest among his bloodthirsty crew. Then a woman comes to him, an emissary from the town of Mandrigyn, a lush port city recently sacked by a powerful, mad wizard of unmatched abilities. She offers Sun Wolf untold riches for the use of his army, but the captain is not fool enough to wage war against a magician. He refuses her offer, but that is not the end of it. The women of Mandrigyn can be very persuasive. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bragan
After an evil wizard conquers Mandrigyn and kills or enslaves most of the men, the women of the city attempt to hire mercenaries to fight back. The mercenary captain refuses, so they kidnap him and force him to teach them how to fight so they can go and rescue the surviving men themselves.
I like Barbara Hambly's fantasy, generally speaking. At her best, she provides solidly entertaining storytelling and characters who feel like people rather than archetypes. She's also capable of writing a romance subplot that doesn't make me want to roll my eyes with annoyance, which is more than most fantasy writers ever manage. (Or most Hollywood writers. Or pretty much anybody for that matter.)
I'd say this particular volume is neither her best nor her worst. On the negative side, the pacing seems to me to be off, with events alternately passing too slowly or too quickly. The action isn't really terribly exciting. And the plot relies on a few awfully convenient coincidental circumstances. On the other hand, Hambly somehow manages to make the whole fighting-the-evil-wizard plot feel much less cliche than it really is. The characters develop in interesting ways. And there's a nice hint of a progressive sensibility to it that I think is usually lacking in this kind of fantasy. More often than not, what you end up with is the restoration of a status quo in a triumph of old-fashioned military values, and this story, I think, does something subtly and pleasantly different from that.
I already have the other two books in this series. I'll probably be reading them sometime soon.
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Meanwhile, the captain's second-in-command is out looking for him, but she experiences unforeseen delays...I like Barbara Hambly's fantasy, generally speaking. At her best, she provides solidly entertaining storytelling and characters who feel like people rather than archetypes. She's also capable of writing a romance subplot that doesn't make me want to roll my eyes with annoyance, which is more than most fantasy writers ever manage. (Or most Hollywood writers. Or pretty much anybody for that matter.)
I'd say this particular volume is neither her best nor her worst. On the negative side, the pacing seems to me to be off, with events alternately passing too slowly or too quickly. The action isn't really terribly exciting. And the plot relies on a few awfully convenient coincidental circumstances. On the other hand, Hambly somehow manages to make the whole fighting-the-evil-wizard plot feel much less cliche than it really is. The characters develop in interesting ways. And there's a nice hint of a progressive sensibility to it that I think is usually lacking in this kind of fantasy. More often than not, what you end up with is the restoration of a status quo in a triumph of old-fashioned military values, and this story, I think, does something subtly and pleasantly different from that.
I already have the other two books in this series. I'll probably be reading them sometime soon.
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LibraryThing member zjakkelien
This was a rather refreshing book, with a female mercenary who is really good at what she does, and a whole group of women learning that they can run businesses when their men are captured, and that end up decent soldiers as well. It also shows a bit how disconcerting this is to the whole of their
I can't quite figure out why this isn't a 5 star for me, despite all that. Somehow I can't find anything wrong with it, and I see a great deal of good, including things that are rare to get right in fantasy, but still this book didn't draw me into its world as much as I would like.
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society, which isn't used to women with agency. I found the relationships to be well balanced. Sun Wolf and Starhawk find out separately that they like each other in another capacity than professional, and they do so realistically. Fortunately no gushing. I found the relationship between Sun Wolf and the women who kidnap him to be realistic as well. I can't quite figure out why this isn't a 5 star for me, despite all that. Somehow I can't find anything wrong with it, and I see a great deal of good, including things that are rare to get right in fantasy, but still this book didn't draw me into its world as much as I would like.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
You'd expect this book and series to be primarily about the Ladies of Mandrigyn, considering they gave the book its title, but this is more about the mercenary captain Sun Wolf. I'm not sure if Hambly intended the series that way, or if Sun Wolf just took over the book, but either way, the result
Hambly's strength is her characters, but she does a decent job with the atmosphere, plot, and action of this book.
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was an enjoyable series. Definitely worth reading, and the following books. Hambly's strength is her characters, but she does a decent job with the atmosphere, plot, and action of this book.
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LibraryThing member maita
Captain Sun Wolf was taken from his band of mercenaries. When he wakes up, he finds himself kidnapped by the Ladies of Madrigyn. He trains them in battle to defeat the Wizard King and his army of undead. All the while, he learns that women can be tougher than a man. His second in command searches
Why is it that best friends always fall for each other? These two have been comrades for years and yet, Starhawk remains silent about her love. Sun Wolf wants to keep his distance in the hopes of making Starhawk forever at his side. Lover's quarell is a big risk with friends but these two know each other more that anyone in their world. It took an army of undead, a group of ladies and a wizard king to make them admit love.
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for him and finally aids him in the battle. They admit their love.Why is it that best friends always fall for each other? These two have been comrades for years and yet, Starhawk remains silent about her love. Sun Wolf wants to keep his distance in the hopes of making Starhawk forever at his side. Lover's quarell is a big risk with friends but these two know each other more that anyone in their world. It took an army of undead, a group of ladies and a wizard king to make them admit love.
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LibraryThing member mossjon
After discovering [author: Barbara Hambly] via the books Dragonsbane and The Time of the Dark, I just couldn't get enough of her. She writes great, strong women characters, that are usually of the non-magical sort. The women are often the warriors, like Starhawk. Her male characters are also
In this book, Sun Wolf is a successful mercenary captain who refuses a job that is basically a rescue mission. The women of Mandrigyn want him to rescue their men from the mines of the evil wizard Altiokis. Sun Wolf had one rule, one principle he always adhered to - never get involved in a war with a wizard.
But the "ladies" of Mandrigyn are insistent and ingenious. They kidnap Sun Wolf and poison him to force him to help them. They have an antidote, or actually a concoction that will keep him alive, as they poison they've given him has no antidote.
Sun Wolf trains the women as a strike force to assist in the rescue. There isn't much hope that they will be successful, but he doesn't have much choice but to make the best of the situation.
On a training mission in the wilderness surrounding the city, the women have their first skirmish, but Sun Wolf is injured and separated from them. Left for too long without the antidote, the poison starts it's slow torturous march to what Sun Wolf believes is his death. However, after many hours or days, he finds that the poison has been purged from his system and he now seems to have acquired the powers of a wizard.
Eventually, he re-unites with the women and Starhawk and an attempt at the rescue is made. Sun Wolf discovers that Altiokis isn't really a wizard. Altiokis managed to encase a portal from another world or dimension in a stone hut, forcing it to remain open indefinitely. Sun Wolf, afflicted by one of the beings from that dimension, who burrow into a man's brain via their eye socket, burns out his own eye with a torch to kill the thing. He then destroys enough of the castle and the hut to expose it to sunlight, thereby sealing the dimensional rift.
Hambly is such a joy to read. Her elements of adventure, fantasy, horror and romance are all woven into a wonderful story that leaves you wanting more.
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indelible, flawed but inspiring. In this book, Sun Wolf is a successful mercenary captain who refuses a job that is basically a rescue mission. The women of Mandrigyn want him to rescue their men from the mines of the evil wizard Altiokis. Sun Wolf had one rule, one principle he always adhered to - never get involved in a war with a wizard.
But the "ladies" of Mandrigyn are insistent and ingenious. They kidnap Sun Wolf and poison him to force him to help them. They have an antidote, or actually a concoction that will keep him alive, as they poison they've given him has no antidote.
Sun Wolf trains the women as a strike force to assist in the rescue. There isn't much hope that they will be successful, but he doesn't have much choice but to make the best of the situation.
On a training mission in the wilderness surrounding the city, the women have their first skirmish, but Sun Wolf is injured and separated from them. Left for too long without the antidote, the poison starts it's slow torturous march to what Sun Wolf believes is his death. However, after many hours or days, he finds that the poison has been purged from his system and he now seems to have acquired the powers of a wizard.
Eventually, he re-unites with the women and Starhawk and an attempt at the rescue is made. Sun Wolf discovers that Altiokis isn't really a wizard. Altiokis managed to encase a portal from another world or dimension in a stone hut, forcing it to remain open indefinitely. Sun Wolf, afflicted by one of the beings from that dimension, who burrow into a man's brain via their eye socket, burns out his own eye with a torch to kill the thing. He then destroys enough of the castle and the hut to expose it to sunlight, thereby sealing the dimensional rift.
Hambly is such a joy to read. Her elements of adventure, fantasy, horror and romance are all woven into a wonderful story that leaves you wanting more.
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LibraryThing member hailelib
When the Ladies of Mandrigyn attempt to hire the mercenary Sun Wolf and his troop to rescue their men from enslavement in the mines of the Wizard King, Altiokis, he turns them down. Then their leader, Sheera Galernas goes to Plan B and kidnaps Wolf. The Ladies give him poison and threaten to
I read this novel rather quickly and enjoyed it enough that I may try another of Hambly's fantasy books.
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withhold the antidote if he refuses to teach them how to handle weapons so that they may rescue the men themselves. In the end he agrees and is surprised at how well many of them do. Of course there are some who decline to participate because such things aren't ladylike but times are changing and many women are doing the jobs that the absent men used to do. After all someone must run the businesses and do the work. And then there's the problem of how to outwit the very powerful wizard...I read this novel rather quickly and enjoyed it enough that I may try another of Hambly's fantasy books.
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LibraryThing member librisissimo
First volume of trilogy. Trope of the glamourous mercenaries has a bit of original twist. Humorous, with serious reflections. Interesting interplay of the main characters.
Plot hole at the end is mildly off-putting (actor behaves out-of-character to serve the needs of the author's outline).
Major
Plot hole at the end is mildly off-putting (actor behaves out-of-character to serve the needs of the author's outline).
Major
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complaint is having the climactic scenes (that are the point of the bulk of the novel) occur "off-stage" (this is not a Greek drama, folks: if you're going to run the trailer, run the show). Show Less
LibraryThing member MarkLacy
A little too long, but very good.
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
This was a rather refreshing book, with a female mercenary who is really good at what she does, and a whole group of women learning that they can run businesses when their men are captured, and that end up decent soldiers as well. It also shows a bit how disconcerting this is to the whole of their
I can't quite figure out why this isn't a 5 star for me, despite all that. Somehow I can't find anything wrong with it, and I see a great deal of good, including things that are rare to get right in fantasy, but still this book didn't draw me into its world as much as I would like.
Show More
society, which isn't used to women with agency. I found the relationships to be well balanced. Sun Wolf and Starhawk find out separately that they like each other in another capacity than professional, and they do so realistically. Fortunately no gushing. I found the relationship between Sun Wolf and the women who kidnap him to be realistic as well. I can't quite figure out why this isn't a 5 star for me, despite all that. Somehow I can't find anything wrong with it, and I see a great deal of good, including things that are rare to get right in fantasy, but still this book didn't draw me into its world as much as I would like.
Show Less
Language
Original publication date
1984-03
Physical description
311 p.; 6.6 inches
ISBN
0345309197 / 9780345309198
Local notes
Sun Wolf, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Hambly |