Prince of Ill Luck

by Susan Dexter

Paperback, 1994

Status

Available

Call number

Fic SF Dexter

Publication

Del Rey (1994), Mass Market Paperback, 249 pages

Description

Leith had been born under a curse, but when he found Valadan, a fabulous black stallion, he thought his luck and his life were about to change. He was only partly right. He wins the hand of a maiden who she doesn't want to be won. The maiden claims her missing mother is a witch and wants to look for her, not marry. And with Leith's help, she can. Perhaps when they finally find her, he can get rid of this curse. . . once and for all!

User reviews

LibraryThing member Aerlinn

Still Susan Dexter. If you look at this book and see a quote from Marion Zimmer Bradley saying how this is one of the most delightfully funny books she's ever read, ignore it; with all due respect to MZB, either she was thinking of another book or she had an odd sense of humor. It is funny, in

spots; Dexter's writing has a dry tone, and she has a lovely way with words, but this isn't Terry Pratchett.

The Prince of Ill Luck is Leith, and is he ever. Born with mismatched eyes, he was taken as a demon by his father, who dropped him, stomped on him, and stabbed him (see what I mean about not being so funny as all that?). He lived, did Leith, but his life has been clouded by an apparent curse that brings ill luck, some small - like falls, scrapes, bruises for him - and some large - like earthquakes, fires, shipwrecks ... (Rip-snortingly funny!) It's aimed, I think, at young adults, so nothing too graphic happens, but "ill luck" is a bit of an understatement.

He's a good character, and if he's a bit meek and down-trodden, it's no wonder.

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LibraryThing member AZ_Dude

A young, ill-lucked prince, Leith, is shipwrecked, finds the enchanted horse Valadan and goes on a quest to save the Princess Kess from her own headstrong travels.

LibraryThing member humouress

This is book one of the "Warhorse of Esdragon" series, which is a prelude (though written later) to "The Winter King's War", which introduces us to the fabled Valadan - the aforementioned warhorse of the Dukes of Esdragon.

Leith is a Prince of the Isles, but is self-styled Prince of Ill Luck,

because disaster seems to continually follow him and afflict those around him. He unintentionally wins the hand of Kessalia - who is the daughter of the Duke of Esdragon, and who does not want to be won - riding Valadan. She would rather search for her father, the duke, and her mother, a witch, so Leith agrees to help her, in the hopes that the witch can lift his curse.

I like the way Susan Dexter writes. She makes you empathise with her heroes and heroines without pitying them, however bad their luck; you really want them to win, and you cheer for them when they do. Her descriptions are lyrical, and her plots do go in some delightfully unforeseen directions. And she does seem to know a lot about horses (as far as I can tell - since I don't)

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LibraryThing member Stewartry

I loved most of this book.

The writing is excellent. The characters, even the hateful Kess, are well-drawn; I couldn't hate Kess with such a passion if she hadn't been given life by the writing. The plot never does just what is expected, which is good, and the story as a whole is lovely, weaving

fairy tale elements into a realistic and heart-felt tale. If only the female lead wasn't a sadist.

Longer version on my blog.

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