House of War - Judith Tarr Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Judith Tarr

"House of War"
Message Board

Review Summaries

" Roc, Oct 2003, 16.00, 384 pp. ISBN 0451529006 On an Earth that never was but might have been, Richard the Lion-Hearted never died while battling for control of Jerusalem. He went on to defeat Saladin and with the help of his half-sister Sioned he took away the precious Seal of Solomon from Sinan, the old man of the mountain. He was crowned king of Jerusalem and for over a decade he has reigned over the city he has come to love. Although he is reluctant to leave, Richard I is ready to return to England to thwart his brother's plan to take the throne. However, Sinan returns more powerful than ever, eager to take his revenge on everyone who opposed him a decade ago. He kidnaps Sioned's daughter, captures one of Richard's castles, and lays siege to another. Sioned and her husband the Sultan of Egypt persuades Richard that the only weapon that could defeat their enemy is the Ark if they can find it. Change the output of one pivotal event in history the way Judith Tarr has so brilliantly done and the outcome is a world that is completely different than the history books. Richard is presented as a noble warrior king willing to heed the advice of the people he trust but the star of HOUSE OF WAR is his baseborn sister Sioned, a powerful mage who has the wisdom and courage of Boudacia and Cleopatra. Fans of alternate history and fantasy will love this enthralling novel. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Judith Tarr Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - alternate history
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mage/magician
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - general past
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
The Seven Hills by John Maddox Roberts
Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove
Out of the Darkness - World at War 6 by Harry Turtledove
Andromeda by Steven Barnes
The Victorious Oppostion by Harry Turtledove

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 10/12/2008 11:25:13 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/12/2008 3:22:58 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 10/10/2008 3:56:33 PM

Blade Runner: Was Harrison Ford on Tranquilizers or an Actor's Strike When Filming Blade Runner? 9/20/2008 3:18:54 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 9/18/2008 6:59:25 AM

Clash of the Titans: Clash of the Titans 9/7/2008 3:53:28 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: T'Pol shows her nude butt on Enterprise! 9/2/2008 3:20:24 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Is T'Pol supposed to be a Vulcan lesbian? 9/2/2008 3:02:45 AM

Charmed: How can Phoebe Halliwell get an abortion? 8/29/2008 10:02:34 PM

Alien Hunter : Alien Hunter 8/28/2008 1:25:23 PM

Newest slaves:
Kate Jackson (Charlies Angels) 8:32:57 AM
Eva Longoria 8:32:46 AM
Heather Locklear (Melrose Place) 8:32:29 AM
7 of 9 (Jeri Ryan) 8:32:29 AM
Pamela Anderson 8:31:54 AM
Jennifer Garner 8:31:37 AM
Daisy Duke (Dukes of Hazard) 8:31:29 AM
Gwyneth Paltrow 8:31:19 AM
Cameron Diaz 8:31:12 AM
Jennifer Lopez 8:31:04 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)