4.0
The Novels of the Jaran
ByPublisher Description
In
, the Earth of the future is just one of the planets ruled by the vast Chapalii empire. The volatility of these alien overlords is something with which Tess Soerensen is all too familiar. Her brother, Charles, rebelled against them and was rewarded by being elevated into their interstellar system. Struggling to find her place in the world, Tess sneaks aboard a shuttle bound for Rhui, one of her brother's planets. On the ground, she joins up with the native jaran people, becoming immersed in their nomadic society and customs. As she grows ever closer to the charismatic jaran ruler, Ilya—who is inflamed by an urgent mission of his own—Tess must choose between her feelings for him and her loyalty to her brother.
In
, the nomadic tribes of the jaran are uniting the settled cities of their homeland one by one. Their charismatic leader, Ilya Bakhtiian, has his loyal wife by his side, but there is something about her he doesn't know: Tess Soerensen is a human. Back home, her brother, Charles, led an unsuccessful revolt against the all-powerful Chapalii empire. Charles's insistence that Tess join him is as strong as Ilya's reluctance to part with his beloved wife—and neither considers that Tess may have her own plans for the future. As three fiercely independent spirits struggle for a solution, the fates of both the human race and the jaran hang in the balance.
In
, the jaran have been taking over towns and bending all non-jaran to the law of their rule. With Ilya Bakhtiian in charge, the nomadic fighters are now preparing an assault on the royal city of Karkand. But within the campaign, another struggle looms. Charles, the brother of Ilya's wife, Tess, is still driven by thoughts of revolt. Charles travels to Rhui for key information about the past, hoping to bring back his sister—his only heir.
And in
, Charles Soerensen's revolutionary inclinations have been reignited. In this final book, the story of Tess, Ilya, and Charles comes to its stunning conclusion as new generations get involved in the intrigue, Earth's exiled jaran people resurface, and the Chapalii overlords make one last, unexpected move.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Novels of the Jaran Reviews
4.0
“The Jaran books don't really fit in any one genre. Technically, you could call them sci-fi: the protagonist of book one, Tess, travels from planet Earth to Rhui several centuries in the future. There are spaceships, holograms, advanced healing, and all kinds of incredible (but very believable) gadgets - not to mention aliens in the form of the Chapalli, the race who now rules over humanity (if not benevolently, then somewhat absent-mindedly - they don't seem very interested in humans on the whole). But the majority of the series takes place on Rhui, an interdicted planet with a technology level of Earth's medieval period. In that way, much of the story will be, on the surface at least, pretty comfortable ground for readers of secondary world fantasy, even if there is no magic.
In very, VERY simplified terms, the overall plot of the series is this: Tess, the sister to the only human duke in the Chapalli hierarchy, ends up Rhui and becomes involved in the campaign of one Ilya Bhaktiian to lead the eponymous Jaran (a nomadic, tribal people) to conquer the known lands of Rhui. The series covers this campaign (or campaigns), while also showing the journeys of several characters away from Rhui, including those who leave Rhui and are introduced to the wider universe and modern technology. Tess' brother Charles, the duke, is leading a campaign of his own, one intended to free humanity from the Chapalli yoke, and several characters cross over from Ilya's campaign to Charles', and vice versa.
But that's an incredibly simplified look at these books. I really don't know how to write a review that could possibly encompass how amazing this series really is. The worldbuilding is jaw-dropping - every culture, from Earth's humans to those of each culture encountered on Rhui, is exquisitely detailed, and Elliott uses each one to explore and play with ideas of sexuality, morality and religion, and the roles and differences between genders. The Jaran are the exception on Rhui for being strongly matriarchal, and yet the power held by each gender feels very balanced - unlike in other Rhui cultures, which will be more familiar to the reader as having women playing a far more submissive role. Among the Jaran, men and women each hold power and responsibilities, each have their own roles, but neither is inherently dominated; although at first glance it seems that women control everything, it's gradually revealed that the two genders are very equal. It's one of the most fascinating things about the books, seeing how Elliott takes ideas or tasks we would call feminine or masculine, and flipping them around (because of course, why would another world develop exactly the same way Earth did?) Embroidery is a man's task, for example, while women are the only ones to learn archery; women (officially) have no choice in marriage but may take lovers as they please. The concept of modesty is one that gets explored too; among the Jaran, men are modest, but not meek. And all of this is got across to the reader without info-dumping; gradually, beautifully, naturally.
Then there are the characters. I don't want to go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but even the most minor of characters are very fleshed-out and believable; no cardboard-cutouts in sight. No one is flawless; one of the scenes I most appreciated was one in which Tess grew bored, listening to a young woman wax on about her lover. Moments like that make the stories very believable; it's easy to identify with everyone, just because they're all so real. Elliott also gets mega points for including gay, lesbian and bisexual characters, which happens all too rarely in spec-fic; but as with most of the 'issues' that come up across the course of the series, Elliott never makes a big deal of it, including such things naturally in her stories so that it never feels forced, but nonetheless makes the reader think and consider. I particularly liked how the various questions and issues around rape were handled in book 4, and one of the most enjoyable themes was seeing 'modern' philosophy and morality clash with the 'medieval' morals of the various people in Rhui, especially the Jaran - not only through Tess, but when a group of human actors arrives from Earth to perform on Rhui.
It's a series that makes you think, and that anyone with a love or appreciation of good worldbuilding will adore, but it's also an entertaining, addictive read. The omnibus edition is some 2200 pages, and I devoured it in a week: I found it impossible to put down. Contrasted to a book like Mercedes&Mallory's Crown of Vengeance, which also contained a very believable war campaign, Elliott manages to write a very long period of conquest - some 12 years - without ever making it dull. Crown of Vengeance was very realistic but so dry, at times, that it was a struggle to read: the Jaran books fly by, perhaps because the focus is more on the people involved than on describing field manoeuvres. That doesn't mean Elliott never writes battle scenes or that the reality of war is in any way hidden or glorified: it isn't, and Elliott makes it very clear that wars can only ever be morally grey at best. This is beautifully shown in book 2 when the actors, and other modern 'emissaries' come to Rhui to contact Tess and study the Jaran. Although they take care to hide their true origins, still their beliefs and point of view comes into sharp conflict with that of the Jaran. And that's yet another way in which Elliott shines: in thinking through how humanity is likely to have evolved and changed in 200 years. Everything from the technology to humanity's views on homosexuality and violence is just beautifully thought out; I adored getting glimpses of Earth, not just the Earth humans in other settings but Earth's own culture, which differs from our modern one in significant but believable ways.
I could go on for hours, but I should probably wrap it up. Suffice to say, Elliott is a writer on par with Bujold, and I can't wait to go out and grab everything else she's ever written!”
About Kate Elliott
is the author of more than twenty-five novels, including her
bestselling young adult debut
,
,
, and
. She has also written
the Spiritwalker trilogy, the Novels of the Jaran, and the Crossroads trilogy, among others, and two of her books have been finalists for the Nebula Award and the World Fantasy Award. Kate was born in Iowa, raised in Oregon, and now lives in Hawaii. She invites you to visit her website at kateelliott.com or follow her on Twitter @KateElliottSFF.
Other books by Kate Elliott
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