A competent fantasy that manages to take place pretty much entirely in the city of Ciaron - but really doesn't give much of a feel for it or the people that live in it. For no presented reason the young Cilhar, Eleret Salven goes to Ciaron to collect her dead mother's kit - and it turns out that it contains, unknown to her, the family heirloom Raven Ring. Which seems to be the desired object of half of the initial contacts she encounters in Ciaron. Fast paced, smooth, with a clever enough resolution, it didn't resonate much with me. ( )

This was certainly the best of the Lyra books: Eleret is a very well drawn character, and so is Tamm, her dead mother. The love interests are less defined: Damer is mainly “well-bred noble” with some hidden traits; Karvonen is a fairly standard Charming Thief. In the end, it’s Eleret who makes the book, Eleret and her clear love for her mother, which makes the sacrifice of the ring absolutely beautiful. ( )

A messenger comes and tells Eleret that her mother has died from battle wounds far from home. Eleret, the oldest, feels she must go personally to the dangerous city of Ciaron to get her mother's belongings. Leaving without fear, she finds that her journey is far more dangerous coming home than she had anticipated. Someone wants her mother's treasured Raven Ring. Fast-paced, good romp....with enough humor and action to keep one interested. ( )

I do love The Raven Ring. Eleret is wonderful, and I love watching her deal with Ciaron and Ciaronese - and them (trying to) deal with her. One reason I like this the best of the Lyra books, oddly enough, is that it's lower-level than the rest. There's a real threat - if he'd gotten the ring, it would have been nasty - but he never really had a chance at it once Eleret entered the story. So the major story centers around Eleret and culture clash, rather than a desperate battle to save/prevent/protect... It's much more enjoyable, and lets the characters shine through. I love Karvonen, and Daner's pretty good - good swordsman, way too custom-bound, though. I think it's pretty obvious how things will end from the start (though part of that may be that this is something like my fifth reading). And I like that Daner sees his own faults (eventually) - perception is the first step. Maybe he'll handle himself better the next time he deals with a Cilhar - I'd like to see that. Oh yes, and having just read Caught in Crystal, this time I noticed the wizard's name - the one who made the ring. I guess we do get to see a little more of Dara... ( )

The next book on my list is The Raven Ring by Patricia C. Wrede. It is one of her Lyra novels, all of which I consider YA fantasy. Lyra is a land dominated by humans that is also home to three magical peoples: Shee (elf types), Neira (vaguely reptilian water types), and Wyrd (furry catlike woodsy types). There's also the Shadow-born--malevolent creatures without bodies (demons, in effect)--that were defeated in the ancient Wars of Binding. I'm pretty sure that Caught in Crystal is the first in chronological order (though published later), occurring much earlier than all of the others, because the Isle of Varna is still above water and the Wyrds and other magical races are still coexisting with humans. The prelude of that story (an excerpt from a later history book) references the heroine in Shadow Magic. And The Harp of Imach Thyssel takes place after Shadow Magic. I'm not sure where Daughter of Witches and The Raven Ring fit into the general chronology because those stories do not allude to the other novels that I recall.

Anyway, every story involves some threat involving the Shadow-born, I think, and every story involves at least one Cilhar character. The Cilhar are famous warriors, an entire culture built around weapons skills, who often leave their home territory of the Mountains of Morravik to find work as bodyguards and other similar positions. They're always the good guys and they have quite the strong honor code: the epitome of hero. And unlike many of the other cultures portrayed in Wrede's novels, they are quite egalitarian. Because they have endured centuries of raids and warfare with Syaskor, they are essentially a militarized society where everyone, man, woman, and child is expected to help with home defense. So there aren't any specific gender roles as such.

This story is about Eleret, a Cilhar girl, who travels to the capital city to retrieve her mother's personal effects after her mother dies during a military campaign abroad. But there's something mysterious about her mother's death, and apparently someone is very interested in her mother's personal effects. So while she tries to figure out what is going on and who she can trust, she is also coping with the cultural differences and her own grief.

Of course, all of the characters are white and straight. However, this story does take a look at social expectations, gender roles, assumptions and privilege, and how these differ according to culture. It's also a bit of a romance, which of course plays on exactly these misunderstandings. It's a charming, sweet little story that explores the Cilhar, who have played pivotal roles in the other Lyra stories. So Patricia Wrede certainly does a better job of representation and thinking about social context for her story here than, say, her latest novel The Thirteenth Child, which has generated some discussion and possibly even controversy. ( )