- Paperback: 672 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; paperback / softcover edition (16 Nov 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575076607
- ISBN-13: 978-0575076600
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 5.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,170,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"Ilario was born a functioning hermaphrodite, whose status in law and theology makes the protagonist of this action-packed, deeply intelligent novel a focus for intrigue, intellectual debate and a fair amount of polymorphous hot sexual action." (Roz Kaveney TIME OUT )
"Gentle tells an absorbing tale, deftly swapping what was for what might have been." (Barbara Davies STARBURST )
"When she's got you hooked, there's no beating Mary Gentle." (Rhianna Pratchett SFX )
"Her characterisation and world building is so good that the story seems plausible. A welcome and enigmatic addition to a writer with vision who still has the power to shock and amaze." (SFFWORLD )
"The extraordinary gender sensitivity and flexibility Ilario embodies, novel shades of sexuality at every turn, and new angles on plain old heterosexuality in the bargain - factor all that in, and Ilario is the foremost SF/fantasy novel of gender in quite a while." (Nick Gevers LOCUS )
"Gentle tells an absorbing tale, deftly swapping what was for what might have been." (Barbara Davies STARBURST )
"When she's got you hooked, there's no beating Mary Gentle." (Rhianna Pratchett SFX )
"Her characterisation and world building is so good that the story seems plausible. A welcome and enigmatic addition to a writer with vision who still has the power to shock and amaze." (SFFWORLD )
"The extraordinary gender sensitivity and flexibility Ilario embodies, novel shades of sexuality at every turn, and new angles on plain old heterosexuality in the bargain - factor all that in, and Ilario is the foremost SF/fantasy novel of gender in quite a while." (Nick Gevers LOCUS )
Rhianna Pratchett, SFX
"When she's got you hooked, there's no beating Mary Gentle."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mary Gentle's ASH [6 stars] is one of my favourite alternative history books, and this new book "Ilario" is set in the same off-shoot of reality. A strange sunless sky, the "Penitence" - an unexplained darkness - hovers over Carthage, there is no Pope in Rome and Golems (clay robots) are plodding around.
The hero(ine) of the story is a hermaphrodite, and there are plenty of occasions when this "affliction" enlivens the tale, but essentially this is a glorious romp through an imaginary (but very real) middle ages - as Ilario follows his/her quest to become a famous painter (and along the way avoid being killed by virtually every other character.
Great fun, rude in parts (yes, those parts), and beautifully written - it is a great follow-up to ASH... I look forward to the next bizarre installment.
The hero(ine) of the story is a hermaphrodite, and there are plenty of occasions when this "affliction" enlivens the tale, but essentially this is a glorious romp through an imaginary (but very real) middle ages - as Ilario follows his/her quest to become a famous painter (and along the way avoid being killed by virtually every other character.
Great fun, rude in parts (yes, those parts), and beautifully written - it is a great follow-up to ASH... I look forward to the next bizarre installment.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are looking at the book with the red cover, this contains both The Lion's Eye and The Stone Golem. If you are looking at the book with the hooded figure on the cover, this is the American edition, which was published in two parts, and is thus only part 1 of the novel. You'll need to buy The Stone Golem too to get the whole story.
It is a good one, but not for the squeamish! I can understand the negative reactions to this book, even while I myself enjoyed it greatly. The setting had a lot to do with that; we learn more about the world Gentle introduced in Ash.
Recommended.
It is a good one, but not for the squeamish! I can understand the negative reactions to this book, even while I myself enjoyed it greatly. The setting had a lot to do with that; we learn more about the world Gentle introduced in Ash.
Recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are new to the work of Mary Gently, this is probably not the best book to start with. A much better choice would be Ash: A Secret History or 1610: A Sundial In A Grave (Gollancz S.F.). This book takes us back to the world of Ash, but it is a disappointment.
The problem is that it's just too slow and wanders around here and there aimlessly while nothing much happens. You get to visit a few more of the lands around the Mediterranean in this alternative world, but it is pretty dull for the most part. Eventually the book limps to a rather unsatisfying halt as if Ms Gentle just ran out of steam.
So I would say this one is for dedicated fans of Ash who want to learn a bit more about the geography of that world. Anyone else, prepare to be bored long before you reach the end.
The problem is that it's just too slow and wanders around here and there aimlessly while nothing much happens. You get to visit a few more of the lands around the Mediterranean in this alternative world, but it is pretty dull for the most part. Eventually the book limps to a rather unsatisfying halt as if Ms Gentle just ran out of steam.
So I would say this one is for dedicated fans of Ash who want to learn a bit more about the geography of that world. Anyone else, prepare to be bored long before you reach the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Annoying and boring
It's all silly banter between the protagonists. And it goes on and on and on. By the end I'd developed an unhealthy dislike of neary all the major characters and principally... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2009 by I. R. Haines
Dire
A meandering, insipid and implausible plot in a book that is four times as long as the ideas and writing could support. Read more
Published on 23 May 2009 by Mr. Peter Callaghan
Awful Beyond Belief
Mary Gentle seems to write two kinds of books: great and awful. I loved the Ash books, and was completely smitten with 1610: A Sundial in a Grave. Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2008 by Jules Mazarin
We're so often a delusion to the parents who abandon us
Set in ASH's alternate history with a medieval Visigoth Carthage and a Roman Empty Chair (among other things), this is the history of a true hermaphrodite and artist, Ilario,... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2007 by Ventura Angelo
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