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The Moon and the Sun |
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Author:
Vonda N. McIntyre
By Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Average Customer Rating:  
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Product Description
In seventeenth-century France, Louis XIV rules with flamboyant ambition. In his domain, wealth and beauty take all; frivolity begets cruelty; science and alchemy collide. From the Hall of Mirrors to the vermin-infested attics of the Chateau at Versailles, courtiers compete to please the king, sacrificing fortune, principles, and even the sacred bond between brother and sister. By the fiftieth year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world. Yet the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality -- the rare, perhaps mythical, sea monsters. For the glory, of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice...and a covered basin that imprisons a shrieking creature.
Amazon.com Review
In this rich and engrossing tale, Vonda N. McIntyre proves once again that her plotting and mastery of language are among the best in the business. The Moon and the Sun, which won the 1997 Nebula Award for best novel of the year, is the story of Marie-Josèphe, a young lady in the court of Louis XIV. When her brother Yves returns from a naturalist voyage with two sea monsters (one live, one dead), Marie-Josèphe is caught up in a battle of wills involving the fate of the living creature. The king intends to test whether the sea monster holds the secrets of immortality, but Marie-Josèphe knows the creature to be an intelligent, lonely being who yearns only to be set free. In a monumental test of the limits of patience and love, Marie-Josèphe defies the will of the king, her brother, and the pope in defense of what she knows is right, at any cost. McIntyre's atmospheric prose envelops the reader in a fully realized world--sights, smells, and sounds are described in great detail. The author completely represents the Sun King's court at Versailles--her research for the book must have been quite extensive. The blend of history, science, and fantasy makes for a book you will want to gulp down. --Therese Littleton
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(2.5 stars) This alternative history of a more fantastic France just ends up with a book left floating in genera-and plot-limbo, 2008-11-12
"The Moon and the Sun" is one of those novels that shows up pretty consistently on people's favorite fantasy lists. So, as someone always on the look out for good fantasy, and a lover of history, I decided to give this alternative history a try.
This book is based on a fascinating premise. Although mariners over the course of history do not have a reputation for being particularly educated or sober individuals, they were no doubt very experienced in their field of business. So is it possible that given the amount of times sea monster stories pop up, that sea monsters themselves are real? And if so, why is their no proof of it?
Well, this novel endeavors to answer that question. In the court of the sun King were two siblings: Yves, a Jesuit priest and natural philosopher who was carrying out the King's whishes to search for immortality (in the form of two captured sea monsters, one dead, one alive) and his sister and assistant Marie-Josephe. But as they spend time with the monsters-dissecting the dead male to learn its secrets and observing the live female- Marie begins to notice something strange. The female sea monster can speak to her through song-actually make itself understood. And while this may be wondrous, it points towards the creatures humanity-making the King's plan of consuming its flesh to achieve immortality a repugnant idea that must be stopped-to save the King's soul and the creatures life.
With a cast of court characters, some real and some not so much, this is a very procedural novel. Court masks and hunts lie side by side with the increasing urgency to find a way to save the sea woman, and the introduction of Marie's incredibly innocent mindset into the real world is just as much of a plot point. Because of this the book seems to lack focus-and it definitely lacks speed and urgency-even though the portrayal of life at the Sun King's court is very accurate. But current elements of the novel-especially the myriad of secrets and rumors surrounding the cast of characters, seem to do nothing but take away from the main plot. They add no depth, only distraction.
All in all it's a good idea to introduce just one fantasy element into a historical setting but you have to ask-if sea monsters were real in this alternate world then what else? Unicorns? Dragons? Surely there are more myths about them spread by a more diverse group of people. And ultimately casting the creature as just another animal-even if its communication was a touch unorthodox-moved this book out of fantasy and into a sort of sudo-historical limbo when it comes to genera. Given that reading the book felt like being left in limbo, I suppose that's appropriate.
Four stars for the writing style, two for the way the book was written. Lets say two point five stars altogether.
Alternative History of France, 2008-04-13
"The Moon and Sun" by Vonda N. McIntyre, © 1997
For a science fiction novel, you could not get much more odder.
This is set in the reign of King Louis the Fourteenth of France. The heroes are a woman, Marie-Josephe, her brother, Yves, a priest, and a dwarf, Lucien. They are all part of the Kings retinue. He supports them in their endeavors, but the real story that is told is the social one. How the Peers and commoners relate. How the relationships can vacillate quickly. The nobility of some are truly shown, and the ignoble are shown as well, though there is no social consequences of being one or the other, except as may happen by chance.
The priest and a crew of sailors catch a sea monster, perhaps a Mermaid. They take it back to show the King. He plans on eating it. There is a great political show going on at the time, for some reason, and this feast of Mermaid is to be the centerpiece of it all. Marie is very cosmopolitan, knowing mathematics, music, languages, etc., and being involved with her brother and his scientific inquiries from childhood on, she gets to know this sea monster. They even get to conversing. Wild and crazy that they could do that so soon after meeting. It does get to be a happy ending, it is just so sad the mythology of the times diminished the value of women and knowledge of the world.
A startling gift from McIntyre, 2007-08-22
This fantastic story set in the court of King Louis XIV was a page-turner. I could barely put it down! Deeply descriptive, as period stories usually are, this book scrapes beneath the veneer to reveal the pretenses and the dirt beneath the gilt in the royal court. The glamour is stripped away to show the people beneath the positions.
The sea monster's presence reveals the basic dilemma of human nature. We want to learn all we can about new things, new people, new creatures... but we also fear that which is different from ourselves. This story brings discrimination to its basest level. Although Marie-Josèphe has a special relationship with the creature, it too is tinged with common prejudices. She sees the creature as intelligent, but not necessarily as an equal.
The cruelty inherent in the dissection of the male sea creature - before the female's eyes - demonstrates the disregard with which Man regards his surroundings. No one except Marie-Josèphe seems to see anything wrong with dissecting the creature's mate before her.
This is an amazing story that, although the author might not have intended it, makes us think about our social responsibilities towards the other creatures around us.
Overrated, 2006-12-18
I really am puzzled by this book winning the Nebula award and the rave reviews here. I guess it is just my taste (or lack of it) but I found the book rather tedious, with all its details on the clothes everyone was wearing and the angst all the main characters exhibited. I did finish it, but I would not recommend this to anyone, unless they were fascinated by this period in history (and the clothing styles of the time....)
Fine ideas; poor writing., 2004-06-08
The Moon and the Sun begins with the compelling premise of a sea monster brought to Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV. Yet Ms. McIntyre neither takes the plot anywhere of real interest, nor infuses her characters with anything more than stereotypical personalities. The novel's heroine, Marie-Josephe St. Croix, is a stark anachronism at the court of Versailles. Although Marie-Josephe's ideas and worldview are undeniably sympathetic, she epitomizes a thoroughly contemporary ideal -- her views on slavery, education, religion, and the rights of women are all modern ideas -- and, as such, she fails to be a believable character. Moreover, the other characters of the novel fall into predictable roles and never surprise the reader with any of their actions. Ms. McIntyre wrote The Moon and the Sun as an alternate history (with only the one, central fantasy element), but it seems unlikely that this novel would not have garnered praise had it been written for another genre. That fantasy readers reward such mediocre novels with their highest awards reflects tellingly on the sci-fi/fantasy genre as a whole -- and that reflection is decidedly negative.
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Binding: Turtleback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780606195003
ISBN: 0606195009
Label: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Number Of Items: 1
Publication Date: 2000-10
Publisher: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Studio: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media |
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