Book Review: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Lynesse Fourth Daughter of the queen knows her land is in peril. Some unnamed horror is sending people fleeing from neighboring forest kingdoms. Perhaps it is a demon. The strongest men cannot face it with a blade. So Lyn climbs the mountain to the Tower of Nyrgoth Elder, last of the sorcerers. She will call upon him to fulfill the great compact to come to her royal family’s aid. Because blood is required, she puts her finger in an opening to the door, and feels the sting of a bite.

Nyr wakes up. He is the last of a team of anthropologists sent here to study this colonized world that has devolved from a spacefaring civilization. He spends most of his time in suspended animation. The system woke him because a visitor is a match for a family he made a compact with. Nyr is horribly depressed from being left alone on this world.

But Nyr is happy to recognize his visitor—the woman he spent time with, even having adventures with her on horseback. He addresses her by name and title. Lyn replies that that was her great grandmother. The woman Nyr remembers is dead.

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Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky is shorter than a standard novel, so it is actually a novella. But do not make the mistake of thinking it has less value because of that. This is a charming story that alternates between two points of view—a fantasy of a princess on a quest, and a science fiction story of an anthropologist who has to deal with the ignorance and superstitions of a backslidden people.

Lyn is convinced, as they approach the forest kingdoms, that the sorcerer will defeat the horrible evil. Nyr goes along because of the great compact, but is certain this is none of his concern. They are both in for an increasingly terrifying adventure.

Parts of the story are quite funny. Nyr tells Lyn that he is not a magician, he is a scientist. This translates into her language as he is not a magician, he is a sorcerer. The story drags in a few places when it goes into detail about Nyr’s depression, but Elder Race is a worthwhile read.

The Great Vow of Queen Elizabeth II

In the past several years, a number of commentators have openly said that Queen Elizabeth had done enough; she should abdicate and let Charles take the throne. After so many years of service, she should rest from any more official duties.

These people did not remember that Elizabeth had made a vow to God to serve the British people all her life. Because of copyright reasons, I cannot provide a link to the recording. But if you look for Princess Elizabeth's 21st birthday speech, you should be able to find a version of it.

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Think of what the British people had gone through: Edward VIII abdicated after less than a year to marry the commoner with whom he had had an affair. George VI was ill-prepared to be king, yet became the great symbol of the Empire during the war years. But Britain had been so weakened by the war, it was devolving from an Empire to a Commonwealth. I don’t know if this was known to the public, but George’s health was declining.

And so Elizabeth made her vow. Many would have forgiven her if she had gone back on it in her last years. But she did not. She kept her vow to the end.