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When Women Were Warriors Book I: The Warrior's Path (2010)

by Catherine M. Wilson(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Smashwords Edition

series

When Women Were Warriors

review 1: As I finished this book I began to wonder if the classic pattern of character building followed by a more action orientated sequel. It is not to say there was no action, just some surprisingly laid back sections where you thought there might be a skirmish at least. As for the sex in this novel that occurred between the characters I thought came across as the "waves lapping on a seashore" variety. Those who want to be shocked or excited should look elsewhere. Hopefully people who come to read this book are tolerant and mature enough to realise that there are women involved in same sex relationships and this book deals with that and also it's great strength is it shows the love and affection that binds them. There is also a small element of mystery which I feel will unfold b... moreut to dwell on it would lead to a spoiler. I will probably read the sequels to see how the characters fare. Magic is also played down and it intrigues me whether more references to magic will appear along with fantastic creatures.
review 2: I have mixed feelings about this book (which was free at Amazon when I got it). I’m very fond of the subject matter and wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me. I’m giving it 3 stars, although I didn’t really like it, because it’s not bad and I think it was a good thing to attempt. Before I embark on my review proper, I want to comment on the negative reviews I’ve read, here and at Amazon. They deserve comment because most are not legitimate. A regrettably high number are based on blatant homophobia. While it is a sad truth that this attitude is out there, it would (of course) be nice if those persons so afflicted kept their affliction to themselves. However, since such people oft-times feel that they are entitled to be self-righteous about their deformity, that is probably too much to ask. Next, there are a number of negative reviews complaining that this book is “incomplete” and only “part” of a book and they feel “ripped off” by it. This is misguided – these people must not be familiar with the concept of a trilogy. This book is in no way short or amputated – it’s 274 pages long! It comes to a logical and satisfactory conclusion for the first book of a trilogy. To suggest otherwise is merely clueless. On the bright side, we can be grateful that these reviews are only a small percentage of the total. Now then . . .First, the good part. I was gratified that this was not another young-girl-becomes-invincible-warrior-overnight yarn. The author is to be commended for that. Her concepts have some depth. The characters are not idiots and do not behave in silly ways. The writing is adequate. The sexuality portrayed is appropriate; it is also quite mild and even rather chaste. (Prudes will disagree.) I’m afraid that is about as much as I can say.The less-good part. The writing is adequate, and there are flashes where it ascends to something better, but overall it is flat and uninflected. Partly this is due the author relying on a first-person narrative. That constrains her choices and requires higher degree of art to render the narrative vibrant. I do not feel the author was equal to the task (although many clearly disagree so your mileage may vary). There is altogether too much explaining: simple declarations that the main character is sad, confused, frustrated or angry (very often angry).By failing to do more than have the main character tell us how she feels, two things happen. First, I felt disconnected from the her. Yeah, she’s angry again – third time she’s said that this page. So what? Second, it becomes repetitious – she’s still angry? – which makes the main character seem overwrought. (Calm down already!) We are supposed to buy off on her having a “big heart” and a special “spirit”, but because 1) she (the main character) is not supposed to be quite aware of this, and 2) all the things she is aware of (and tells us about), she comes off as more whiney than anything. Worse, the repetition makes her seem childish but not child-like. I began to wonder why people were bothering with her. Next, the story lacks a solid sense of time or place. It feels vaguely “Celtic-y”. But we get no telling details to anchor us or draw us in. That is not to say that the writing needs to be gaudy or florid. Understated and economical is a very good thing, but I found the overall sense indistinct and muddled. Again, a really good author would have been able to paint a more vivid image of the place and the time, and make things more interesting, using only a few words. Penultimately, the characters are too pat. They aren’t bad characters and they have some depth, but they are the stock players in this sort of tale. No one does anything unexpected or has unsuspected depth. It’s all very familiar and ‘comfortable’, including the conflicts and the angsty parts. While there is some humor, the main character seems pretty humorless and a bit of a drag. Overall, this renders things sort of dreary, and made reading the last half of the book something of a slog.Finally, I never got the feeling that the author has a good notion of what being a warrior, male or female, means or how it feels. Maybe that is a good thing, considering her audience. Perhaps most of her readers would not be terribly comfortable with that, and the lack of that sense is why they like the book so much. But the fact is that arming up and going out to kill or be killed levies very specific requirements on a person, man or woman. That is not to say – I stress this – that female warriors are, or should be, the same as male warriors: that they should feel the same things or have the same attitudes and react in the same way. But they will feel and react and have attitudes and beliefs about what they are required (or choose) to do. And this book is pretty silent on that score. Which is too bad, in my opinion. So overall, I found the book disappointing. I think it could have been much better. The author states that she could never find the story on this subject she wants, so she wrote her own. I’m glad she did, and I’m glad she got enough notice to garner 2000 (or so) reviews. It appears she’s made a lot of people happy. For myself, I’ll keep looking for a story that has brighter colors, greater range, less predictability and that delves deeper into the hearts and minds of the women who (once upon a time) strapped on their armor, hefted their weapons, mounted up (because they were cavalry) and rode to the field of battle. We know they existed, for we find their graves and can read their fates in their bones. They left their marks on the historical record for a thousand years, and almost certainly rode and fought long before that (in the steppes of Central Asia though, not so much Celtic Europe). They have a marvelous story that I would love to read. (And if it depicts women in love making love to each other, that is all right with me.) But this story, I’m sad to say, is not it. --Note: updated to fix a few annoying typos. less

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Reviews (see all)

Aden

I don't even know how to express how much I loved this book. It had so many things that were important to me. It's low on plot, true enough, and I might have been too generous with my rating, but I can't remember the last time I read a book where I was so completely satisfied with everything and there was pretty much nothing that I disliked.The book thrives on relationships between women, and I loved that above all else. Friendships, romantic relationships, mother/daughter relationship, mentor/apprentice... they all played an important part of the story and I was so happy about that. I absolutely adored Tamras and Maara's relationship, and how they slowly came to trust each other, and learn from each other, and love each other. It was amazing to read, and I loved it all the more because I can't think of the last time I read something where relationships between women were the driving force.It was beautifully written as well, and I loved the worldbuilding and the stories that were woven throughout. My heart genuinely leapt with delight every time a section opened with "In ancient days, when only women were warriors..." It was a lovely and inventive way to tell us more about the world and their folklore and customs.I LOVED this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on the others in the series.

beevee21

Tamras is sent to the house of Merin to become a warrior, but instead of becoming an apprentice she is assigned to be the companion of a warrior, a much more menial job that may never allow her to become a warrior herself. To make matters worse her assigned warrior doesn't want a companion, and Merin asks her to spy on the warrior as little is known about her. The story was well-written and the concept was good. I wish it had included more details about how the settings in which the story happened. I found it rather hard to visualize where everything was taking place.

judy92

didn't finish

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