Title: A Tapestry of Lions

Author: Jennifer Roberson

Series: Chronicles of the Cheysuli

Sexual Content: minimal

Objectional Content: Violence

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Nearly a century has passed since the Prophecy of the Firstborn was set in motion—the generational quest to recreate the magical race which once held sway in the lands ruled by Homana’s Mujar. Now, Kellin, heir to Homana’s throne, has only to sire an offspring with an Ihlini woman to reach this goal. But Kellin wants nothing of prophecy, nor even of his own magical heritage. Embittered by tragedy, he refuses the sacred lir-bonding, becoming anathema in the eyes of his Cheysuli kin. But willing participant or not, Kellin provides a very real threat to the Ihlini—the ancient enemies of the Cheysuli people—for should the prophecy be fulfilled, life as the Ihlini know it will end. How can a lirless warrior ever hope to escape the traps of the Ihlini sorcerers? And how can the prophecy ever be realized when the man born to become its final champion shuns his destined role?

My Review

Going into this book, I really didn’t know what to expect. All the previous books have been about the prophecy and mixing the correct bloodlines to bring the prophecy to fruition. Only one bloodline remains, that of the Ihlini. But what Cheysuli would willingly and knowingly be with an Ihlini?

Kellin, Aidan’s son, is the main focus of A Tapestry of Lions. He is a child filled with bitterness that his own father gave him up (though he eventually does the same to his own bastard children). After experiencing tragedy and loss, Kellin rejects the gods and vows to never have a lir. As a man he has become even more bitter and rebellious, closing himself off to any meaningful relationship so he can’t be hurt by losing someone. He also resents that he is not so important as the son he will one day sire.

Kellin honestly changes and grows in leaps and bounds in this book. He starts out as a child proud of his Cheysuli heritage, looking forward to the day he receives his lir and lir gold, wanting to be recognized as a warrior of the clans. Then he experiences loss and grows up to sleep with random whores, get in fights and gambles. He goes through a lot and comes out the end a much better person.

I wasn’t sure how it was all going to end. As I was reading, I kept thinking there wasn’t enough left in the book to wrap it all up. In the end though, I was satisfied with the ending. I’m sure the author could write more books in this world if she wanted to, but I wouldn’t say it was necessary to round off the story.

Overall, I would say the series is an enjoyable one. There were definitely elements about it that I didn’t like. For instance, the first book is about a strong female character and then the subsequent books are almost all about male characters and the majority of the female characters are sort of relegated to a background role of have babies.

My rating for A Tapestry of Lions is 3 out of 5 stars. My rating for the Chronicles of the Cheysuli is also 3 out of 5 stars and I would recommend it to people who enjoy older, slower paced fantasy that covers multiple generations and different protagonists.