Three Step Trilogy: The Crowded Shadows [2]

At the end of The Poison Throne, we saw our three friends Wynter, Razi and Christopher part ways for what seems to be the last time. Razi has left for Padua to continue his medical training. Before departing, he secures Christopher's escape from the kingdom and safe passage to the Moroccos. Wynter has lied to everyone. She has promised Razi and Christopher that she will stay by her dying father's side; she has sworn to a fearful Lorcan that she will escape the increasingly dangerous palace and throw herself under the protection of Razi in Padua. But Wynter has her own mission. She journeys alone through treacherous woods in an effort to seek out the camp of the Rebel Prince Alberon.

This book sees an expansion of the Moorehawke world. Coming from the oppressively choreographed posturing of court life and backdoor diplomacy of Jonathon's kingdom, the broad stretch of forest land seems to offer a welcome respite. But danger lurks in the crowded shadows and Wynter faces greater peril than ever before. Forced to face her demons without the aid of her father and friends, her quest hangs by a thread.

Cultures in Conflict
A major theme in this novel is the challenge of transcending cultural difference. To explore this theme, Kiernan has created two distinctive races: The Merron and the Loup-Garous. Given  that the Loup-Garous are viscous slavers and that the Merron forge a tentative alliance with the reunited trio in the search for Rebel Prince, we might expect these races to conform to straightforward visions of good and evil, much as we see with Tolkien's elves and orcs.  But Kiernan has stated that she is uncomfortable with 'the trope of innate evil' and refuses to pander to simplistic ideological positions in her writing. The Loup-Garous may have wolf natures, but they are not merely born evil. And whilst the Merron are kind-hearted and noble, their beliefs involve practices and rites that are alien and savage to outsider eyes.

The near impossibility of transcending cultural differences is explored here. These challenges are mediated primarily through the experiences of Wynter. As the novel's focalizer, the narrative tracks her growing comprehension of the Merron, even in the face of their intractable 'otherness.'

Wynter suddenly realised that this was exactly how her father would have behaved in a situation where there was no shared language. The way Hallvor maintained eye contact with Wynter, and not the translator; the way she had opened communications through the finding of common ground; her patience - all these things Wynter had seen before, as Lorcan went about his diplomatic work in the North. It occurred to Wynter that this stringy woman, grimy and sweat soaked, her bare arms smudged with dirt, was far more refined and subtle a diplomat that she would ever have given her credit for.

The fact that this epiphany occurs to Wynter just days after she has watched the healer take part in the human sacrifice of two of her Merron companions testifies to her growth in understanding of those that are different to herself. The poignancy of the Merron is that they are a race that the world no longer has a place for. Though Christopher urges them to "adapt or perish," their culture is simply out of step with the demands of their age.

It is harder to reach an understanding of the Loup-Garous, particularly as Razi and Christopher are committed to their annihilation. A cruel and savage affiliation of wolves, they show no respect for human life as they indulge their greed and murderous desires. Again, it is a masterful storytelling stroke that Kiernan decides to give Christopher a wolf heritage and Merron upbringing. Proving that race and religion do not equal destiny, the character of Christopher provides a constant challenge to the prejudices of his friends and readers alike.

Symbol: Hands
Characters trained in diplomacy and the art of survival learn to widen the gap between appearance and reality. A court mask slips into place to hide a mind in turmoil; an assassin's glare disguises a compassionate nature. In Kiernan's trilogy, a person's true nature is written in their hands. Christopher's mutilated hands testify to his past suffering. They are the trauma of his former enslavement made manifest. They also mark his status as an outsider in Jonathon's kingdom as the missing fingers are often misread as a thief's punishment.

Wynter's rough and calloused hands are a source of great pride to her. They signify that there is more to the Protector Lady than an inherited title. They mark her status as an apprentice carpenter, thus signifying her ability to progress in a role usually reserved for men. On meeting the Merron noblewoman Embla, Wynter gasps at the softness of that lady's hands. Their unblemished smoothness provides a clue to her role in the old religion of the Bear Merron tribe. She and her brother Ashkr are their Caora Beo,  revered sacrificial lambs in accordance with a tradition that the Southlanders could never accept.. One of our final images of Embla is of her hands being forcibly bound together in an attitude of prayer.

The Crowded Shadows is a highly satisfying sequel to The Poison Throne and one that guarantees the readers continuing interest in the series. Developing and expanding on the diegetic world of Jonathon's Kingdom, Kiernan demonstrates that life beyond the castle walls is just as thrilling.