The Guardians
Reeks: The Emperor's Library
Frederick Kirchhoff
- Sixth
- and
- final
- volume
- in
- “The
- Emperor’s
- Library,”
- “The
- Guardians”
- is
- told
- by
- three
- of
- the
- main
- characters
- introduced
- in
- “The
- Chronophage”—Nan,
- Rake,
- and
- Lim—and
- takes
- place
- immediately
- after
- the
- events
- of
- that
- novel.
- It
- returns
- the
- reader
- to
- settings
- familiar
- from
- earlier
- books
- in
- the
- series,
- as
- well
- as
- to
- wholly
- new
- locations:
- Bright
- Star,
- a
- city
- of
- gem-cutters
- in
- the
- mountains
- south
- of
- Gort,
- where
- the
- Guardians
- live
- in
- their
- vast
- fortress;
- Sillery
- Taun,
- where
- an
- ageless
- race
- await
- the
- return
- of
- the
- First
- Men,
- who
- reshaped
- the
- planet
- thousands
- of
- years
- in
- the
- past;
- and
- Port
- Axor,
- a
- town
- founded
- by
- the
- Empress
- Zoë
- at
- a
- location
- first
- encountered
- in
- “The
- Flight
- from
- Kar.”
- Circumstances
- diSixth
- and
- final
- volume
- in
- “The
- Emperor’s
- Library,”
- “The
- Guardians”
- is
- told
- by
- three
- of
- the
- main
- characters
- introduced
- in
- “The
- Chronophage”—Nan,
- Rake,
- and
- Lim—and
- takes
- place
- immediately
- after
- the
- events
- of
- that
- novel.
- It
- returns
- the
- reader
- to
- settings
- familiar
- from
- earlier
- books
- in
- the
- series,
- as
- well
- as
- to
- wholly
- new
- locationsvide
- the
- three
- protagonists.
- Lim
- teaches
- himself
- to
- read
- ancient
- books
- in
- the
- Guardian’s
- library,
- where
- he
- studies
- side-by-side
- with
- an
- alien
- creature;
- Nan
- and
- her
- brother
- Filo
- use
- an
- equally
- ancient
- technology
- to
- travel
- between
- Sillery
- Taun
- and
- the
- Empire,
- where
- she
- is
- wooed
- by
- three
- very
- different
- suitors;
- and
- Rake,
- using
- no
- technology
- whatsoever,
- finds
- himself
- a
- boyfriend
- and
- becomes
- confidant
- of
- a
- prince
- who
- paints
- cabbages.
With
- the
- death
- of
- the
- Emperor,
- civil
- war
- threatens
- the
- Empire
- and
- prejudice
- against
- the
- Rand
- becomes
- open
- warfare—a
- struggle
- that
- briefly
- reunites
- the
- main
- characters,
- but
- then
- sends
- them
- off
- again
- in
- different
- directions.
Beneath
- the
- counterpoint
- of
- these
- varied
- stories,
- a
- narrative
- of
- the
- planet’s
- hisBeneath
- the
- counterpoint
- of
- these
- varied
- stories,
- a
- narrative
- of
- the
- planet’s
- history
- unfolds
- and
- we
- learn
- how
- the
- final
- events
- in
- “The
- Clavis”
- now
- threaten
- the
- survival
- of
- civilization.
- tory
- unfolds
- and
- we
- learn
- how
- the
- final
- events
- in
- “The
- Clavis”
- now
- threaten
- the
- survival
- of
- civilization.
- “The
- Guardians”
- is
- about
- return
- to
- and
- recovery
- of
- the
- past,
- but
- it
- is
- also
- about
- the
- limits
- of
- knowledge
- and
- the
- inevitable
- passing
- of
- human achievement.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
