Synopses & Reviews
A towering multi-volume fantasy, The Pearl, is launched by Eric Van Lustbader in The Ring of Five Dragons. Lustbader, one of the most famous and popular writers of the last three decades, returns to the fantasy genre with his most ambitious work yet. Filled with action, colour, and the myriad details of another world, The Pearl is the first great new fantasy series epic of the new millennium, set to rival Robert Jordan, David Eddings, and Terry Goodkind in popular appeal. The Kundalan people have suffered for a century under the viciously oppressive, technologically-superior Vornn invaders. In the resulting crisis of faithwhy hasnt their goddess Miina saved them?Kundalan religion falls under the control of evil forces from within. They, pretending to have no magic of their own and forbid the teaching of traditional sorcery. The Vornns mysterious leaders, the Gyrgon, search for the lost Ring of Five Dragons, the key to the door of the fabled Kundalan Storehouse, and perhaps to Kundalan sorcery as well. Misused, the ring triggers seemingly inexorable annihilation for Vornn and Kundalan alike. Now, from among the oppressed, must arise the hero of prophecy, the Dar Sala-at, who alone can wield the sorcerous power to save the world. Thus begins a huge epic, rooted in the conflict between spiritual and technological civilizations, that confronts difficult moral and cultural questions in a manner reminiscent of Frank Herberts Dune.
Review
"Lustbader's work is troubled by the growing conflict between technology and spirituality. . . . What is particularly compelling about
The Ring of Five Dragons is the way Mr. Lustbader creates . . . [his] world." -
The New York Times"The Ring of Five Dragons, however, is not purely a fantasy novel. It . . . is a fusion, blending and breaking the barriers between technology and sorcery, pragmatism and mysticism. . . . Lustbader, as always, is full of surprises." -Chicago Sun-Times
Synopsis
A towering, multi-volume fantasy, "The Pearl" is launched by the author of "White Ninja" and "French Kiss". Filled with action, color, and the myriad details of another world, this epic is rooted in the conflict between spiritual and technological civilizations and a hero of prophecy who can save them both.
Synopsis
A towering multi-volume fantasy, The Pearl, is launched by Eric Van Lustbader in The Ring of Five Dragons. Lustbader, one of the most famous and popular writers of the last three decades, returns to the fantasy genre with his most ambitious work yet. Filled with action, colour, and the myriad details of another world, The Pearl is the first great new fantasy series epic of the new millennium, set to rival Robert Jordan, David Eddings, and Terry Goodkind in popular appeal. The Kundalan people have suffered for a century under the viciously oppressive, technologically-superior Vornn invaders. In the resulting crisis of faithwhy hasnt their goddess Miina saved them?Kundalan religion falls under the control of evil forces from within. They, pretending to have no magic of their own and forbid the teaching of traditional sorcery. The Vornns mysterious leaders, the Gyrgon, search for the lost Ring of Five Dragons, the key to the door of the fabled Kundalan Storehouse, and perhaps to Kundalan sorcery as well. Misused, the ring triggers seemingly inexorable annihilation for Vornn and Kundalan alike. Now, from among the oppressed, must arise the hero of prophecy, the Dar Sala-at, who alone can wield the sorcerous power to save the world. Thus begins a huge epic, rooted in the conflict between spiritual and technological civilizations, that confronts difficult moral and cultural questions in a manner reminiscent of Frank Herberts Dune.
About the Author
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Eric Van Lustbader (he dropped his middle name, Van for several years due to a confusion about his last name) was born and raised in Greenwich Village. He is the author of more than twenty-five best-selling novels, including
The Ninja, a N.Y. Times bestseller for an astounding 24 weeks, in which he introduced Nicholas Linnear, one of modern fiction\'s most beloved and enduring heroes. His
New York Times bestselling novel,
The Testament, was published in September, 2006 and in paperback in August, 2007. It received rave reviews from such notable thriller writers as Nelson DeMille, Steve Berry and Joseph Finder, among others.
His novels have been translated into over twenty languages; his books are best-sellers worldwide and are so popular whole sections of bookstores from Bangkok to Dublin are devoted to them. The Ninja was sold to 20th Century-Fox and the producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown. It is now in pre-prduction.
In 2004, Mr. Lustbader was chosen by the estate of the late Robert Ludlum to continue the Jason Bourne novels. The Bourne Legacy (2005) and The Bourne Betrayal (2007), both instant New York Times bestsellers, garnered rave reviews.
He is also the author of two successful and highly regarded series of fantasy novels, The Sunset Warrior Cycle and The Pearl Saga.
Besides \"The Other Side of the Mirror\" in the bestselling THRILLER anthology, he has written a number of short stories, screenplays and novellas. Three of the short stories appeared in 1999: \"Hush,\" in Off The Beaten Path: Stories of Place for Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, \"Slow Burn,\" in Murder And Obsession for Delacourt Press, and \"An Exultation of Termagants\" in the millennial supernatural mega-collection 999 for Avon Books. A short novel, Art Kills, was published by Carroll & Graf in December, 2001.
Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies. He was the first writer in the US to write about Elton John, and to predict his success. As a consequence, he and Elton and Bernie Taupin, Elton\'s lyricist, became friends. Writing in Cash Box Magazine, he also predicted the successes of such bands as Santana, Roxy Music, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, David Bowie, and The Who, among others.
In his spare time, Mr. Lustbader serves on the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, and is Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee of the City & Country School in Greenwich Village. He also tends his prized collection of Japanese maples and beech trees (which have been written up in The New York Times and Martha Stewart\'s Living). He is a Second-Level Reiki master. He and his wife, the author Victoria Lustbader, reside in New York City and Long Island.'
Reading Group Guide
Questions for Discussion
1. This is the story of two societies—one technologically advanced, militaristic, and patriarchal; the other spiritually-based, nature-oriented, and based on a partnership of males and females. Where does power reside—for better and for worse—in each society?
2. Vornn society is based entirely on an iron-clad system of caste and hierarchy. Is there a caste system in Kundalan society? Are some societal hierarchies necessary or useful?
3. Is there a Gyrgon spirituality? What does it consist of?
4. In what ways are Gyrgon technomancy and Kundalan magic similar, and in what ways are they different? What do those differences say about the priorities of each society?
5. Are there weaknesses in Kundalan society that the Vornn have exposed and exploited? What does it say about the Kundalans that so many of them have turned away from Miina and their Goddess-based religion? How do people and cultures maintain their faith when terrible circumstances befall them? How much time and suffering are required for faith to be tested?
6. By the books end, Riane has become the point of intersection of two genders and two very different cultures. What influences do you feel emerge as stronger? What psychological forces battle within her? What will become of Annons desire to avenge his familys deaths, in the face of what Riane is learning as the Dar Sala-at?
7. Kundalan women are portrayed in many ways as powerless—as victims, as prisoners, as slaves. Who are the powerful Kundalan women in the story? By what means do they achieve their power? What forms of power do Vornn women possess?
8. What are the most important lessons that the Vornn can learn from the Kundalan? Would the Vornn ever be willing to learn from a society that they have conquered? Is there anything constructive or positive that the Kundalan can learn from the Vornn?
9. Although they are twins, Bartta and Giyan could scarcely be more different. What do their differences symbolize about the rifts in Kundalan society?
10. How do you feel about Eleanas decision to keep a child conceived as the result of a rape, and about her reasons for doing so?
11. Four of the books most crucial characters—including the Dar Sala-at himself—are teenagers. In what ways is this a story about coming of age?