The Golden Key

Melanie Rawn · Jennifer Roberson · Kate Elliott

Jun 2011 · Penguin

About this ebook

In Tira Virte, art is prized for its beauty and as a binding legal record of everything from marriages to treaties. Yet not even the Grand Duke knows how extraordinary the Grijalva family's art is, for certain Grijalva males are born with the ability to alter events and influence people in the real world through that they paint. Always, their power has been used for Tira Virte. But now Sario Grijalva has learned to use his Gift in a whole new way. And when he begins to work his magic both the Grijalvas and Tira Virte may pay the price.

Ratings and reviews

The Golden Key is about a young man named Sario, who lives in a city called Tira Virte. Sario is a Grijalva, one of the premier artistic families of the area. Art is especially important to the Virteians because it serves as legal documentation and historical record. For the Grijalvas, it is also their source of power—they can work a sort of magic through the materials of the paint (semnino, sanguo, aguo) and the symbolism of the components of the piece. Young males with the gift are first confirmed and then taught at age 13 to use their power. Sario, who is very ambitious, is unhappy with the slow pace of his teachers and seeks to learn more. He learns from an old Tza’ab diviner, the creator of his family’s magic, and manages to trick his way into the post of Lord Limner. But, his machinations don’t stop there, as he moves his soul from his own body to the body of another gifted young Grijalva—and continues to do so, down through the centuries until the startling denouement, 400 years later. The authors are Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott. Rawn’s other works include the Dragon Prince trilogy and the Exiles series. Roberson has written the Sword Dancer Saga and the Chronicles of the Cheysuli , and Elliott’s major pieces are the Crown of Stars series, the Crossroads series, and Jaran. This collaboration from three masters of fantasy portrays a fascinating interplay of politics and family interests, as well as the fate of those who cheat death and defy nature. It also manages to incorporate rampant symbolism and artistic technique to show the progression of time through the novel and provide a baseline for the reader to follow. The Gallerias at the beginning and end of the novel also provide a sort of path that keeps the otherwise disparate novel from degenerating into three disconnected pieces. This novel uses the Italian language and distinctive syntax to convey the impression of a world separate from, yet still based on, our own. Regardless of the varying authors, the general style remains unexpectedly consistent over the piece, helping to keep a semblance of cohesion. This cohesion is much needed, as the first part of the novel takes place 200 years before the second, and the third another 100 years later. The themes of this novel—notably those of politics and the family—reflect modern conflicts and warn of their consequences. The Grijalva involvement in ducal affairs leads the city-state to ruin as new laws serve the family without fear of the greater consequences. The authors seem to deplore the involvement of personal life and interests in state matters, a concept our politicians should take to heart. Overall, this novel was quite good. It contained enough philosophical fodder to pique the interest, while also having intrigue and action aplenty to please fans of those genres. Its focus on artistic technique and symbolism is a source of education to the uninitiated, and the liberal use of Italian language lent authenticity to the work. While the jumps in time and style—each author wrote a different “act”—can be somewhat abrupt and disconcerting, the technique does a good job of keeping the story moving across such relatively vast expanses of time. The Golden Key is a well crafted masterpiece, worthy of all three authors, and hopefully more tales of Tira Virte and the Grijalvas are forthcoming.

Took a while to get through this one. However, I found the ideas governing magic totally new, and that kept it interesting for me.

The Golden Lion. Applying the rules if attraction!

About the author

Jennifer Roberson is the author of the Sword-Dancer Saga and the Chronicles of the Cheysuli, and collaborated with Melanie Rawn and Kate Elliott on the historical fantasy The Golden Key, a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. She has also published three historical novels, and several in other genres. An exhibitor and breeder of Cardigan Welsh Corgis, she lives on acreage in Northern Arizona with eight dogs and two cats. She is currently working on the third Karavans novel.