Product Description

Slave galleys, ghost ships, shipwrecks and sea monsters are only preludes to Prince Jemany's confrontation with the evil Sisterhood of the Blue Storm as he seeks the fourth crystal, Wenaya's blue jewel. The latest instalment in this epic saga is a whirling fantasia of swashbuckling adventure, tragedy and triumph, of comedy and romance, of heart-stopping action and unforgettable, larger-than-life characters, caught up in a quest on which hangs the fate of the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #694529 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Fourth book of Arden's highly praised Orokon series of fantasy adventures, Sisterhood of the Blue Storm takes his heroic Prince Jem and his sidekicks Rajal and Littler to an endless chain of islands set in warm seas. Here, as they seek for another of the crystals which they need to save the world, they encounter corsairs, slave galleys, sea monsters, desert islands full of lost boys and above all the Sisterhood, evil sorceresses who shanghai islands aboard their travelling whirlwind to leech the strength and brains from the inhabitants. Here too they meet Selinda and Maius Eneo, two of the more star-crossed lovers of fiction, and re-encounter Captain Porlo, a likeable old pirate more or less at the end of his tether.

Arden's fantasies are wonderful camp confections in which every jokey reference is matched with a moment of genuine horror or terror, every moment of visual charm with one of visceral disgust. These are huge inventive books with a unique flavour and a group of ingenu adventurers whose sentimental education involves us in excitement, passion and blank verse. The Orokon is an inventive journey not quite like any other heroic fantasy. --Roz Kaveney

About the Author
SALES POINTS * Jane Austen meets Ghormenghast in this exotic, sizzling saga * Epic, sweeping quest fantasy with a unique eighteenth-century backdrop * A major new talent, the author is a lecturer in 18th century literature * Major marketing campaign and author PR

Customer Reviews

A huge baggy monster
It's a given that anyone new to the series should begin with the first volume, "The Harlequin's Dance" - unlike some other fantasy series, it's just not possible to start midway through Arden's dense and multi-layered Orokon quest.

This, the penultimate book in the series, sees Jemany, Rajal and their new friend Littler searching for the next crystal on a savage archipelago controlled by the eponymous Sisterhood of the Blue Storm. As in the previous books of the series, Arden's literary language and imagery is quite excellent and I enjoyed the pastiche dramatic interludes.

However, I wish that Arden's editor had had the courage to trim some of the excess subplots and characters. That it's all glorious camp excess can't be denied, but it's sometimes a headache to have to keep flipping to the lengthy list of characters at the front of the book in order to keep events straight. (Also, a little more focus would have given the Sisterhood more of the prominence they deserve: they're a wonderfully chilling creation and it's a shame Arden doesn't allow them more time "onstage".) I also think that a stronger editor would have challenged some of Arden's more annoying tendencies, such as his habit of having characters disappear - *literally* disappear - for no real reason.

So what we have, in all, is a huge baggy monster of a plot couched in lush and living prose. Arden is a writer for those who love language above pacing and tension: if this sounds like you, give Arden a try from the beginning. Those who have read the previous three books of the Orokon will want to feed their Arden addiction with this one.

Confuseing
I've found this whole series, frankly, confusing. The books are really good, but if you don't have the brain capacity, like me, for confusing unexplainable mysteries, then you may not be able to absorb the information, meaning that if you continue your brain will explode!
Seriously though, it is confusing. this one gave me a headache, as did the very last one! You have to start with the first book. Which is undoubtedly the best one. And if you can keep the information locked in your brain, then you will enjoy this book and the rest of them.