After reading these two books, one straight after the other, I thought that I should have saved myself the trouble and only read one of them. They were so similar that any reader unfamiliar with the fantasy genre may have mistaken them for the same stories with only the artificial change of titles. Even the authors were nearly the same - Black Trillium was written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton and Julian May in 1991 and Tiger Burning Bright by Bradley, Norton and Mercedes Lackey a mere four years later. The extreme alikeness of the two plotlines and characters struck me as most peculiar. The quality and style of writing were also disappointing since I had expected much more of the combined efforts of these authors.
The Three Main Characters
Both books feature three women as the central characters of the stories. This reflects the movement of New Age Fantasy, where women are no longer sidelined in medieval-like settings, but occasionally run against the convention in those settings to be the wielders of power. It is also understandable in this case as each of the three female authors undertake the task of developing one of the main characters.
Black Trillium consists of triplet princesses, each representing a petal of the sacred Black Trillium plant and prophesized to save their kingdom, Ruwenda, from enslavement by evil, a threat signified by the expansionist policy of Labornok. Haramis, the eldest, is depicted as a scholar, an intellectual and a politician. Kadiya is impulsive and temperamental, with masculine habits displayed in her male clothing and skill with the dagger. Finally, the youngest, Anigel, is shown to be sweet and gentle (as well as unnecessarily weak and prone to tears, to my mind).
These three protagonists can be paralleled with those in Tiger Burning Bright. The Dowager Queen Mother Adele, the current Queen Lydana and the Designated Daughter, Princess Shelyra belong to the Royal House of the Tiger of Merina, a prosperous port city-state. Adele, due to her great age and membership to the Temple of the Heart of the Goddess, is characterized as the wisest of the three, a little similar to Haramis. Shelyra, head of the Merina intelligence network, has the rashness of youth, paralleled to Kadiya. Lydana however is certainly not an Anigel (and I heave a sigh of relief at that but really, I find it most difficult to like Anigel's nauseating character). As Queen, Lydana definitely has a commanding presence with an admirable decisiveness, revealed by her leading a successful counter-offensive against the Emperor's occupying troops.
Minor Characters
As everyone knows, a good story requires good minor characters to support the action of the main characters and to propel the plot towards its climax. I find that Black Trillium is sadly lacking in any outstanding minor characters. The Oddlings, non-human races who inhabit Ruwenda, would understandably suffer under the Labornoki invasion. However, even though their plight is real, I as the reader did not find myself empathizing with them. Nor do I find myself admiring the selfless acts of the Oddling "nursemaids" to the princesses. Similarly, the death of the Archimage Binah, the White Lady and benevolent protector of all Ruwendians did not affect me one wit. The problem is that the remoteness with which they have been described presents a barrier against me identifying myself with them.
The population in Merina is more empathizable (if there is such a word). The authors have at least done well there by illustrating the suffering and terror of the common people when faced with heavier taxes, arbitrary arrest and slavery as a backdrop to the action. And later, when rumours of Apolon's necromantic practices begin circulating, the fear becomes thicker, culminating in the uprising, both spiritual and physical, against the invaders. Individual characters drawn to represent different sections of society drew me closer to the scene, such as the comic frustration of Thom, a rogue thief who cannot control his charge, Shelyra. Because I could identify with him earlier in the story, his premature death was made all the more tragic and heart-rending. I could also understand the Gypsies and Horse Lords who covertly thwart the imperial orders to give up some of their horses as tax, representing the rebellious attitude of the general populace.
The Evil Camp
The evil characters adhere so much to the fantasy archetype of "evil" that they only appear as caricatures, not well-rounded characters. Their desire to "rule the world", yet with no apparent reason why they would seek to do that, weakens the importance of the Princess' missions to individually find a relic of power and to self-discover their own flaws in Trillium. Perhaps I have strayed far from reading traditional fantasies which just has the basic plotline of good fighting against evil where good is good and evil evil, with no reason underlying them. I now very much prefer to read the character-building reasons as to why a person has made a certain choice, which may be deemed evil, and how such a choice leads to uncontrollable future consequences. Perhaps it is a much more realistic way of characterization.
