Rose of the Prophet
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The Rose of the Prophet is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. Cover art and interior illustrations by Larry Elmore.
The Rose of the Prophet series is set in Sularin, a fictional desert world ruled by a slate of twenty gods, each a facet of the central god, Sul. In the normal course of events, common to fantasy literature, the values of the gods balance each other out; however, as the series begins, the gods have turned away from the Sul and the world is in peril of falling apart.
The immortals, including the djinn who serve the royalty of the desert nomadic people (and often provide comic relief), have their own struggles as they try to maintain balance between the people they must obey and their master, Akhran, God of the Desert.
On the worldly realm, the wandering God, Akhran, commands two of his nomadic tribes to unite by the marriage of the children of the Sheiks. This is unfortunate, as the two tribes have been warring with each other for as long as memory; the bride must be tied up and gagged to wed the falling-down-drunk groom, and the wedding night notably involves the bride stabbing her would-be husband.
Nonetheless, the people must unite to defeat more sinister forces.
In a somewhat controversial move for the authors, they imply a homosexual relationship between two of the characters in the second "book" of the first novel, "The Will of the Wanderer."
Contents |
[edit] The books
The novels were originally published in the United States by Bantam Spectra (the Science-Fiction division of Random House).
[edit] The Rose of the Prophet Trilogy
- Will of the Wanderer (January 1989)
(From back cover) Here is the epic tale of the Great War of the Gods--and the proud people upon whom the fate of the world depends. When the God of the desert, Akhran the Wanderer, declares that two clans must band together despite their centuries old rivalry, their first response is outrage. But they are a devout people and so reluctantly bow to his bidding. Enemies from birth, the headstrong Prince Khardan and impetuous Princess Zohra must unite in marriage to stop Quar, the God of Reality, Greed, and Law, from enslaving their people. But can Khardan and Zohra keep from betraying each other? Can their two peoples maintain their fragile alliance until the long-awaited flowering of the legendary Rose of the Prophet? Against the powerful legions of the evil Amir, Khardan and Zohra fight to save the desert people--a fight unexpectedly joined by an exiled wizard named Mathew and the mysterious powers of his alien land.
- 'The Paladin of the Night (May 1989)
- 'The Prophet of Akhran (September 1989)
[edit] Main characters of the Rose of the Prophet series
- Abul Qasim Qannadi: "The Amir", General and Emperor of Quar.
- Achmed: Khardan’s brother and follower of Akhran.
- Auda ibn Jad: Dark Paladin of Zhakrin; slave-trader.
- Feisal: Known as "The Imam", priest of Quar and fanatical mujahideen.
- Khardan: Calif of the horse-herding Akar and son of Sheikh Majid, prophet of Akhran.
- Mathew: Young wizard and follower of Promenthas.
- Zohra: Daughter of Sheikh Jaafar, of the sheep-herding Hrana, follower of Akhran.
[edit] Immortals of the Rose of the Prophet series
- Asrial: Immortal of Promenthas, also Mathew’s guardian angel.
- Fedj: Djinn of Akhran devoted to Jafaar al Widjar, Zohra's father.
- Kaug: Efreet of Quar and main Immortal antagonist.
- Pukah: Djinn of Akhran, Pukah is the young and impetuous servant of Khardan.
- Sond: Djinn of Akhran, he serves Majiid al Fakhar, Khardan's father.
- Usti: Djinn of Akhran, he serves Zohra.
[edit] The Gods of the Rose of the Prophet series
In Sularin, there are 21 Gods: Sul (the Truth) is the light of truth, and the other 20 are facets of the Truth. The nature of each God is informed by an icosahedral jewel composed of 20 triangular facets the 12 vertices of which represent divine philosophies (Good at the extreme closest to Law, Mercy, Faith, Charity and Patience; then Evil with Greed, Chaos, Impatience, Intolerance, and Reality). This structure creates three categories of God: Good (the five facets with Good at one vertex), Evil (the five facets with Evil at one vertex), and Neutral (the other ten facets).
Many of these Gods seem patterned after Earthly cultures.
- Sul
The center of the 20-sided jewel, of which each god is a facet. Also used to mean the Sun, the Universe, the Jewel, and the God of Truth.
- Akhran
Nomad-God of Chaos, Impatience, and Faith. The series centers on his followers, who live more or less nomadic desert lives. Akhran wears practical riding gear and disdains formality. His realm seems to reflect a blend of central Asian cultures: his followers play baigha, which bears a striking resemblance to buzkashi, and drink qumiz, commonly transliterated kumis (fermented mare's milk), and their language contains basic elements of Persian (e.g., bale = yes, spahi = a kind of horseman), Arabic (e.g., use of the honorifics Hazrat and sidi to refer to respected figures), and more.
- Quar
God of Reality, Greed, and Law. Quar, known occasionally as "the Lawful," wears stereotypical and ornate Ottoman garb of a burnoose and silk turban. The main antagonist of Akhran and the first God to encourage murder in the name of religion. His followers' language seems based on Arabic (imam, amir, etc.).
- Promenthas
God of Goodness, Charity, and Faith. Promenthas shares similarities with a standard Roman Catholic image of God: white beard, cassock and surplice, and hosts of angels and archangels. One of the few Gods to encourage independence and study of the natural world by limiting personal contact with divine entities (such as Immortals).
- Zhakrin
God of Evil, Intolerance, and Reality. Seems to be killed by Evren at the beginning of "Will of the Wanderer."
- Evren
Goddess of Goodness, Charity, and Faith. Seems to die from exhaustion (from killing Zhakrin) at the beginning of "Will of the Wanderer."
- Benario
"The Thief" God of Faith, Chaos and Greed.
- Kharmani
Wealth-God of Faith, Mercy, and Greed.
- Hammah
Warrior-God (attributes unknown) who wears animal skins and a horned metal helmet.
- Shistar
God (attributes unknown) who sits in a tea-garden surrounded by cherry trees.
- Chu-lin
Meditative God (attributes unknown)
- Hurishta
Underwater Goddess (attributes unknown) of the seas. Sailors throw golden rings into the sea as sacrifices to her; dolphins are considered her daughters and sharks her sons. She and Inthaban feud and their fights cause storms, according to superstitious sailors.
- Inthaban
Water-God (attributes unknown) of distant seas. Sailors throw iron rings into the sea in order to appease him and his "sons," whales, so that he might not grow jealous of their treatment of Hurishta.
- Astafas
Demon-God of Evil (other attributes unknown), an enemy to Promenthas.
- Mimrim
Goddess of the Ravenchai who lives on a cloudy mountain.
- Uevin
Law, Patience and Reality. God who ruled the Bas. Bas live like ancient Romans. Focus on politics and technology.
