Fortress in the Eye of Time
core novel 1995 Fortress
Record
| First published | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.89 (4,167 ratings, collected 2026-10-06) |
| Page count | 568 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780061092954 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
In a ruined fortress called Ynefel, at the edge of the civilised kingdom of Ylesuin, the ancient wizard Mauryl Gestaurien performs a last Summoning and brings into being a young man, Tristen, who has the body of an adult, the knowledge of an infant and the fragments of a memory that is not his own. Mauryl means him as a weapon against his old enemy, the sorcerer Hasufin, who has already defeated him once, but Mauryl dies before the shaping is finished, and Tristen is sent out into a world he must learn word by word, as things "unfold" to him. He comes to Amefel, the border province ruled by Cefwyn, the king's dissolute heir, and the two become friends in a court where Tristen's innocence is as dangerous as his origin. The first novel of Cherryh's five-book high fantasy, shortlisted for the Locus Award.
Where it sits
- Universe: Fortress
- Series: Fortress core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: C.J. Cherryh
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1996: nominated; Shortlisted.
Notes
- From the series record (Fortress): C. J. Cherryh's high fantasy of Tristen, a young man Summoned into being by a dying wizard, and Cefwyn, the king who befriends him, in the kingdom of Ylesuin: a quartet (1995-2000) and a fifth novel about the next generation (2006). Cherryh distinguishes wizardry (learned), sorcery (force of character) and magic (born gift).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Fortress: position 1 of 5: next Fortress of Eagles (1998)
Sources
← Fortress dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.