Fortress of Owls
core novel 1999 Fortress
Record
| First published | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.92 (2,511 ratings, collected 2026-10-06) |
| Page count | 406 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780061050541 |
| Internal chronology | 3 |
Synopsis
Tristen governs Amefel from the fortress of Henas'amef, and finds that lordship suits him better than anyone expected: the province's half-Sihhë people take to him, the owls that gather at his windows are omens the old folk understand, and in the eye of winter he begins, step by step, to recover powers and memories that reach back to the Sihhë kings. Across the river in Elwynor the rebellion against Ninévrisë's succession has hardened into a war that Cefwyn must fight with a divided army and barons who would rather he lost, while in Guelemara the Quinalt's intrigues against the queen-to-be and against Tristen deepen. The third novel widens the conflict from a court to two kingdoms, and the third winter of Tristen's life is spent preparing for the war that will decide them.
Where it sits
- Universe: Fortress
- Series: Fortress core; position 3 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: C.J. Cherryh
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2000: 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 3 of 5: previous Fortress of Eagles (1998) · next Fortress of Dragons (2000)
Sources
← Fortress dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.