Lost Burgundy:: The Book of Ash, #4

by Mary Gentle

Book Overview

In this conclusion to the saga of history's greatest woman warrior, merciless soldiers of the Visigoth Empire stand at the gates of Dijon, the once-proud capital of Burgundy. Behind the walls of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380811146
• ISBN13: 9780380811144
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Eos
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

The Lioness is caged at Dijon but not Clawless!

Ash's story was originally published as one mammoth book in the UK. In USA (and the rest of Europe) divided into four tomes. A wise option IMHO. "Lost Burgundy" is the fourth and last volume of this format. As the tale was conceived as whole book, you definitely must read them in order. So my recommendation is start from "A Secret History" and then follow the thread to this overwhelming conclusion. This is an alt-his tale full of attractive ideas, images, violence and well defined characters. Ms. Gentle has researched both in medieval history and warfare; that allows her to present the reader with a very well documented backdrop. The entire late middle age world is reconstructed accurately; its reality is overwhelming. The mercenary way of life, camping, battles, cities and courts are vividly described. The new alt-his issues & sci-fi elements e.g. Visigothic Carthage, the Stone Golem & the Penitence are as compelling. The story is presented as a contemporary new translation of medieval manuscripts, with the addendum of new revolutionary documents recently discovered by a historian. In the previous volume new unknown documents were unearthed by the editor and passed to the historian-translator. This volume corresponds to the last part translation. Finally the emails exchanges between the translator and the editor become more and more significant to the story up to its conclusion. Ash is a very young & capable mercenary leader that has been captured by the Visigoths and liberated by part of her faithful company. They had returned to a dilapidated southern Europe, reached besieged Dijon, and forced their pass and assist the election of a new Duke. The new Duke in this case is a Duchesse and ... Ash's former surgeon. This fact gives a new turn to the whole story as Ash & the Duchesse learn why Burgundy is the main obstacle to the Wild Machines plots. Characters are well fleshed, each with its own vital problems to solve and interact. Interesting issues about ethic, gender, love, politics, religion & warfare are presented to the reader in a shocking parade. In this volume the fantastic and sci-fi elements continue definitely take a major role. This book is strictly for adult readers due to its violent scenes and language; it will be fully enjoyed by alt-his lovers, fantasy fans & sci-fi buffs. Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Last quarter of a terrific fantasy creation

Lost Burgundy is the fourth book in the "The Book of Ash." This isn't a series, as the books were all published simultaneously, and in the UK it was one 1100 page novel (the largest single-volume fantasy ever). I guess the publisher figured in the US we have short attention spans.The whole sequence of four books is difficult to categorize. While labeled Fantasy, it includes science fiction, alternative history, and postmodern deconstruction. That, perhaps, is why several reviewers got annoyed with these books. They don't stay in one category. This is not a failure but a success; this work is a tour de force.In Book IV, Ash and her mercenary company are stuck in Dijon, awaiting a battle with both soldiers and bizarre physical forces. Elsewhere, the sun has ceased to shine. Ash's twin (or clone) is somehow responsible, and Ash alternates between feelings of revenge and humiliation. The wraparound story, correspondence between a modern author researching Ash, and his editor, is also changing in tone; the editor suggests the author has gone quietly insane, but the reader senses he hasn't despite his reality disappearing. There are elements of Phillip K. Dick in their tale, and it has slowly seeped into Ash's story as well.While the denouement works, the epilogue feels out of place, almost as if it were written by someone less talented. Other than needing a stronger ending, this is a terrific series that deserves your attention, all four books of it.

Final installment of the brilliant fantasy novel

This is the final part of "Ash: A Secret History" - an excellent fantasy novel by UK author Mary Gentle. The novel describes the life of Ash, a Joan of Arc-like mercenary leader. Ash is a young teenager, living in mercenary army camps at the end of the 15th century. She starts hearing voices in her head, giving her tactical advice on battlefield situations. When she becomes a successful battlefield commander, she forms her own mercenary army and gets involved in the protection of Burgundy against an invasion. This novel gives a very gritty, realistic view of life in the 15th century. Right from the start the reader is confronted with the mud, blood, sweat and pain of the life of a soldier. Gentle is not afraid to hurt or kill her characters. Even though the story is brutal and often horrifying, it is always a compelling read. "Ash: A Secret History" is presented as the translation of a manuscript, complete with footnotes explaining some of the archaic terms. The correspondence between Pierce Ratcliff, the fictional scholar who is translating the work, and his editor Anna Longman, is inserted between the chapters of Ash's life. This correspondence adds an entirely new dimension to the story, explaining some of the anachronistic expressions and some of the differences between Ash's version of history and our own. Another reviewer called this novel a combination of fantasy and scholarly mistery. Mary Gentle, an accomplished scholar herself, acquired an MA in War Studies as part of the writing process of this novel. "Ash: A Secret History" was advertised in the UK as "the largest single-volume fantasy novel ever", which is quite possibly true at 1100 pages. In the US, however, the novel was split into 4 separate volumes: "A Secret History", "Carthage Ascendant", "The Wild Machines" and "Lost Burgundy".

Series Ends Strongly, Weakened By "Authorial" Intrusion

There is much to recommend this book as well as this series: strong and detailed military description, vivid reconstruction of the medieval period, and a strong central protagonist, as well as secondary figures, who evolves and develops as character, at the end coming to an epiphanous realization about herself and the world she inhabits. The prose is solidly constructed, and great emotion evoked in the scenes where Ash begins to accept her humanity and her true feelings for the men and women she leads. And, at least in the first book, intriguing questions are raised as to the veracity of history, and our contemporary interpretations of the past.This examination of history is accomplished through the fictional and contemporary commentary and correspondence of a professor purportedly translating and collecting the medieval manuscripts that recount the life of Ash, a female mercenary leader of the late fifteenth century. Presented in a manner mimicking an academician's notes and correspondence with his publisher, this "history" is written complete with the "author's" commentary, as well as running emails to his publisher. While intruding upon the main narrative recounting the life of Ash, in the first book this secondary story line does much to inform and expand upon the theme of the primary narrative, used as a running dialogue to examine our contemporary notions and the validity of our reconstruction of a period in which evidence is scanty and often of questionable provenance. Becoming a larger exploration into our comprehension and knowledge of the past, this device, while interrupting the narrative flow of the story surrounding Ash, nonetheless raises questions about the events being narrated, and by extension all accounts of events of this period, that are intriguing and thought provoking, elevating the narrative beyond the usual fantasy fiction.However, in the books that succeed "A Secret History," this device of "authorial" intrusion becomes less successful and more and more contrived, playing little role in the second and third books other than to maintain its own presence within the fiction that this is history, already established in the first book. In "Lost Burgundy" its role again becomes prominent, but here, despite earlier hints, significantly shifts to an examination of history, both past and present, through the lens of quantum theory and parallel universes, or, in this case, probabilities and random possibilities and man's potential to eventually--if not already--control and determine reality. While these themes might offer a rich potential in a different fictional setting, I did not find them comfortably or convincingly interjected into the medieval and realistic world the author has created within her main narrative. Instead, this device seemed contrived and largely separate from the main narrative, the latter serving as an excuse for the author to explore themes not credibly established in the primary story surrounding t