Vincalis the Agitator

by Holly Lisle

Book Overview

The author of The Secret Texts Trilogy (Courage of Falcons, Vengeance of Dragons, and Diplomacy of Wolves) takes readers back to the days before the ancient apocalypse, into the decadent heart of a fantastic empire in this evocative page-turner.--Booklist.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446610631
• ISBN13: 9780446610636
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

better than The Secret Texts

While I did enjoy The Secret Texts trilogy, I must admit that I found the writing to be lacking. The whole story felt rather empty... as did the characters. Vincalis, on the other hand, is a stunning example of an author coming into her own. With this book, Lisle seems to really find her own voice. The characters are really fleshed-out, and I felt as though I understood their motivations and drives. It's very well written, and I think it can stand alone--without The Secret Texts.

Holly's best yet

If you've enjoyed "Secret texts" and you've come looking for more of the same you're in for a pleasant surprise. Holly's excelled herself this time. This novel takes us behind the scenes of the intrigues needed to keep magic going. And there we find some real heroes and truly villainous villains, people who'd consign the human soul to destruction so that they could get through a gas crisis.In Wraith she's given us a hero worth the name, and his struggles with a vast, powerful and seemingly invincible enemy make the book an absolute page-turner. There's a sense of bereavement, of being turned out in the cold when you hit the last page that's a sign of how deeply Holly's pulled you in.Buy it, enjoy it and be prepared to be yelled at when you're still reading at 3am.

Vincalis the Agitator - Collectible Future Classic

Other reviewers have posted plot synopses of Vincalis the Agitator by Holly Lisle. Wraith, a Warrener by birth, passive dependent of a system that sucks life energy from the underclass to power the floating cities and extravagant magic of the Dragons, escapes his fate by an accident to meet Solander Artis, son of one of the highest ranking stolti. Their friendship, their lives, the political intrigues of the dark, fantastic world of Matrin and the rise of enigmatic playwright Vincalis reflects a long, hard look at the world we live in.Oh yes, this is far out stuff. It's fantasy. It's all magic and unless the author's been dead for a few decades, books with fantastic content don't get taken seriously as literature or social commentary. Perhaps the problem with taking contemporary authors seriously is that the author might be in a position to answer the literary critics unless they're safely in the grave with Swift and Clemens.For sheer technical brilliance, Vincalis the Agitator could've been a novel about anything at all. I would give it five stars for that and will state openly that in my view, it'll become a classic. Holly Lisle's backstory is immense, vast and epic as J.R.R. Tolkein's - which it doesn't resemble in the slightest, except in that ordinary people whose ordinary lives put them in the way of events large enough to shatter history and remake it rise to the occasion. The psychology of the characters is as plausible as the ghetto, the university, the boardroom - and as completely rooted in their time and place. Holly Lisle has a grasp of human nature at its best and worst that few authors have ever come close to attaining.Holly Lisle's prose is elegant. It's almost invisible until her sleight of hand with complex backstory and even more complex intrigue shows on a studied reread. When in two pages she's accomplished as much as another fantasy author might in two chapters without slowing the novel's breakneck pace, and when one key dialogue intersects three or four plotlines neatly with Hitchcockian tension and the fate of the world hangs on a careless bit of open gossip among ordinary people, that takes my breath away. That's another fine point in itself. Holly's characters breathe on the page. Even cameo appearances of very minor characters ring with a depth and richness that would make them main characters for lesser authors. Like history itself, the events in Vincalis the Agitator are entirely path dependent. They do hang on the individual moral decisions of random people who happen to be in a position to make choices for entirely personal reasons.I have not read The Secret Texts trilogy. Vincalis the Agitator as prequel written after the series, builds new layers of depth that no doubt will reflect into it as soon as I get the Secret Texts. I borrowed Vincalis. One third of the way into it, I ordered my own copy because I knew this book belonged on a very short list of books I need to own, replace when worn out and keep very close

Review of Vincalis the Agitator by Holly Lisle

This is a prequel to the Secret Texts trilogy and answers a lot of questions left open in Diplomacy of Wolves, Vengeance of Dragons and Courage of Falcons, such as what are all those circles on the maps and how did they get there? Who was Vincalis and why did he write the Secret Texts, the bible of the Falcons? What were the dragons like when they were in power? Who was Solander and why was he so revered? Who were Luercas and Dafril?The characters are deep, each with their own conflicting agendas, desires and motives, and they're as mixed up about life as we are. The plot and subplots are rich and complex and flow very well. Actions have logical consequences, but with surprises, too.Overall, this is a great book and well worth buying and reading!...

Vincalis is a GREAT read!

I was in the mood for something with a fast moving plot, and real characters I could identify with, but I wanted it divorced enough from the real world to let me zone out a little. Vincalis the Agitator did exactly that, and did it outstandingly well. I liked Vincalis from the moment I met Wraith, a hungry youngster prepared to steal food if he must to keep himself and his friends from starving. I liked it even better when I met Solander Artis, the privileged son of a Dragon Master and a member of the ruling stolti class, who had enough compassion and curiosity to hide Wraith from his pursuers. Despite the profligate use of magic by the Dragons, Lisle's characters have a special realism. I think it's because, like everyday people, they cram their adventures and love lives in around the need to make a living. Also, the great moral issues that the Dragon Empire must address face the characters in everyday choices. Some characters fail, others succeed, and which do which isn't as obvious as it seems.Is there a Vincalis? Oh, yes, but read the book; you'll see. Seriously, I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it wholeheartedly.