The Seventh Decimate by Stephen Donaldson

It has been years since I have read any of Donaldson’s books.  I remember Thomas Covenant fondly for his enormous self doubt.  That theme seems to be in this book as well.  Prince Bifalt shares a similar lack of self esteem or perhaps more accurately a doubt as to his abilities.   He sees himself as a soldier, doesn’t regard himself as terribly bright and cognizant of his diplomatic shortcomings. His kingdom, Belleger, is locked in a generational dispute to the death with Amika.   Both kingdoms are suffering and apparently suicidal.  The Prince is tasked by his father the king to find a solution to the perceived one sided stalemate.  

The Decimates are magical tenets or perhaps spells, I was not entirely sure which.  The evoking of the Decimates are the primary cause of the catastrophic loss of life when the two kingdoms battle. The Prince’s goal is to find the Seventh Decimate which supersedes the previous six by nullifying them.

I did not find the Prince as likeable as Thomas Covenant, not that he was eminently likeable either.  The book seemed more simplistic than I recall Donaldson.  There were not a ton of nuances or thought provoking scenarios.   My most frequent reaction to some of the Prince’s behavior was “what the heck is wrong with you.”   That feeling was tempered by the acceptance that generations of death and destruction would raise cynicism to a new high.   I felt this was more YA than A as far as the plot and flow were concerned.

I recommend it but I don’t think it is of the same caliber as the Covenant series.

Web: http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.