Lost Prince
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Reviewed by Wendy Runyon
The Spanish Inquisition was a dark time in
Spain’s
history. Religious persecution for
those who were not Catholic was common practice during that time and
the
monarchy and Church leadership were intolerant of any deviation from
their
strictures. Originally written in 1983
under the title, The Godforsaken, Chelsea Quinn
Yarbro’s tale of
the Lost Prince is completely fictional, however, there are
threads of
truth that run through the novel that are more horrific than the horror
story
she sets out to tell.
Don Rolon carries the burden of his father’s
curse, a
curse that was laid upon El Rey Alonzo, the king of Espana, by a woman
burned
at the stake for being a heretic. The
king ostracized his son, fearing the curse and feeling repulsed by it. Don Rolon spent his life living in the
shadow of his bastard half brother, Gil, who was highly favored by the
king. It is no wonder then that Don
Rolon has a sadness about him. He wants
nothing more than to please his father and earn his love and approval,
and yet
his father wants little to do with
him.
Realizing, however, that his son is the only
rightful heir
to the throne, El Rey arranges for Don Rolon’s marriage to a noble
woman from
Venezia. The marriage will create a
welcome alliance and strengthen both countries’ positions in the world. It is with great
reluctance that Don Rolon
agrees to his fate, knowing he has little choice in the matter.
His reluctance to marry comes from the weight of
the
curse. He worries about fate of any
children he might father as well as a certain madness that seems to
befall him
each time the moon is full. Although he
does not fully understand what is happening to him at first, he does
know that
a change overcomes him on those nights, one that transforms him into a
beast
that wrecks destruction and creates fear in its wake.
Don Rolon is limited in who he can trust and so
his
friends are few. The friends he does
have are devoted to him and will do what they can to protect and keep
their prince
safe from those who wish him harm.
Those who are greedy and power hungry are the greatest external
threat
to Don Rolon and they will stop at nothing to bring him down.
Don Rolon is a sympathetic character; a lost
soul who has
taken many licks throughout his brief lifetime. There
is a wary intelligence about him. He is
resigned to his life and his fate, struggling to come to
terms with what is going on around him.
It is his friends who truly move the story forward as they do
what they
can to protect their friend and future king.
The court jester, Lugantes, is one such friend, a dwarf who
knows what
it is like not to be taken seriously.
He is both clever and tough.
The religious tenor in Spain at the time was
oppressive
and strict. The church leadership in
the novel used their position to gain power, claiming righteousness
where there
really was only ambition and greed. The real horrors were in the
actions of the
Church and the abuse of that power.
Lest it be thought that this book disparages the Catholic Church
in
general, that is not so. There were
Catholic monks and priests in the novel who were not caught up in the
power
struggle and who did not abuse their power.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is careful to keep most of
the
violence and destruction off of the page, while at the same time
alluding to it
in such a way that it cannot be overlooked.
Perhaps though the greatest horrors in the novel are not what
may happen
when Don Rolon is no longer himself, but the ease in which accusations
and
condemnations of those in power are used against those without it and
in what
becomes of those accused.
It is
a
shame this book was so wrought with
typographical errors and the like. The
story itself is quite intriguing. The
author is formal in her writing, but it serves the tone and setting of
the book
well. Lost Prince is a
haunting
and dark tale, one that kept me entranced even beyond the last page.