The Temple Wall

Kenneth Pitchford's novel The Temple Wall is a fable that tells the story of Normeth and Kwynna, a brother and sister who, though born in poverty on the planet Tariel, nonetheless grow up to rule two of Tariel's four realms. As allies in a devastating war that engulfs their world, Normeth and Kwynna fall in love at different times with the same woman, Shandyl, whose fate becomes entwined with the outcome of the war. This is a fast-paced adventure story, but it also has an undercurrent driven by a random turning up of all 78 cards of the Tarot deck. As a fabulist, Pitchford acknowledges the influence of such tale-spinners as Pdr Lagerkvist, Isaak Dinesen, and Ursula Le Guin. He has created a map of Tariel so that the reader can trace the characters' wanderings as they try to piece together a future from the same scraps of grief and aspiration with which every generation must cope.