imported>Tesugi: Elaborating origin of the series name.

2025-05-17T04:28:11Z

Elaborating origin of the series name.

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{{Short description|Series of fantasy novels by Martha Wells}}
The '''Ile-Rien''' books are a series of [[fantasy]] novels by [[Martha Wells]] set in the fictional country of Ile-Rien.<ref>{{cite web | last = Wells | first = Martha | authorlink = Martha Wells | title = Worlds of Martha Wells | publisher = MarthaWells.com | url = http://marthawells.com | accessdate = 2009-02-14}}</ref> It is a centralized [[monarchy]] governed by the [[Characters from Ile-Rien#House Fontainon|Fontainon]] [[dynasty]], governing from their ornate capital of Vienne. It is also the home of the university-city of Lodun, a great center of learning, producing world-renowned scholars in medicine, law and sorcery. Its neighbors are the nations of Adera, Umberwald and Parscia, as well as Bisra, its long-standing enemy. Ile-Rien shares a coastline along the Western Ocean with Parscia.

Superficially, Ile-Rien resembles [[France]],<ref name="interview">{{cite web | last = Wells | first = Martha | authorlink = Martha Wells | title = Interviews and Questions | publisher = Marthawells.com | url = http://marthawells.com/interview.htm | accessdate = 2009-02-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090329184018/http://www.marthawells.com/interview.htm | archive-date = 2009-03-29 | url-status = dead }}</ref> with its highly sophisticated culture, cuisine and fashions, as well as its one-time rarefied nobility. Many of the names invented by Wells have a [[France|Gallic]] flavor to them. Additionally, Wells uses French terms with respect to food and drink. Although the name "Ile-Rien" resembles the French for "Island of Nothing", Wells has stated that she did not intend this. The name also resembles "Rien Nle," a planet in C.J. Cheryh's [[The Chanur novels|Chanur]] novels.

Over the course of the series, Ile-Rien develops technologically and culturally, with advances such gas lamps replacing candles, before being replaced by electric lights, and trains and motor-cars replacing horse-drawn conveyances. The government, once an absolute monarchy, develops into a more [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] and representative system supplementing the crown.

==''The Element of Fire''==
In the first book of the series, ''The Element of Fire'' (1993),<ref>Reviews of ''The Element of Fire'':
* {{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780312853747 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=28 June 1993 |title=The Element of Fire}}
* {{cite magazine |page=32 |title=Review: The Element of Fire by Martha Wells |first=Carolyn |last=Cushman |magazine=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=July 1993 |volume=31 |number=1}}</ref> Ile-Rien is ruled by the [[Characters from Ile-Rien#Queen Ravenna|Dowager Queen Ravenna]], who was the daughter of the previous king, who shares power with her son, [[Characters from Ile-Rien#King Roland|King Roland]], and his new queen consort, [[Characters from Ile-Rien#Queen Falaise|Falaise]]. Queen Ravenna's consort, King Fulstan, is deceased. [[Characters from Ile-Rien#Kade Carrion|The Princess Katherine]], Fulstan's bastard daughter by the Queen of Air and Darkness, Moire, maintains an uneasy relationship with both her brother Roland and Ravenna. A skilled yet capricious sorceress, she goes by the name Kade Carrion.

The fictional nation of Ile-Rien is portrayed as a refined and [[baroque]] culture with a high [[aristocracy|aristocratic class]] and orders of [[knights]] still prevalent, roughly equivalent to 17th century France.<ref name="interview" /> A significant difference is the omnipresence of sorcery and magic. The University of Lodun produces internationally esteemed sorcerers, who are vital to the governance of the nation and its security. The Royal Palace in Vienne requires a court sorcerer to maintain the complex and interlocking wards around the grounds to prevent attack from its terrestrial enemies, as well its otherworldly ones, the [[fairy|Fay]], inhabitants of the faerie-world, both the [[Unseelie#Seelie and Unseelie Courts|Seelie and Unseelie Courts]], as well that of Kade Carrion's own mother.

==''Death of the Necromancer''==
In ''[[The Death of the Necromancer]]'' (1998),<ref>Reviews of ''The Death of the Necromancer'':
* {{cite news |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/martha-wells/the-death-of-the-necromancer/ |newspaper=Kirkus Reviews |date=1 May 1998 |title=Death of the Necromancer}}</ref> the second novel, society in Ile-Rien has advanced to a stage equivalent to that of [[France in the nineteenth century|19th century France]], with elements of [[Victorian era|Victorian England]] as well.<ref name="interview" /> A [[Characters from Ile-Rien#The Queen in The Death of the Necromancer|young Fontainion queen]], a descendant of [[Characters from Ile-Rien#King Roland|King Roland]], still rules in Vienne, yet the society seems to be advancing into a nascent [[Industrial Revolution|industrial stage]], with [[gas lamp]]s and steam-powered trains becoming common.

This book was a finalist for the Nebula Award given out by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

==The ''Fall of Ile-Rien'' trilogy==
In the trilogy titled the ''Fall of Ile-Rien'', comprising the novels ''The Wizard Hunters'', (2003)<ref>Reviews of ''The Wizard Hunters'':
* {{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/martha-wells/the-wizard-hunters/ |work=Kirkus Reviews |title=The Wizard Hunters |date=1 March 2003}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780380977888 |title=The Wizard Hunters: Book One of the Fall of Ile-Rien |work=Publishers Weekly |date=17 March 2003}}
</ref> ''The Ships of Air'' (2004),<ref>Reviews of ''The Ships of Air'':
* {{cite web |title=The Ships of Air |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/martha-wells/the-ships-of-air/ |work=Kirkus Reviews |date=15 April 2004}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780380977895 |title=The Ships of Air: Book Two of the Fall of Ile-Rien |work=Publishers Weekly |date=28 June 2004}}
</ref> and ''The Gate of Gods'' (2005),<ref>Reviews of ''The Gate of Gods'':
* {{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/martha-wells/the-gate-of-gods/ |title=The Gate of Gods |work=Kirkus Reviews |date=15 September 2005}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780380977901 |title=The Gate of Gods: Book Three of the Fall of Ile-Rien |work=Publishers Weekly |date=26 September 2005}}
</ref> society in Ile-Rien has progressed to a stage that is similar to the early 20th century, with electric lights, motor-cars and telephones. However, magic and its applications are still common, and highly integrated into Riennish culture and society. While still a wealthy and prosperous nation, Ile-Rien is succumbing to a brutal invasion from the Gardier, a mysterious sorcerous race, and much of its magnificent buildings and institutions are in ruins. The Gardier placed the city of Lodun under siege, trapping its powerful sorcerers behind an impenetrable barrier, making them unavailable to the war effort, where they are sorely needed.

This being a grand age of technology and progress, opulent [[ocean liner]]s such as the massive ''Queen Ravenna'' (inspired by the [[Cunard Line]]'s ''[[RMS Queen Mary|Queen Mary]]'')<ref name="interview" /> and ''Queen Falaise'' have been converted from their original purposes into troop transport and evacuation ships. The [[Characters from Ile-Rien#The Queen in The Death of the Necromancer|young Fontainon Queen]] from ''Necromancer'' has aged and married, and relocated the government from besieged Vienne to neighboring Parscia, Ile-Rien's ally in the war. In addition to the Queen herself, the royal family also consists of the [[Characters from Ile-Rien#Prince Ilaron|Prince Ilaron]] and the adolescent [[Characters from Ile-Rien#Princess Olympe|Princess Olympe]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{ile-rien}}

[[Category:Book series introduced in 1993]]
[[Category:American fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Fictional countries in other worlds]]

Ile-Rien - Revision history

imported>Tesugi: Elaborating origin of the series name.