Review of Ilario: The Lion's Eye . . . Posted October 15, 2007

Ilario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle Gollancz, 2006 Reviewed by Heidi Wessman Kneale Book reviews index

Ilario: The Lion's Eye is a character-based novel, so don't expect an overarching plot to dominate. Instead, this book plays with themes. Gentle opened the novel with the following line: "We are so often a disappointment to the parents who abandon us." Thus she sets the main theme--parenthood.
Ilario, the title character, is a true hermaphrodite, possessing both male and female characteristics. But instead of focusing on themes of gender, Gentle chose to focus instead on themes of parenthood with gender being touched upon as the characters worked through their own issues. I thought she handled this well and I enjoyed the fact that this wasn't going to be a Mars vs Venus-type story (or rather, Hermes vs Aphrodite?).
Ilario never had much luck with parents in his/her early life. His/her mother Rosamunda abandoned newborn Ilario--at the behest of husband Lord Videric--to the elements in hopes of the child's death. Ilario was saved by foster parents Federico and Valdamerca, who pretty much treat him/her like Cinderella before selling her to King Rodrigo as a slave and King's Fool.
King Rodrigo manumits the adult Ilario and he/she sets off to find a life of his/her own. But no sooner has he/she started her new life than his/her birth mother Rosamunda attempts to assassinate him/her.
Why? Because Ilario's true father, Captain-General Honorious has returned from twenty years of war, and Ilario is a spitting image of him. Videric and Rosamunda fear that if anyone saw Ilario and his/her father together, guilty secrets (and not just about Rosamunda's adultery) would be spilled, possibly bringing about the ruination of kingdoms.
And that's how the book begins.
The theme of parenthood continues as Ilario meets his/her birth father Honorious, and then later puts some serious thought into the possibility of becoming a parent his/herself. All aspects of parenthood are examined here, from those who beget children of their bodies to those who bear children in their hearts.
And while themes of sexuality and love are also present, Gentle treats them with skill so they don't become overbearing or preachy. Heterosexuals, bisexuals, homosexuals, eunuchs, and one hermaphrodite--I can't think of anything she forgot. Gentle handles her characters' sexuality with grace and style. The book does not favour one agenda over another. There are examples of lust and love, of fidelity and betrayal, as seen through the eyes of some well-drawn characters.
Overall, Gentle has managed to combine a rich alternate-history world with storytelling techniques generally found in mainstream literature. Her focus is mostly on character and the exploration of her themes.
This book is a refreshing change to the usual plot-based, flat-charactered fantasy novels that seem to overwhelm the market.

Reviewed by Heidi Wessman Kneale