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Ilario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle
01/06/2007 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: Gollancz. 663 page enlarged paperback. Price: £14.99 (UK only). ISBN: 0-575-07660-7. Buy Ilario: The Lion's Eye in the USA - or Buy Ilario: The Lion's Eye in the UK  check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
In a recent survey, which also asked what book readers were unable to finish ('Vernon God Little' by DBC Pierre came top), they asked the maximum length for a book. The answer was 350 pages. Why then do publishers continue to produce books of more than twice this length? Some books are still enjoyable at the longer length such as Peter Hamilton's volumes, although they are sensibly divided into two volumes for the American market.
They work because of the wealth of characters that appear integral to the plot. He sees a situation from a larger perspective than most authors can manage. George R.R. Martin has the same kind of vision but his characters have a tendency to become forgotten between the volumes in which they play very small parts. Mary Gentle has a fondness for very long books. In the cases of 'Ash' and '1610: A Sundial In A Grave' there was enough substance to sustain the length. 'Ilario: The Lion's Eye' doesn't.
This book is set in the same skewed universe as 'Ash'. In this fifteenth century, Carthage is still a considerable power though it lies under the Penitence. The city is permanently dark. No-one knows why except that it is a curse in more ways than one. The city of Rome is referred to as The Empty Chair because there is currently no Pope.
That is also believed cursed as anyone unlucky enough to elected to the papacy dies shortly afterwards. The cardinals gave up trying to elect a new Pope several centuries earlier as they do not want to be the curse's next victim. The Egyptian Pharaohonic dynasty continues but in exile based in Constantinople. In Iberia, modern Spain, Taraconensis is a seat of power.
Ilario is a true hermaphrodite having fully functional male and female parts. Abandoned at birth, Ilario was raised by foster parents then sold to the king as the court freak. Ilario's ambition is to be a painter and after being given his freedom, flees to Carthage after his true mother, Rosamunde, tries to kill him. There he falls prey to an opportunist who sells him as a slave. Fortunately, Ilario is sold to an Egyptian eunuch collecting books for his Pharaoh-Queen and needs a scribe.
The relationship that develops between Rekhmire and Ilario is more that of friendship than master and slave. Due to the interference of Ilario's mother, Rosamunde, they have to leave Carthage and go to Rome where Ilario is apprenticed to a master painter to learn the skills of New Art. After the painter's death, Ilario and Rekhmire' go on to Venice. Ilario is now being hunted by both the Carthaginians and his mother's husband, a successful Iberian general, Honorius, who is very happy to discover the existence of a son-daughter. Ilario, however, has just discovered that he is pregnant.
During the rest of the novel, Ilario escapes various assassination attempts, marries twice - once as groom, once as bride, visits the Egyptian court in exile and meets some lost Chinese seamen. The novel gives a comprehensive picture of the different factions in this alternative history. All this shows is that Gentle is familiar with her creation. This is well rounded and the descriptions are excellent. One problem is that Ilario doesn't come across as a hermaphrodite. The ambiguity of dual sexuality is not convincing, yet the depiction of Ilario as a painter is. He is constantly sketching and has the same itchy fingers that a writer has when the ideas are flowing.
The entire story takes place over a year and although there is a lot crammed into this as a time period, the overall effect of the narrative is lassitude with bursts of action. There is too much of the day to day existence, such as the problems of giving Ilario's daughter her feeds. Much more interesting would have been Ilario's time at court as the king's slave with all the intrigue and abuse that is only hinted at. Perhaps, too, while the canvas is very large, the figures on it are few in comparison with the numbers Gentle usually populates her books with.
Overall, while this is a well-written book, internally consistent and well researched, it is far too long and could have been improved by judicial pruning.
Pauline Morgan
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