TheIle-Rien books are a series offantasy novels byMartha Wells set in the fictional country of Ile-Rien.[1] It is a centralizedmonarchy governed by theFontainondynasty, 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 resemblesFrance,[2] with its highly sophisticated culture, cuisine and fashions, as well as its one-time rarefied nobility. Many of the names invented by Wells have aGallic 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'sChanur novels.
Over the course of the series, Ile-Rien develops technologically and culturally, with advances such as 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 moremeritocratic and representative system supplementing the crown.
In the first book of the series,The Element of Fire (1993),[3] Ile-Rien is ruled by theDowager Queen Ravenna, who was the daughter of the previous king, who shares power with her son,King Roland, and his new queen consort,Falaise. Queen Ravenna's consort, King Fulstan, is deceased.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 andbaroque culture with a higharistocratic class and orders ofknights still prevalent, roughly equivalent to 17th century France.[2] 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, theFay, inhabitants of the faerie-world, both theSeelie and Unseelie Courts, as well that of Kade Carrion's own mother.
InThe Death of the Necromancer (1998),[4] the second novel, society in Ile-Rien has advanced to a stage equivalent to that of19th century France, with elements ofVictorian England as well.[2] Ayoung Fontainion queen, a descendant ofKing Roland, still rules in Vienne, yet the society seems to be advancing into a nascentindustrial stage, withgas lamps 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.
In the trilogy titled theFall of Ile-Rien, comprising the novelsThe Wizard Hunters, (2003)[5]The Ships of Air (2004),[6] andThe Gate of Gods (2005),[7] 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, opulentocean liners such as the massiveQueen Ravenna (inspired by theCunard Line'sQueen Mary)[2] andQueen Falaise have been converted from their original purposes into troop transport and evacuation ships. Theyoung Fontainon Queen fromNecromancer 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 thePrince Ilaron and the adolescentPrincess Olympe.