Rating: 
Summary: Riveting, compelling and addictive, my favorite of all books
Review: Book one in trilogy, the best fantasy book ever written. P.C. Hodgell the author has shown us you can put it all into one book . She weaves magic with alluring twists of plot and heart stopping turns that sends the main chacter into a spiral of action and reaction. The chacters are strong and believable in a world of magic as well as mystery. Hodgell's wrttings are so vivid you feel as though you are actually there. This book I have read time and again over the years and never fail to feel enchanted every time I pick it up and read again. I don't put it down until I am done with it. Must have for fantasy collectors. Book 2 "Dark of the Moon" Book 3 "Seeker's Mask"
Rating: 
Summary: Too Ridiculous
Review: God Stalk is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. This is a pity, because Hodgell seems to be a fine writer, but the story is driven by a series of lame and unbelievable coincidences. I can stomach one or two dumb coincidences, but more than that and I get sick. This book would probably be great for a fifth grader.
Rating:
Summary: Too Ridiculous
Review: God Stalk is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. This is a pity, because Hodgell seems to be a fine writer, but the story is driven by a series of lame and unbelievable coincidences. I can stomach one or two dumb coincidences, but more than that and I get sick. This book would probably be great for a fifth grader.
Rating:
Summary: The Best in Sword and Sorcery
Review: I am surprised GOD STALK is out of print--but Hodgell's other great works are available, and it is only a matter of time, given its excellence, that GOD STALK will be back. I became totally engrossed in Hodgell's darkly colorful writing, her vivid characterizations, and found her wonderful heroine particularly appealing. This is among the best in the Sword and Sorcery genre, with plot complications that pull one in further and further--delighted to enter the labyrinth with Hodgell as guide. I love books that are fully-embodied worlds you hate to leave when you come to the last page. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Under-rated author deserves more press & a bigger publisher!
Review: I bought the book club edition of this book on a whim years ago and can't believe that P.C. Hodgell (Patricia) isn't better known for her skillful writing (although brevity is not her forte) in a genre that often sees some of the worst writing possible. I've been searching for a copy of "Seeker's Mask", the third book in the series, on and off for years, having missed the limited production run when it first came out but am afraid I will have to wait until her current publisher re-runs it. Hodgell has not been terribly prolific (there have apparently been lots of obligations on her time in her personal life in the last few years); perhaps this is why a publisher has not been more eager to pick her up.Hodgell writes with descriptive flair, a dark mood, and with a sense of humor that will be appreciated by anyone with a taste for the ironic. Her labyrinthian plot-lines recall her studies in Victorian literature. Her heroine Jame's issues range from amnesia, that most venerable of plot-devices, to a serious tussle with the nature of honor. (The Kencyrath -- Jame's people -- are so honorable it often kills.) She is an able fighter who has maintained her honor without being a comic-strip superhero. Hodgell is a wonderful world builder -- her city of Tai-Tastigon is as fully realized as any society and city in the genre. I have noted that the second book, "Dark of the Moon", and, judging from the reviews I've found, "Seeker's Mask," are definitely continuations of the story begun in "God Stalk" rather than stories that may stand alone, so I would not recommend that readers begin with the second or third in the series. Most of the characters are not as fully fleshed out in the second book and I understand that this is more so in the third book. There are also some short stories that are connected with the stories of the Kencyrath and Jamethiel Priest's-Bane published in various anthologies and in limited runs by her smaller publishers -- some of them are available in out-of-print specialty stores. Anyone working in the publishing industry reading this, I plead with you: please please please try to contract this series!
Rating: 
Summary: A step above average - but only a step
Review: I don't have really strong feelings either way on God Stalk, not that it's bad. Three and a half stars is a more fitting rating, but it's not quite four star material. It was entertaining enough to keep me turning pages, but I was thinking about the next book in the "to read" pile while flying through. The world is richly textured - with the religions, politics and subterfuges being both well done and central to a meandering plot. I have a fondness for fantasy cities and Tai-Tastigon is a real winner. The harrowing beginning, with protagonist Jame running for her life, also hooked me. This is a step above typical fantasy, moderately darker in content (many of the characters are thieves) and has some legitimately funny bits as well. However, it was not quite the mind blowing experience a friend sold to me. It reminds me a little of the Liavek series but better, if that helps.
Rating:
Summary: goldstalk
Review: I HAVE READ & RE-READ THIS BOOK AND THE SECOND IN THIS AUTHORS SERIES SET ON KENCYR I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A THIRD IN THE SERIES, BUT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO OBTAIN ANY INFO IF THIS IS TRUE. I WAS FASCINATED BY THE PLOT LINE AND SINCERELY WISH THIS AUTHOR WAS MORE PROLIFIC! I DON'T LIKE BEING LEFT WAITING FOR THE CONCLUSION TO A SAGA; I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO JAMETHIEL
Rating:
Summary: Light but strong
Review: I was surprised at how engaging I found this book, since science fiction isn't really my "thing". It's confusing at first, and a bit difficult to get into, but once it has caught your attention it holds it very well. Stylistically I admit that it is a little lacking. Hodgell uses a few too many adjectives and the action can get so confusing that I was only able to piece together what happened by reading on. It is not great literature, but then I don't think that it was meant to be. The story is about a young woman named Jame who returns home, after ten years which she does not remember, to find her village destroyed and everyone dead. When the book begins she has left to find her brother, whom she believes to still be alive. Most of the action takes place in a city called Tai-Tastigon, where she is waylaid on her trip. The rest of the plot is too complicated to detail here, suffice it to say that a lot of things happen and many of them involve fighting. The title refers to the fact that the notable thing about this city is that it has an enormous number of gods and much of the heroine's time is spent reconciling that to her own monotheism. Due to my aforementioned unfamiliarity with the genre, I can't really say how this stands as a science fiction book. I can, however, say that I found it very enjoyable and thoroughly worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Too much dancing, not enough fighting...
Review: Jame belongs to a race reknowned for their fighting ability, but instead of fighting her way through her problems, she dances, mothers, & bargains her way towards a solution. In short, Jame finds feminine rather than masculine solutions to her problems which is great for female readers who like soap operas, but not quite satisfying for guys who like a lot of sword and sorcery. God Stalk has enough quirky details and air of mystery to it, that puts it in a class above the Terry Brooks, Weis and Hickman children's fare. Plus there's some interesting background stories. But for all God Stalk's strong points, there's good reason why this book went out of print. At times, it seems to wander. Jame is kind of boring...
Rating:
Summary: Better than average fare, but...
Review: Like the Continuing Time series by Daniel Keyes Moran (as commented on a few months ago), the two books detailing the exploits of the journeyman thief Jame (of which God Stalk is the first) are constant favorites of the rec.arts.sf.written crowd. It is easy to see why. Both are great adventure stories, with an unusual setting and interesting characters. Much of what passes for SF can only claim two of those three distinctions. However, I'm not going to join the club for either. While I did not have difficulty stomaching this book (unlike, say, books by Lois McMaster Bujold), neither did I feel a true excitement or enjoyment from it. I was entertained rightly enough, but that was all. And when if comes to pure entertainment, I'd rather have a book that humors me than have one that simply takes me for a ride.
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