Attila's Treasure

In a second novel tangentially related to his massive debut, Rhinegold, Grundy retells the medieval tale of Walter of Aquitaine (here Waldhari). More than just a heroic fantasy, this is also a mature and affecting novel of character and ideas. Grundy's focus is Hagan the Burgundian; he and Waldhari are treaty hostages and fosterlings in the camp of Attila the Hun. Brittle, mystical, spartan, something of a changeling in his own family, Hagan finds a place for himself in the Hun's world, in shamanism and the inspired fury of battle, as well as a place for his attraction to men as well as women. But he is always torn: fiercely pagan, he loves Waldhari despite his friend's loathed Christianity; almost pathetically loyal to family and kingdom, he sacrifices happiness for a loveless political marriage. Events lead to a confrontation between his brother, King Gundahari, and Waldhari, in which Hagan manages to satisfy his divided loyalties, though at cost to all three. Grundy gives a thoughtful portrait of a difficult man coming of age in the turmoil at the close of the western Roman Empire. Occasionally the pace plods, and while Grundy makes the denouement--inherited from the original tale--fitting and believable, he cannot keep it from seeming abrupt and anticlimactic. But he has been true to his medieval model while weaving myth, legend and history into a fully imagined and absorbing tale. (Sept.)