For a thousand years, Sileria has toiled under the yoke of foreign conquerors: the latest, the hedonistic Valdani, have forced the Silerian mountains clans into harsh slavery. Villages have been razed, and the innocent populace dragged to the mines to toil with no hope of escape until their death. By fate and prophecy, five desperate people have been brought reluctantly together, forging an uneasy alliance against the Valdani. They are a peasant-turned-outlaw with a message of resistance; a lethal warrior; a hauntingly seductive aristocrat; Sileria's most powerful sorcerer who craves revenge almost as much as freedom from the Valdani; and a fiery Guardian whose prophetic visions have forged this unlikely union. Torn between their desire to be free and the demands of centuries-old blood feuds, together these five must find a way to help their traditional enemies be strong without exposing any weakness.
This would have been a better read if the back had been a little more accurate. It sounded like a standard quest novel but in reality was a complicated political type fantasy novel. The main characters don't really come together to fight the foreign invaders, except for on an intellectual level where they all realise that this is a good time to deal with this issue.
This book is more about a pride in society and trying to overcome some of the traditions that are in the way of being effective in order to defeat a common enemy and putting aside tribal issues to fight for a common good. It could have been very interesting but instead I found it dragged somewhat. I didn't find it thoroughly bad but there were times that if I had something else to read it might have been abandoned.
It would appeal to people who like the more political fantasy rather than the more magic oriented or quest fantasy. While there is magic in the story and it is pretty pervasive in the society, it does change things suddenly. There's a lot of complicated politics and people who change allegiances and are willing to sacrifice others quite quickly.
Overall not bad, would probably appeal to people who enjoy complicated political novels.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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10 August, 2008:
Finished reading
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10 August, 2008:
Reviewed