Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Book of Ile-Rien includes the first two books of Ile-Rien by Martha Wells. Originally published in 1993 & 1998, this reformatted and revised edition from Macmillan on their Tor imprint is 752 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The author is gifted and prolific. This double book reformat of two early novels is a nice entry point for folks building a classic SF home library as well as old and new fans. A lot of readers are familiar with Wells from Murderbot of course, but she's been consistently -good- over her entire distinguished career.
This is a vaguely medieval high fantasy French flavored Europe, populated by fey, half-fey, humans, magic users, and a boatload of political intrigue. Good stuff.
Four and a half stars. These are classic, solid, timeless books. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home library building, gifting, and would also make a great book club choice; meaty -and- entertaining.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reviewed by annieb123 on
Reading updates
- 10 August, 2024: Started reading
- 10 August, 2024: Finished reading
- 10 August, 2024: Reviewed