SYNOPSIS:
For over three hundred years the mystics have lived alongside the true-men, until King Charald lays siege to the mystic’s island city.
Imoshen, most powerful of the female mystics, is elected to negotiate with the true-man king. the male mystics still resent her, but she has an ally in Sorne, the half-blood, who was raised by true-men. even though he is vulnerable to her gifts, he gives Imoshen his loyalty. In return, she gives him the most dangerous of tasks, to spy for her.
She negotiates exile for her people. They must pack all their valuables, reach port and set sail by the first day of winter. But to do this, they have to cross a kingdom filled with true-men who are no longer bluffed by their gifts. Meanwhile, there are mystics living in the countryside, unaware that their people have been exiled.
King Charald announces any mystics who remain behind after they are exiled will be hunted down and executed.
REVIEW:
Whilst I felt that the first book was a slow starter, I always like to hold back the judgement until the second to see how the author seeks to develop the story after a great deal of background and info dumping was utilised to bring the reader up to date in the first book. What unfurls within is a story that takes the reader deeper into the world of Rowena’s imagination whilst also developing the cast emotionally as their previous choices in the first outing colour their decisions in this the second.
Its emotional, has great pace and for me is a book that really kept you going throughout the night as you wondered what was going to happen after putting it down. An event that only lasted about thirty minutes before I had grabbed my reading light and started to satisfy my curiosity. How Rowena manages to turn out consistently high quality fantasy is a mystery to me but when you also consider that they’re released back to back over consecutive months, the adventure is there for all to see. Great stuff all round.
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