The Awakened City [Hardcover]

Victoria Strauss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2006

After centuries of oppression, the Empire of Arsace has finally reclaimed the capital city of Ninyaser and the First Temple of the Gods. But the powerful Brethren will tolerate no challenge to their rule, and an expedition to destroy the secret colony of Refuge, home to ancient mysteries and forbidden sorcery, has proved the catalyst for war.

Ravar, the most powerful of the hidden Shapers, vows revenge against the Brethren. Raising an army of worshippers and kidnapping the seer Axane to help him in his quest, he travels to the holy city of Baushpar itself as the Empire prepares for battle. Meanwhile, leaving his peaceful life behind to save Axane, the Shaper Gyalo has a startling epiphany.

Against a backdrop of war, insurrection, and sacrifice, two powerful Shapers must discover who is the true Next Messenger, for their quest will lead either to salvation or destruction.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Strauss's cautionary tale of religious mania, the gripping sequel to The Burning Land (2004), two men of the land of Galea, Râvar and Gyalo, vie for the role of "Next Messenger," the herald of Ârata, the principal but sleeping deity of a complex religion. Râvar knows he's a False Messenger, while Gyalo believes, with growing horror, that he may actually be the Next Messenger. Gyalo is more concerned, however, with rescuing his wife, the seer Axane, from Râvar, who kidnaps her as part of a plan to avenge the destruction of Refuge, a community of Âratist refugees. Through the two protagonists' opposing viewpoints, the author dramatically explores issues of religious oppression and transformation. While Strauss constructs the early part of the story to help the uninitiated and provides a glossary at the end, readers would do best to start with The Burning Land. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The survivors of Refuge prepare to wreak vengeance on the holy city Arsace, which defeated them in The Burning Land (2004). Ravar, one of the last of Refuge's powerful mages known as Shapers, kidnaps the seer Axane and proclaims himself the New Messenger, a demigod who will usher in a new era of universal destruction. Another Shaper, Gyalo, has to come out of contemplative retirement and meet Ravar and his army of fanatics to determine just who will shape the future of the world. This book inevitably suffers from the unresolved conflicts common to the middle book in a trilogy, or so it appears, but Strauss is no slouch at pacing, characterization, and world building, and she has a real gift for coming up with scary systems of magic. Certainly Burning Land readers will come out in respectable numbers for this continuation of the story. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Eos; First Edition edition (March 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038097892X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380978922
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,509,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Victoria Strauss is the author of eight fantasy novels for adults and young adults, including the "Way of Arata" duology ("The Burning Land" and "The Awakened City"), and a forthcoming historical fantasy for teens, "Passion Blue." She has written hundreds of book reviews for magazines and ezines, including SF Site, and her articles on writing have appeared in Writer's Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, she served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards.

An active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), she's Vice-Chair of the Committee on Writing Scams, and co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that tracks and warns about literary fraud. She maintains the popular Writer Beware website (http://www.writerbeware.com/) and blog (http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/), and was honored with the SFWA Service Award in 2009.

Visit her at her website: http://www.victoriastrauss.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Interchangeable like cereal, November 2, 2009

By 

Snork Maiden - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Awakened City (Hardcover)

Goodness, what a bunch of strung-together fantasy clichés. It's adequate if you've never read a fantasy novel before, but if you have, it's as much dead wood as any. A completely interchangeable piece of fantasy trash, the author trying to cover up her lack of flair or originality by a "message" - which has been done before, repeatedly, and by better writers.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars timely cautionary tale, March 17, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Awakened City (Hardcover)

In Galea, the Empire of Arsace has begun to throw off the oppression of centuries and regain what was lost especially the First Temple of the Gods in Ninyaser. The Brethen, refusing to lose what they have held for centuries, attack the city of wizards Refuge beyond the Burning Lands. War is imminent on both the mundane and mystical levels.

Ravar wants to be acclaimed the Next Messenger to the sleeping powerful deity Arata though he knows he is a false messenger. His plan is to cleverly use the assault on Refuge, the upcoming war and most critical the seer Axane to further his ambitions. He travels to Baushpar and abducts Axane. However, Ravar fails to take into account one important factor, Axane's loving husband Gyalo who cherishes his spouse. Gyalo risks his life to rescue his beloved, but his journey proves frighteningly enlightening as he begins to believe he is the true Next Messenger, a job he does not want.

With religious intolerance geometrically on the upswing around the world including the United States, THE AWAKENED CITY is a timely cautionary tale that focuses on the impact of societies by de facto and de jure religious oppression. Readers see first hand what occurs when narrow-mindedness is the norm through the changing viewpoints of predominantly the two candidates for the Next Messenger position. The story line is action-packed but insures the key cast members are complete individuals so that the audience can understand their motives. Though better to have read the previous novel THE BURNING LAND this invigorating tale can stand alone in its fervent plea for forbearance of one another's beliefs.

Harriet Klausner