The Aware (Isles of Glory) [Paperback]

Glenda Larke (Author)

Book Description

Series: Isles of Glory | Publication Date: March 29, 2005

A halfbreed's search for a mysterious slave woman leads her to a lawless land of dark dunmagic and an evil that poses a threat to all the Isles of Glory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A rip-roaring tale. (Visions) Witty, gritty and enthralling. (Trudi Canavan)

From the Author

Some readers may know me better as the author of Havenstar, a stand-alone novel published in 1999 under my married name of Glenda Noramly.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441012779
• ISBN-13: 978-0441012770
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great start to a wonderful fantasy series, April 4, 2005

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aware (Isles of Glory) (Paperback)

This is the first book in the Isles of Glory trilogy. This instalment reads very much like a typical fantasy adventure novel played out by the dregs of society in the islands. Blaze Halfbreed is the character who narrates this instalment of the series as what looks like a reasonably minor problem with magic and an escaped Princess escalates into something which may destroy all the Isles - if anyone with power will believe that the problem exists!

I have read this entire trilogy - available already in Australia - and I would have to say that the first book is in some ways the weakest in the series, relying as it does on extended action scenes in places. However, by book 2 you realise how important the events described here are. They reverberate throughout the remaining 2 books in unexpected ways.

All said, this is a refreshing and very original series that turned out to be much better than I expected and has become a "keeper" in my collection. Highly recommended to lovers of fantasy.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There once was a chick named Blaze..., July 30, 2006

By 

Pamela (Richmond, Va USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Aware (Isles of Glory) (Paperback)

Stereotypical fantasy: a tall, sword-wielding uber-woman, a beautiful woman in disguise, mysterious hero who is not what he seems... and yet, Ms. Larke has found a way to take us beyond the stereotypes and show us real people. To present all the reasons why those cliches became cliches in the first place: because we LIKE reading about stuff like that. And yet, she finds a way to present it with a fresh and original face, with a bold and unapologetic approach that at times has you cringeing (with sympathy) and at others making your eyes widen in wonder.

I have to admit that when I first encountered Blaze's voice, she irritated me a little. She's a bit of a know-it-all, for one thing, except that during the story you can feel all the surprises she encounters that reveal that she does not, in fact, know it all. She learns, she grows, in very realistic ways. She becomes so real on the page that you could almost imagine you had a friend named Blaze Halfbreed (what a stupid name, you know? But it fits her...).

I recommend this book highly. After checking out the first volume from the library, I came here to Amazon.com and purchased the entire trilogy.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 3 book series of the "Isles of Glory" - a tremendous read!, July 21, 2005

By 

Andrew Drinkwater (Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aware (Isles of Glory) (Paperback)

Within the three books that comprise this fascinating and swashbuckling tale of the Glory Isles (`The Aware', `Gilfeather' and `The Tainted'), the author has created an absolutely unique world within a world - with the characters and their environment reassuringly familiar and down to earth at first, yet most decidedly - and with great inventiveness - turning out to be intriguingly different in so many unexpected ways that this reader could hardly imagine what might be over the next page, and could thus hardly put any one of the books down. Each book can certainly be read individually, but as they say the sum of the parts is greater than the whole....
The small world of the Glory Isles, and its ultimately satisfying tale of great good pitted against intense evil - depicted in both human and non-human characters - is recounted, in the best of story-telling tradition, through the eyes of the principal characters, which is a wonderfully effective way to both bring out each character and to intimately involve the reader in the joy and the pain of the events as they unfold.
Even more cleverly, this small but complete world falls under the dispassionate scrutiny of a race of potential colonists - a supposedly more advanced civilization from over the seas that is intrigued by these islands and their inhabitants although in a distinctly anthropological and somewhat superior fashion - however which perhaps secretly admires their exploits, and their love of life. The affairs of the Glory Isles are thus critically evaluated and "documented" on a regular basis, and this provides a most effective backdrop to the "real" story as told by the principal characters!
Without revealing the story, or of the recalcitrant heroine and her compatriots, the tales depicted here comprise an interwoven series of adventures - and misadventures - resulting from the existence of a immensely powerful "magic" force throughout the islands, containing both good and evil elements, which some (`Aware') folk can "see", and which others can and do use for the greater good of all or for their own extremely evil ends, depending on their predilection.
Apart from the high adventure, on another level altogether the story manages to portray great sadness and the most base wickedness, countered by tremendous bravery and selflessness, and reading it can be an intensely poignant experience! Throughout it all, our heroine constantly demonstrates her great zest for life in a often cruel and uncaring world, and at the conclusion, can look back on her life and loves with some measure of quiet contentment. These books are a thoroughly satisfying read, and come highly recommended.