5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is a fantasy world worth exploring, August 18, 2009
Plot Summary: In this new fantasy series, the Darkborn cannot live in light, and the Lightborn cannot live in darkness. These two races live side by side in the city of Minhorne, separated by the tolling of the sunrise and sunset bells. Dr. Balthasar Hearne accepts a noblewoman's plea for shelter at dawnbreak, and delivers her twin babies. This act of mercy will nearly take Bal's life, when two men arrive days later to beat the information from him. Only the arrival of his wife, Telmaine, and mage Ishmael Strumheller, save Bal from his mortal injuries. Their relief is brief; these men will stop at nothing to get their hands on the twins.
It's been a while since I've read a pure fantasy novel, one without a single toehold in reality, and it felt a bit strange trying to acclimate to this purely imagined landscape. The Darkborn are born blind, and they navigate and `see` by sonning, which I interpreted as some kind of bat-like radar. They live in perpetual dark, and light will turn them to ashes. The Lightborn can see and live in light, they cannot son, and plunging them into darkness will kill them. If I start thinking about the realities behind these limits, I'd probably be tempted to punch a bunch of holes into this construct, so I'll just suspend my disbelief and go with it.
Fortunately, the writing and plotting captured my attention, and the slow start builds to a heart-pumping finale. The Darkborn are prejudiced against magic users, and Ishmael is a covert, low-level mage. When he meets Telmaine at an aristocratic gathering, he immediately suspects her demure shoulder-high gloves hide her ability to read thoughts by touch. Women in the Darkborn society are treated like helpless, brainless, ornaments, and Telmaine is careful to hide her ability, to the point of denying her own powers ruthlessly. When Ishmael and Telmaine come upon Bal's broken body, Ishmael is amazed to find that Telmaine is a magical powerhouse.
A love triangle develops between Bal, Telmaine, and Ishmael, and I can't help feeling bad for them. There's no way it can end happily for everyone concerned, and yet, I like them all equally. I don't know who will be thrown under the bus, but it was left open at the end of book one, so I'm assuming that Alison Sinclair will draw this out over the trilogy. The next books in the series are "Lightborn" (May 2010) and "Shadowborn" (May 2011).
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written fantasy!, May 20, 2009
Not sure why everyone so far's giving four stars rather than five; this is an excellent book!
The author takes the idea of "creatures of the dark" burning up in sunlight and expands it to include "creatures of the light" that disolve in darkness, and then takes out all of the flat magic-creature stereotypes that would emerge out of that under the hands of a less talented storyteller and creates some wonderfully human characters. I'm also particularly interested in the way the Darkborn use "sonn" or sonar like bats or dolphins to make their way around, and how the author has expanded on that idea and how such a thing would affect a society's manners, and art, and writing, and living. The story reads more like a light sci-fi than fantasy in some ways, and the little analytical creature in me really enjoyed the thought that went into the creation of the world. It also reads in a historical-fiction way as well as another reviewer pointed out--the "tone" of the narrative sounds like a well-educated lady from an aristocratic society is narrating, although the effect is dampened a bit when the story falls into a male POV. Still, even the males are somewhat polished, but it's fun to read, not fruity or anything at all.
Strong characters, strong world, intriguing plot line that will likely continue into the next book(s). I'm looking forward to the sequal. Go buy this! (I've found the local bookstores in Chicagoland seem to only have one copy hanging around so if you're not getting it from Amazon, run out and snatch your copy up quickly before it's gone.)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected (in a good way!), July 4, 2009
A page-turning plot about a world inhabited by those who are darkborn - unable to survive light - and lightborn - unable to survive darkness. The story avoids cliches. The darkborn and lightborn are not enemies (though they may hold suspicions, as humans are prone to do with those who are different). While the darkborn and lightborn have different cultures, and even different senses, it is evident from the beginning that both groups are human. Sinclair presents a fascinating world with engaging characters.
I bought this not realizing it was a part of a serial - I usually avoid buying serials, because I am so impatient to find out how a story ends - but I am glad for my mistake, in this case, and hope the next book in the trilogy is worth the wait!
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