Customer Reviews

Fire in the Mist

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The above description is misleading. The main character, Faia, drives her sheep home after months in the highlands, only to find her entire village dead of plague and unburied. She calls upon her untrained magic to cleanse the place, cremating the entire village in arcane flame. Far-off magic users feel the power drain, and track her down to bring her under control. So this uneducated shepherd girl finds herself in the big city, at an all-female college of magic. Both students and teachers at the college regard her as half savage; she finds them lacking in common sense. And then her fellow students start dying. . . .

This book is a good, solid fantasy, with a well-realized world and some unconventional plot twists. There are some excellent scenes, both tragic and comic, but the characters are most creative. There is a professor at the college from a truly savage background, though she doesn't wear warpaint while teaching. There's a mage experimenting with winged horses that no sane person would ride. There's a cat with hands who likes to play with matches. There are magic otters, subversive activities, an ancient feud and one small dangerous quest. The story may not have something for everybody, but people who like to see strong women think their way through difficult circumstances will enjoy it

This was the first of Holly Lisle's books and the first I have ever read. What a first effort! A wonderful setting in a city divided on sex lines between the Mages (women) and Sages (men). Both have their legends about the cause of the rift. Both are right, and wrong. Faia Rissedotte is a young woman with great powers of magic and an attitude of defiance who finds herself among the Mages. And ancient evil is awakening, and only Faia has the ability to see past the hatred of the two groups of magicians and dicern the truth. A page turner and recommended for anyone with a love of high fantasy.

The poignant start to this story, is fitting for this tragic heroine. I felt so sad for her intro where she discovers magic/power (lets just say it's not a happy experience). It felt like a tide that was drownding this character....but she always kept trying to keep her head above the water. I have re-read this book several times, and enjoy it every time. This hero isn't some perfect paladin. She has accidentely precipiated some horrible things, and no matter what good she does that will always be a part of her persona. No don't get me wrong, this book isn't some dark gritty thing, but the characters do have multiple fascits to them. Nothing is absolutly good and has been, and vice versa. I can't recommend this book enough!

With all twists and turns, Holly Lisle, writes another trilogy which i found most exciting. The whole book keeps you asking questions until it builds up upon the real villian.

Faia (main charcter) is a simple shepherd girl with wild magic coursing through her veins, but when plague strikes her home town and she returns to find everything and everyone she ever loved dead...
Well lets just say its not pretty. Struck down with despair Faia finds only one other survivor of her home town and together they go off to find a better life.

But that doesn't happen for the mages and sajes of Ariss have tracked her down. Faia is forced to return with the mages to Ariss where the magic that runs through her blood can be controlled.

However Faia doesn't find it easy in her new home, espeacially when murders have been taking place and it could result in war between the two cities of Ariss: Mage Ariss and Saje Ariss.

Its all very exciting and very suspense full and definetly full of suprises. I defintely recomend this book to any fans of "The Secret Texts" trilogy and other readers who enjoy female heroines for a change!

Faia is a simple shepherdess in a very rural village. One day she takes her sheep out to pasture and when she comes back months later, its to find a silent village. The plague had come to her town, brought in by a traveling saleman. Her family, her friends, all gone, all in their beds unburied. All but one shepherd about three years younger who had just come back from the pastures like she did. There is no other option than to leave the village and the bodies as is. But as they leave, she becomes so angry she uses magic to destroy the village. She used so much that areas hundreds of miles away loose all magical power. This sets all the folk into a tizzy. Once power starts to return, they track her down. Once they hear her story, the mages (women magical users) convince her to come with them to the university to control her powers so she would not accidentally harm others.

Ariss is divided into two sides - the mages and the sages (men magicians). Absolutely no intermingling with each other. In fact, mages are thrown out if they become pregnant. Hatred runs high between them because of a war that occurred 400 years before that each side blames on the other for starting but no one knows for sure what happened. So there are, as Faia thinks, a bunch of "lonely old virgins" on both sides.
Mages and hedge witches have come up dead in grotesque ways. The mages blame the sages for it, the only solution is war and completely obliterating the sages. Faia and Medwind, the only two mages who had actually had experiences with men, try to stop this war before it starts.

I had read Holly's The Secret Text trilogy and when I saw her name on this book at the used bookstore, I snatched it up. Unfortunately, I let it sit on my shelf for quite some time. But I finally read it last week and am so thankful that I did and am kicking myself for waiting so long. This book is wonderful. I am a romance kind of girl myself, but even though it really doesn't have romance or the HEA ending (other than the whole good triumphing over evil thing), good characters died, and I cried, I loved it. I usually gloss through pages of writing where there are no speaking, but not here. I was completely engrossed, absorbing every single word. So overall, the book is worth the time, is worth the money, and is definitely worth these five little golden stars.

Fire in the Mist, an early fantasy novel by Holly Lisle, is a delight! Fire in the Mist is filled with engaging characters, especially the main character: Faia Rissedote. Others, also interesting and memorable in their own way, are Medwind Song, Yaji Jennedote, and Rakell and her cat (with hands) Flynn. Even the villain of the novel has some sympathetic qualities.

Besides intriguing, realistic characters, is the excellent play of foreshadowing and plot twists.

The mage academy Daane is equally interesting, so is the unfolding history of Ariss, and the magic that exists in this world, as well as the people who wield it.

If there isn't a sequel, I wish there were.

Fire in the Mist is an excellent novel, and I encourage everyone who likes fantasy, originality, and Holly Lisle's other works, to read this one soon.

This was the first of Lisle's books that I've read, and I was fairly pleased with it. Character development was good, both for the main and supporting characters. Descriptions were vivid, allowing the reader to readily imagine the scenes depicted.

One of the more interesting aspects of this book is the illustration of the point that different groups will write different histories of the same events, a fact sometimes forgotten by writers in this genre. This becomes a major issue as the story progresses, and once what actually happens is determined, action can be taken.

Overall, not the best book I've read, but worth checking out.

In Faia's early trials Holly Lisle nails what it's like to be alone, and not only friendless, but surrounded by enemies. Then, as Faia finally gains the smallest bit of acceptance . . .

This book really flies. The farther in we go, the faster the story moves, right up to the end. In fact, it went so fast, I was sitting here screaming, "You can't end it already! What about ____! You didn't tell me about _____!"

The book answers all the questions it raises in relation to the plot, but it left many unanswered questions about side issues and more about the world of Arhel. Questions I would love to see answered in other books. Like the back story that explains where "Arhel" came from. I know it's "Our Hell" (really, I'm not making it up!) but wondering why is driving me buggy.

I was ready to give the book 3 stars for the first half, because although it wasn't bad, it was a bit hard to follow without chapter breaks for different POVs and a small sprinkling of grammatical errors (I got the Kindle version from Lisle's site, so the printed works may be different). However, it got better as it went on, in many ways, and I bumped it up a star. Overall, not a bad start.

I'm new to Holly Lisle's books and didn't even know Fire in the Mist was the first book in a Trilogy. I lucked into finding this book on the Baen Free Books website, and I'm so glad I did. I'm a novice at reading this type of Fantasy Fiction, and I sure picked a good one to start with.

What I liked about Fire in the Mist:
- Very tightly written and twisty plotline
- Well fleshed-out and interesting characters, even the minor ones
- Conplicated, yet consistent world & language systems
- Thought-provoking gender themes
- Page-turning action
- Believable relationships
- Rich descriptive writing style
- Well-expressed emotional depth

What I didn't like:
NOTHING!!

I will seek out the other titles in this series for sure. And I note this author has written a lot of books, so will be looking out for other books and series as well. Very impressed with Holly Lisle.