Customer Reviews

First Truth (Truth, Book 1)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Many fantasy books simply retread the cliches, with a too-large cast and an attempt at epic storytelling at the expense of personal characterization. Dawn Cook, like Kristen Britain, is one of the new authors who does not fall into this trap.

Alissa comes from a mixed marriage of the plainsmen and the hill people; her father, a Keeper, vanished when she was very young and her mother has raised her alone. Alissa has long since stopped believing that the Hold, a place where magic is taught, is a real place. But her mother insists that it is, and one day she sends Alissa off with her pet kestrel, Talon, to be taught how to be a Keeper. Alissa soon meets up with a plainsman musician, Strell, who recently returned to find that his family is dead. The two grate on each other immediately, with Strell prejudiced against Alissa's hill upbringing and Alissa angry about what she sees as Strell's plains snobbery.

But Strell has something that Alissa needs: A map, drawn by her father and traded away to Strell by her mother. Strell doesn't want to give it up, and agrees reluctantly to accompany Alissa on what she sees as a fool's quest. Except it isn't a fool's quest; a psychic power calling itself "Useless" possesses Alissa's body, and when the two arrive at the Hold, they find only one man in the entire building. Bailic is looking for a book known as the "First Truth," created by a powerful Master and put in the keeping of Alissa's father. And now he believes that Alissa and Strell can lead him to it...

It was refreshing to read this book, in a market flooded with cliched sword-and-sorcery stories. Cook does not seem to concern herself with making this book an epic, or cramming it full of complicated cultures and peoples. She focuses instead on two cultures, different and divided, and the Keepers of the Hold, which encompasses both. The magic is low-key, despite a major explosion late in the book; the descriptions of the tracings and wards are very evocative.

One interesting aspect of this book is the treatment of prejudice; both Strell and Alissa have prejudices and misconceptions about the other's culture, and these prejudices are comparable to Bailic's hatred of halfbreeds (like Alissa) and the hill culture. Very few authors could successfully pull off giving the heroes the same flaws as the villains, but Cook does so without a feeling of strain. The travelling near the beginning drags on a little long, with only camping out to break the tension; the dialogue is endearingly real to life, even if it is a little repetitive when the two protagonists are offended. And the dual nature of the raku is intriguingly thought of, and will undoubtedly be touched on again in future.

Alissa is a pleasantly unconventional heroine in a genre of warrior women; she gets soggy, sulky, unhappy, irrational, and has no desire to leave her comfortable life for what she sees as a myth. Yet she overcomes many of these to become a more understanding person. Strell also is trying his best to be nice to Alissa, but often seems to put his foot in his mouth. Bailic, unlike many villains, is given motivations and past grudges to explain his current behavior. And "Useless" comes across as obnoxiously helpful, knowledgeable, and wry in his observations.

As there is no smut, graphic violence or profanity, children and teenagers as well as adults can read this book. Fans of Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip will undoubtedly enjoy this simple but deep tale. The only flaw is that readers will have to wait for the sequel...

Before Alissa's father disappeared he would tell her stories about a legendary fortress called the Hold. It was a type of university where human Keepers learned magic from the Masters. They were just stories before bed. She never believed any of it was real.

When her mother realized that Alissa had inherited her father's magical abilities, she sent Alissa away from their farm to search for the Hold and begin her training. Her small bird, Talon, went with her. On the way, they met a wandering musician from the plains named Strell. Even though the farmers and the plainsmen did not get along well, they traveled together hoping to locate the Hold before the snows began.

Bailic was the only Keeper left in the Hold. The power hungry man had sent all the Masters, except one, away on a wild goose chase and then killed the other Keepers. The only Master left was trapped in a hidden dungeon. Bailic searched for a book filled with spells and power called First Truth. When two travelers appeared at the gate, he could sense that one was a latent Keeper, but could not tell which. Regardless, he would use them. Once no longer needed, they would die!

***** Here is an AWESOME new author and I expect her to become very well known fast! Dawn Cook has created a magical world with amazing characters.

I quickly found myself engrossed in the the story line and was irritated every time I had to stop reading. I wanted nothing more than to dive back into this book filled with magic, dragons, and danger. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I picked up First Truth because I was bored, and the cover art was pretty. Yes, shallow perhaps, but I've read most of the known 'greats' in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and even the greats can sound pretty horrible if you just read the blurb on the back. And anyway, I like discovering relatively new authors.

First Truth had potential; the writing itself was average (not great, but no glaring mistakes either) from a technical standpoint, the world and magic system was interesting and different, and I like stories of self-discovery. However, the characterization really really undermined it for me.

The dialogue is pretty bad...very predictable, and there were spots where I'd be distracted from the story and start laughing at it. The characters showed their main traits early at the start of the book, and by the end, they were just as shallow as they started (and, since I have read the rest of the series, it's the same with all except 1 character, whom I like, but who may be just as shallow and I don't see it since I like him.). I get the 'buddy buddy' feel...you know, when you feel as if all the characters are already well known to each other and destined to be friends, and the spats are shallow and contrieved and you know it'll be all better eventually, and the character's feelings aren't really written about in depth. This is kind of sad, especially when the cast of characters is limited (and indeed is limited for the rest of the series too) because with a limited cast you especially need character depth, otherwise it's really uninteresting.

I basically read on to learn more about the world and magic system, not for the characters. The main character is one of those rebel-girl characters that feels of pseudo-feminist but really is a part of the rebel-girl subgroup of characters, not really something new. If that makes sense. It's sort of like in real life you run into this Goth GIrl who thinks she's being so different by wearing black and sitting in graveyards, but in fact she's just another Goth kid, like all the other 14-year-old goth kids. The main character feels like she's supposed to be different, because she has a temper, but it's just another flavor of the same.

So, anyway, First Truth was better than many other fairly new straight-to-paperback books I've read, but not by much, and while and the ideas of magic and in the world showed some thought and creativity, the characters just ruined it. If she had spent more time in developing the characters, this book would have *flown*. But she didn't, and it sorta dropped from the plane, glided, and thudded into something random.

I initially picked it up because of the gorgeous cover, but I wasn't sure I would like it, since I haven't been in the mood for fantasy lately. But I opened it and started to read, and I'm glad I did. I found this story to be greatly entertaining. The heroine, Alissa, is refreshingly realistic -- magically gifted, yes, perhaps even extraordinarily so, but still recognizably a nineteen-year-old girl, and subject to the impetuousness of youth. She makes mistakes, and she has a fierce temper, but she is ultimately an extremely likeable and sympathetic character.

As far as world-building goes -- well, we don't see a whole lot of the world, just a small section of it: the plains and the foothills. (And this makes sense, for our viewpoint character, Alissa, grew up in the foothills and has never been far from home before. This area is the only one she knows.) However, that small section is richly detailed, and the prejudice and mistrust between the two groups vividly drawn.

My only complaint about this book is that it ended far too quickly; the story wasn't finished yet! The resolution of the plot is delayed until the next book in the series comes out -- so if you're the type who can't stand an unfinished story, you might want to wait to read this until then. However, for everyone else, this was a delightful read that kept me turning the pages. I recommend it for every fantasy-lover who just wants to read a good story!

First Truth (2002) is the first fantasy novel in the Truth series. Once upon a time, there was a Hold hidden deep in the Mountains where Masters taught magic to Keepers. One day, Talo-Toecan -- the Headmaster -- entrusted his student Meson with the book First Truth and the Keeper took it away and hid it.

In this novel, Meson is a farmer from the foothills and is married to Rema, a woman of the deep plains. Meson tells his daughter Alissa stories of the Hold and his Master. When Alissa finds the hidden First Truth, he begins to suspect that she will be a Keeper and capable of finding the book wherever he hides it. Meson leaves his wife and daughter to return the book to his master and is never seen again.

When Alissa starts acting strangely, Rema realizes that the Hold is beginning to pull on her Keeper daughter. She stows necessary items in a pack and gives Alissa a small pouch to wear from her neck. Alissa asks about the contents and Rema has her smell it. After she perceives the rank smell of the stinking substance, Rema knows that Alissa is truly a Keeper and must leave to find her destiny.

Of course, Alissa doesn't believe in magic, but she knows better than to argue with her mother. With her kestrel Talon flying overhead, she starts off to find the Hold and her book. She has about a month until the snow starts to fall in the mountains.

Strell is a plainsman, the seventh son of a well known family of potters. He is returning over the mountains from the coast after several years of wandering. His path briefly crosses with that of Alissa, but they pass with only a few hints of each other's presence. He continues onward to the foothills market, where he learns of the death of all his family. With disbelief and fear, he returns to his home place only to find all evidence of their presence and property washed away by a spring flood.

Fleeing in his grief, Strell returns to the mountains and eventually discovers Alissa trapped in a ravine. After hearing his story, Alissa remembers the tragedy and tries to treat him with compassion. Still, their different heritages cause clashes and both are strong-willed enough to have grand and glorious arguments over almost anything.

In this story, Alissa has moments when she hears the thoughts of another being, whom she eventually learns is Talo-Toecan, her father's old Master. While she is immersed in the memories that Talo-Toecan stimulates, she is totally absorbed in her internal thoughts and unaware of the outside world. During these times, Strell is addressed from Alissa's body by Talo-Toecan, whom he starts to call Useless.

While she is possessed, Alissa relives other peoples lives. She relives her father's encounter at the Hold with his old acquaintance Bailic, who had been his friend and became his enemy. Later, she relives the meeting between Strell's grandfather and a shaduf -- a person who can foresee deaths -- that leads to Strell being allowed to become a minstrel rather than a potter.

Despite repeated demands by Useless to sent Alissa back to her farm, Strell is unable to divert her from her intended destination. They travel on to find the Hold and Bailic and Useless, but no one else, and then the snow starts falling and confines them to the Hold. Unhappily, Bailic -- her enemy -- is fully capable of using magic and Useless -- her potential ally -- is trapped in the dungeon. Of course, Alissa is not deterred from her plans by these minor setbacks.

This story has some of the feel of the first part of Cherryh's Fortress in the Eye of Time, particularly within the huge yet deserted Hold. It is also reminiscent of scenes within the Wizard's Keep in the Sword of Truth series. Despite the occasional presence of other characters, the scenes seem to be more close and intimate. In the last portion of the tale, Alissa, Strell, Talon, Bailic and Useless interact in complete isolation from the rest of the world.

Highly recommended for Cook fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical quests, tempestuous romance, and forced maturity.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The trouble with an adult writing from a teen age perspective is that adults tend to 'dumb' down behavior and inner dialogue, giving a truly clunky feeling the emotions of the characters. This is very true n the first 2/5's to 1/3 of Hidden Truth.

Alissa's emotions feel dishonest and clunky, and for a young woman of her age, dishonest, particularly when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex. In fact, when she runs into Strell, the male lead, there is a definite "oooh boy cooties" feeling to her inner dialogue.

Strell has the same for Alissa, and he is significantly past that point.

But if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with an excellent start to a fantasy series. However, if this is your first experience with Dawn Cook, I would say start with Decoy Princess. As a writer, Ms. Cook has grown quite a bit.

Basic story, Alissa's father was a Keeper, a magician of sorts who was given the care of an ancient book, The Hidden Truth. He disappears. Alissa grows up, Mom kicks out of the house to find the Mysterious Hold. Strell, a wandering bard, bumps into her and off we go on a quest with evil magicians and kindly dragons!

Pros:
1. Once you get beyond the "oooh boy/girl cooties", the leads have a touching relationship that grows
2. An excellent exploration of prejudice.
3. Talon - man where can I get such a cutie
4. A truly ookie villian

Cons:
1. The beginning is very dishonest to the characters

A good read and I am about to start the second. So it is a thumbs up

This is an absolute joy of a book to read. While it is set as a young adult fantasy, the world created and the well drawn characters make it much more. Mix a dash of magic and mystery, a young woman coming to grip with her gifts, and a budding romance and the stage is set for a magical, compelling tale. I can hardly wait for the next chapter of Alissa and Strell.

If I were to say one thing to someone who was brousing in a book store or a library and picked up this book, it would probably be the following:

"Get it before someone else snatches it out of your hands!"

Okay, so maybe I'm being too enthusiastic. The medeival-ish, magic-ish (yes, two of the things I look for in a good cover) appeal of the book's cover drew me to it. But once I flipped open the first few pages, I quickly forgot the cover and rushed to finish the book.

Alissa doesn't belong; she is a driven antoganist with exceptional qualities--both physical and mental--that keep her apart from the rest of the world. Her magician Keeper father disapeared when she was a young girl; but now she's nearly twenty and her mother is sending her out in the world to follow in the footsteps of her father. Against her will, Alissa leaves her dear mother and heads toward the mysterious Hold,, the place of magical Keepers.

On the way, Alissa meets up with the likeable Strell, a wandering musician who discovers that in the years that he left his family to become a bard, that they all have been killed in a great flood. Both alone and friendless, the two agree to travel with one another despite boiling tempers between them and a bad first start. (Hmmm, could Cook possibly be leading up to something here? I hope so.)

But once they reach the Hold they realize their only hope is to trust one another and battle the evil astrayed Keeper who now controls the empty Hold. Can they keep Alissa's Keeper powers a secret from the jealous Bailey and solve the mystery behind the emptyness of the Hold and Alissa's father's death?

An excellent, refreshing piece of fiction! Dawn Cook provide's a delicious stew for us to sip on--unfortunately, the book (which deceivingly looks long with its 250-some pages at first) is very short. In other words, you'd be best to pick up the sequel, Hidden Truth, in the same book-stop or you'll be in withdrawal until you get it. Unfortunately, all those, including me, who have already gulped down the first two novels, are waiting awkwardly for the third course.

I would reccomend this novel is for advanced readers. (At least teen) but I assure you any adult would delight in it also.

Cook has designed a promising menu in her excellent plot, served us two helpings and has more coming! Excuse the puns on food, but this book is truly excellent. And the series? A set of delicasies! Happy reading!

First Truth is the first book in a quartet, and though the ending wraps things up enough to leave the reader satisfied, it is apparent that it is not a stand alone book. It is enjoyable enough, but very little actually happens. It mostly feels like Cook is setting up relationships and situations for later in the series. It's necessary, but it leaves the reader wondering what, exactly, was accomplished in this book.

The strongest point in First Truth is the characterization of the two main. Cook spends a good deal of time developing Alissa and Strell as characters individually and then more time developing their relationship with each other. They're both complex and well-rounded and they have a very believable relationship.

The other two big characters in the book, Useless and Bailic, aren't quite as well developed, but they don't seem to be lacking either. The reader knows what Alissa and Strell know, and as they don't know too much about Useless and Bailic, the reader does not either. They're not so much flat characters as mysterious. There are definitely hints of more there than is actually revealed, but it isn't seen in this book. Perhaps Cook will develop them further in the other books of the quartet.

The plot was relatively simple and didn't seem to actually start until about a third of the way into the book, when Alissa and Strell finally met. It was fairly solid, with no obvious holes, but it was also slow moving, and remained that way through the entire book. Things didn't ever really pick up, not even towards the end.

That isn't to say that First Truth wasn't enjoyable, because it was, but it would have been nice if some of the things that were hinted at and set up for had happened in this book. Unfortunately, the whole book felt as though it was one big set up for things to come, like it was the first part of a much longer story. It seems as though this particular quartet is composed strictly of one long story, not one long story with several shorter stories within it. There was no shorter story that was started or concluded.

Considering the way Cook set things up, the ending of First Truth was remarkably satisfying. It wasn't a conclusion, but it was a nice place to pause for a while before continuing on with the next part of the story. It leaves the reader curious enough about what will happen next that most will want to read the next book, but it isn't a cliffhanger that will leave readers upset if they don't have the next book right away.

This is a promising start to the series, and if Cook continues along the lines that she has started, the entire quartet should be an enjoyable read. Anyone who likes fantasy will probably enjoy this book, though readers should be prepared to pick up at least the second book in the quartet once they finish First Truth.

Alissa doesn't believe in magic, she hasn't since her father left her as a child. Now, 19-years-old and living the life of a hill person with only her mother, her mother announces that she must go to the Hold to start her training as a Keeper. Alissa is shocked, Keepers are creatures that only existed in her father's stories. Keepers don't exist. But since she has little choice on the matter she sets off for this mysterious hold with nothing but her bird companion. On the way there she runs into Strell, a minstrel who has just received the most painful news of his life, his family has perished. Alissa is annoyed with this young plainsman, especially with his prejudices against hill people. But Strell has one thing that she lacks, one thing that will help her find the Hold, a map. So the two set off to find the Hold, not knowing what to expect. Everything changes when they receive contact from someone trapped in the Hold's walls who's message is very blunt, stay away from the Hold because there's danger there than neither of them could ever dream of.

I picked up this book with good feelings. Not only did it get great reviews ... but on the review page is said something to the extent of "a good read for Tamora Pierce fans" and being a big Tammy fan I was all too eager to read it. And I was not disappointed it. The small and simple cast of this book combined with the enchanting setting, creates a new and interesting fantasy novel. I agree with who ever said the only really bad part of the book is having to wait for the sequel (the ending is quite a cliff hanger so be warned!). I recommend this book to fans of Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, and Mercedes Lackey.