10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Nothing ever really changes here does it?" -Well, it's about to!, March 31, 2007
This review is from: In Legend Born (Mass Market Paperback)
I am aware this review is way too long. Stick with me-I'm trying to get you interested in one of my favorite novels.
I've always been slightly ashamed of reading fantasy. I'm not really sure why-maybe it's because its just so escapists and my generation is supposed to confront reality full on, or maybe because it's supposed to be for geeks only, or maybe it's just, well because it is so easy to read. Often there is no thought required with fantasy. However, that is not the case with this book, this series. This is one of my favorite books, bare none, cross genera. It's also got one hell of a back story.
"In Legend Born" is set on an Island nation called Sileria, which was once a great civilization and one of the earliest in the world, but was brought down first by an inner conflict between the powers of fire magic, the Guardians, who also contact the spirit world and worship the Volcano Destroyer Goddess Dar, as do the majority of the people, and the powers of water magic, the Waterlords (or the Honored Society if you prefer), who control all water on the island and demand tribute in order for people to drink. If no tribute is paid, the rivers either curl over on themselves or freeze into something like plastic or turn so cold that touching the water will kill you. Anyway, long story short, the Waterlords betrayed the Guardians, the inner power structure crumbled, and the Island was conquered a thousand years before our story begins. And then conquered by another people, and then conquered by a third, the Valdani (who you can easily compare to Rome) who then took over the rest of the known world (which isn't very big by the way.)
So in our story, the setting of which is, one could say, comparable time wise to the middle of the Roman Empire, the majority population of Sileria are mountain peasants who are highly violent, always swearing blood feuds against each other which can't end `till every one of their line, and all friends of said line, are dead. They have been terribly oppressed by the Waterlords, in the from of water deprivation and "taxing" for water, and threats and killings by assassins, the personal small armies of each Waterlord, who are eerily loyal and armed with magical knives made of water. Then there are the rich, who are routinely held for ransom by the Waterlords during the rainy season when no tribute comes in, the sea born, who refuse to come off their boats until all the dragon fish have been killed, the Sisters, a sort of Nun earth cult healing sect who no one is allowed to harm or invade the sanctuary of, this apparently nuts cult who lives on the volcano that the goddess lives in and periodically one of them flings themselves in to see if they are her consort and the man destined to free the nation, and of course, the ever hated Valdani, who make no effort to understand the society at all. Thus there is a law among the mountain peasants-you betray anyone, for any reason, even under torture, even to save a life, you die. Like I said, these a very violent people. Thus their conquers aren't very concerned with holding this Island because the people on it are too busy killing each other to fight to inferior troops the Valdani emperor sent to hold it.
That is until Josarian comes along. He's just a normal peasant, smuggling goods after the death of his wife when he's ambushed and beaten by two Valdani soldiers, and then does the incredibly, fights back and kills two of them. Unthinkable really. And he continues to do so, and spread rebellion, and people listen. So one of the commanders of the out lookers (soldiers) catches this huge break when he arrests a man just of a ship from the mainland carrying two swords a sword master known as a Shatai, one of the deadliest men on earth. His name is Tansen, an in order to be let go, he agrees to go kill Josarian before he becomes any more of a problem.
Unknown to either of these men, both haunted by the past, Josarian with grief for his dead wife, Tansen followed by a sin worse than anything and a another mans vow to kill him for said sin, a young, foul mouthed and vision troubled Guardian, Mirabar, who most on the Island would regard as a demon because of her red hair and glowing yellow eyes has been told to seek a warrior-with a troubled past- to free the country by a strange force from the Otherworld which beckons her.
Then there's a wealthy Silerian women named Elelar who's sleeping around for the cause of freedom and has something to do with the price on Tansen's head, and Kiloran, the most famous, hated, and deadliest Waterlord-who clearly has some serious secrets and plans of his own, but seems to be willing to play freedom fighter as long as it suits his needs (which appear to be world domination, or at least water domination.)
These five people, all powerful and charismatic in their own way, will have their destiny thrust upon. And that destiny is-to work with each other-Dar help them! As Mirabar would say (I am paraphrasing) "destiny may be destiny but it still takes effort!" Alliances will be formed, strange friendships forged, bonds made, vows forgotten, and a true rebellion begun, for freedom. Oh yeah, and along the way they're going to do something big with that Volcano Goddess.
Ok, clearly this is too much information, but like I said, this is one of my favorite books. It's inspiring in that way only books about freedom can be, and this author can do a patriot inspiring speech like no other. It makes you want to jump into the book and kill someone to steal their sword so you slice open your palm, swear a blood pact and join the fight-ok I may be generating, but its got that something. And did I mention it's funny? And charming, and that while it's not romantic, it carries the promise of romance?
In this entire series the one thing that all the characters say about once a chapter is "Nothing ever really changes here does it?" well my lovely, beautiful, wonderful and endearing cast of characters, it is about to.
Five stars. You will read this and dash to the sequel-in fact, just buy the whole trilogy at once to save time. "In Legend Born", "The White Dragon (in Fire Forged)", and "The Destroyer Goddess (in Fire Forged)."
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly Surprised, May 10, 2001
This review is from: In Legend Born (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked this book up at the grocery store in a moment of desperate boredom. I was expecting, well... I don't tend to expect much out of books I get from the grocery store in sheer desperation of something to read.
Her world is wonderfully detailed and thought out. It has a number of classic fantasy elements, and lots of foreshadowing. As I read it I found I enjoyed the foreshadowing, as it seemed intentional, as opposed to being merely predictable due to bad writing. I particularly love the fact that the characters are not black and white, but all shades of gray. They don't automatically know right from wrong. Some people seem to like that tired stereotype that can be found in almost any other fantasy novel, but I personally find it boring.
In conclusion, I can't wait for her to write a sequel.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, draws you in., March 2, 2002
This review is from: In Legend Born (Mass Market Paperback)
The first thing I must say is that the world found in this book is rich with history and details as are the characters. They all have a past which seriously influences the story and of which only details are revealed once and a while leaving you in suspense the entire time. It takes a little while to get used to the names or titles which are often said in Silerian, their language but once you do you do not even think about it but read as if it were in English. the story line is much more complexe than one could inmagine and the land is riddled with corruption, betrayal and alliances which keeps the story moving and interesting at all times. the story is set in Sileria an island in the middle of the sea, dominated by the valdani empire and suffering from it as they have suffered under every foreingn rule. THE valdani keep them in line easily enough since they fight among themselves instead of against them and adding. such divided and unarmed by Valdani law Sileria has littel hope. but all that is changed. Josarian a Shallaheen who has comitted the worst crime in the eyes of the Valdani, killing one of them, must run or suffer death by slow torture. the valdani search for him insistantly, his act having aroused the rest of sileria slightly from their submission and also emboldened them. they hire Tansen, a Shatai, a warrior, who was born a shaleheen and has lived nine years in exile. with his help Josarian involuntarily begins a rebellion and is pushed on by Mirabar, a young guardian. the guardians snet into hiding by Valdani law and mirabar considered a demon by all because of her flame red hair. And aided by Elelar, who has worked all her life to see the Valdani expelled from sileria and Kiloran a waterlord, sworn enemy to the guardians. Not sure whether they can trust each other they must work together towards their common dream.
This book was full of twists and turns and a shock at the end. it was well written and I was turning pages late into teh night. the characters a human and interesting, the heros not perfect, the villains not pure evil. I felt drawn into the book very early on and although it takes a chapter for you to click into what is happeaning the moment you do you feel an entire new world opening around you. The end more than suggested a sequel and i await it eagerly.
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