The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2) [Hardcover]

Melanie Rawn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997 | Series: Exiles

The second novel in a stunning new fantasy series by the bestselling author of the "Dragon Prince" and "Dragon Star" trilogies. The Mage Guardians have survived the war and now Mage Captal Cailet and her sister Sarra struggle to rebuild their society. Though defeated, their enemies, the Malerissi, have not been destroyed, and once again start weaving a web with which to entangle the entire world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 626 pages
• Publisher: DAW Hardcover (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886777305
• ISBN-13: 978-0886777302
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars She will not be writing the 3rd book . . ., February 17, 2007

By 

Parkermann347 (U.S.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2) (Hardcover)

Update 9/23/10

Rawn made an announcement on her website that due to bad sales, Spellbinder 3 will not be published and she will attempt to restart her career by going 'back to her fantasy roots' and writing a NEW trilogy. She was so badly flamed that she took down the announcement and had a sulk about the response. Details here on the forums down at the bottom of the page.

Captal's is not going to be written. Period.

I wrote this in 2007

I have just finished reading the Exiles books after 10 years, and think they are even better than the first time I read them.
That being said, I have to admit I am wondering if any author has the sheer talent and skill needed to patch up this convoluted
tale. And have it make any kind of sense.
I also wonder if it's possible to write the sequel and have it mesh after such a long hiatus.

After reading these two books, I have come to realize that Ms. Rawn will have a hard time finishing this story. She has
effectively painted herself into a creative corner. Bear with me a moment.
First and foremost, the story is getting too complicated. Where one or two major groups of families would have sufficed,
there are literally hundreds of names the beleaguered reader has to try to remember. Added to that, layers upon layers of shadings
and meanings behind every word ever uttered by one Gorynel Desse. And with all the names in the two books, I'm not exactly
sure he's the only one. Also, there are tales within tales that boggle the mind. You have the 3 sisters' history and the question of Auvry Feiran's
true reasons for going evil. There was some kind of cover up there. The divorce and all was some kind of fake maneuver to hide some other events.
Also, you have the Ganfallin revolt over 200 years ago that is tied into the current events, plus
the Malerrisi lord and the ancestor of Leninor Garvedian who were in love and tried to revolutionize the magical hierarchy. Or was
it the ancestor of Lusira, Alira Gavennos, Tragan Maifirran - huh? You see what I mean here. Not to even get started on who
actually colonized the planet of Lenfell, who started the Mage wars over a thousand years ago . . . Spaceships, anyone? There is
just too much stuff.

Second, too many characters are aged too rapidly. Cailet is just a young woman at the beginning of book 2 and in 100 or so pages
becomes middle aged, empty hearted and bitter. There is almost no fleshing out of her character. After all the time spent on her
thoughts and feelings in the first book, to be suddenly cheated of her real growth into a woman is astounding. The reader just has
to make the leap and read between her grim faced silences and acid comments to Gorsha. The same goes for Glenin, her doings are
only hinted at,and it would have been nice to get a clearer idea of what made her tick other than rigid adherence to the Malerissi
Code. Why does power mean so much to her? There are issues left unresolved with her at the end of book 1 that are not continued
in book 2, but glossed over. Certainly her relationship with her son would have fleshed out her personality more and made her
eventual choices that much more frustrating and heartbreaking. And the last sister, Sarra, becomes a robot in the service of the
government, missing out on her children's lives and feeling just about as cheated as the reader at having seen it whirl on by so
quickly. It all feels so rushed.

And worst of all is what is done with Collan. Without going into major spoilers here, all I can say is that what we are left with at
the end of book 2 is not enough. Not even close. One page of teasing phrases and almost finished sentences. Just two more words
in the right place would have given so much! Now, the explanations will need to come by way of flashbacks, or visions- if the third
book actually ever gets written. The whole mystery of his true identity is almost given, then tauntingly jerked away.

At last we are left with Ms. Rawn's 10 year and counting hiatus.
Has anyone thought of just writing the darn thing themselves? Anyone? Not even fanfic? Thought not. The truth is that it will take
a lot of talent and brain drain to get the next book to be even halfway coherent and not the total anti-climax mess it probably will be.
In fact, at one point Ms. Rawn called on her readers to help her with it. No joke, the request by her was made on her website and has
since been removed. But I remember my jaw dropping to my shoes when I read it last year. She emphatically stated that a book takes
anywhere between 1 and 5 years for her to write, not to get too exited and please not to tell her our own ideas about who Collan really
is. She just needs some help with, you know, the story and stuff like that.

Doesn't that just say it all? Even she can't keep it all straight and in fact said she needed the help to remember what happened. Having
just finished this, I can see why. Too many names, too much time gone by for both the characters and for the author.

My advice is: Don't read these books until the last book is out. The books are good enough that it is maddening wondering if and when the author
will ever finish it.

UPDATE: 11/9/2007

I've just read on Rawn's website that the next book she will be writing is . . .

Spellbinder 2.

Wow. What is WRONG with her? 14 years and we are all hanging on this series and she continues what many reviewers have euphemistically labeled 'trash'. Please think twice before buying and reading any of her books. She has earned the label 'rear end cavity' or something like that for doing this to her faithful readers of a decade and a half.

UPDATE: 10/4/2008

From her website, now we can all look forward to Spellbinder 3. Wow.
What can I say?

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and enveloping, March 19, 2000

By 

Desiree - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2) (Paperback)

I've read both The Ruins of Ambrai and The Mageborn Traitor, and I can say without a doubt that these two books (they will be three soon! I can't wait! ) are my all-time favorites out of the hundreds I have read. The tangled mystery and political intrigue that is present throughout this book is quite nerve-wracking and definitely draws you in. When reading the two books I got to care deeply about the characters, and this is the first book that I've actually cried shamelessly when one of them dies... When you're through, you'll feel like you are a part of this world, and even a part of every character. Rawn is an excellent writer, imaginative, descriptive and thorough. Her plotlines are unpredictable and exciting. These books will envelop you and you won't be able to put them down! I only hope that she extends the triliogy to a series!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arrh!, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2) (Hardcover)

A word of warning to 1st time readers of Rawn, the wait for the next book in the series is always long. I know this. I purposely waited. I didn't buy the first book in the series the first time I saw it. NO, I KNEW BETTER! I waited for the second book. I read both books in two days and (a little blurry-eyed I admit)started to seek The Capital's Tower. It was listed in Vol 2. It was named and even had a possible release date. Want to know the NEW release date?--SOMETIME in 2001! Doesn't Ms. Rawn know these books are addictive?