The Sisters of the Blade rule Medalon with an army of elite Defenders to enforce their oppressive rule and keep their neighbours out. R'shiel Tenragan, daughter of the First Sister, Joyhinia, and her half-brother, Tarja, find themselves caught up in their mother's political intrigues.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Another Australian fantasy import from Tor, which seems to have cornered the market. The story's set in a typical quasi-medieval world, with the twist that the rulers of the central nation of Medalon have expelled all worshipers of the pagan gods and now run the state on rational, atheist principles. Fallon follows three main characters: R'shiel is a Probate of the Sisters of the Blade, the group from which Medalon's governing council, the Quorum, is drawn; her older half-brother, Tarja, is a captain in the Defenders, battle-tested and canny. Both are independent, and often at odds with their domineering mother Joyhinia, a leading member of the Quorum. The third major presence is Brak, a half- human descendent of the legendary Harshini, a magical race expelled from Medalon. When the gods ask Brak to find the mysterious "demon child," a half-human destined to lead the fight against the evil god Xaphista, the trail leads him inevitably to the two young Medalonian rebels-who, by the time of his arrival, have joined forces with peasants fighting against Joyhinia's attempt to enforce the ban on religion. Several adventures and reverses ensue. R'shiel and Tarja are captured, tortured, imprisoned, rescued, and betrayed in a whirlwind plot that leaves little time for reflection. Brak manages to enlist various of the gods (for whom he has little respect, knowing them all too intimately) to the cause of the young atheists; the demon child's identity is revealed; the forces of Xaphista are for the nonce defeated; and the stage is set for the two likable young Medalonians to set forth again in the next installment. Fallon brings a fair quota of wit and a healthy dose of realism to rather predictable material: nothing earthshaking, but engaging overall. (Kirkus Reviews)
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More About the Author
Jennifer Fallon was born in Melbourne, Australia, and lived in there until she was 11 when her father, a senior public servant, was transferred to the national capital, Canberra. She lived in and around Canberra for about 8 years and went to school at Catholic Girls High School (now Mercy College) in Braddon. She is the ninth child in a family of 13 girls.
The author lived in the Northern Territory from 1980 to 2010.
Jennifer has two daughters and a son. She has had over 50 foster children and friends refer to her home as "the ashram" due to the large number of strays people that still inhabit her house at irregular intervals.
Jennifer has worked as a youth worker, a store detective, shop assistant, an advertising sales rep and executive secretary, among other things. She has managed 2 hire car companies, an ISP, a video shop, been a state manager for an international cosmetics company and worked as a project manager for Territory Health Services. Jennifer is an accredited workplace trainer and has a Masters of Arts in Research and also the regular movie reviewer for ABC Radio in regional Western Australia.
In 1995, after her late husband famously advised her to 'quit writing and be a better housewife, because you're never going to get published', Jennifer decided to either get published by the year 2000 or give up writing and get a real job. Significantly, being a better housewife did not factor into her plans.
Her first series, The Demon Child Trilogy, was released in August 2000 in Australia and hit the bestseller list the first week it was released and was shortlisted for the 2000 Aurealis Awards as the best Fantasy of 2000.
She has since been shortlisted for another Aurealis, the David Gemmell Legends of Fantasy award and the Romantic Times Best Fantasy award.
Her books are released all over the world and translated into a number of different languages.
Jennifer now lives in New Zealand where she writes full time and runs up the Reynox International Writers Centre.
The author lived in the Northern Territory from 1980 to 2010.
Jennifer has two daughters and a son. She has had over 50 foster children and friends refer to her home as "the ashram" due to the large number of strays people that still inhabit her house at irregular intervals.
Jennifer has worked as a youth worker, a store detective, shop assistant, an advertising sales rep and executive secretary, among other things. She has managed 2 hire car companies, an ISP, a video shop, been a state manager for an international cosmetics company and worked as a project manager for Territory Health Services. Jennifer is an accredited workplace trainer and has a Masters of Arts in Research and also the regular movie reviewer for ABC Radio in regional Western Australia.
In 1995, after her late husband famously advised her to 'quit writing and be a better housewife, because you're never going to get published', Jennifer decided to either get published by the year 2000 or give up writing and get a real job. Significantly, being a better housewife did not factor into her plans.
Her first series, The Demon Child Trilogy, was released in August 2000 in Australia and hit the bestseller list the first week it was released and was shortlisted for the 2000 Aurealis Awards as the best Fantasy of 2000.
She has since been shortlisted for another Aurealis, the David Gemmell Legends of Fantasy award and the Romantic Times Best Fantasy award.
Her books are released all over the world and translated into a number of different languages.
Jennifer now lives in New Zealand where she writes full time and runs up the Reynox International Writers Centre.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I liked the Demon Child trilogy,
By mjinwesty (Denver, CO, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Medalon (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
I liked this series of books. The reason I picked it is because it has a strong female lead. It turned out that several of the countries had matriarchal societies while another had a very patriarchal society. I enjoy it when an author puts a slightly different twist on the worlds they are creating. I think these books are worth reading!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great!,
By
This review is from: Medalon (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
Wow, One star? This book is hardly worth one star. I think nearly every fantasy book I've ever read is the "same place, different people". That's why I read them because I like the worlds of magic and dragons and sorceresses and warriors.Here the plot is a little stilted but it makes up for it with nice political intrigue and very 3-dimensional characters. You can get the plot/synapsis from the book description, but let's just say it's fun to read. The book spans 3 novels and has 3 prequel novels. Jennifer Falon is a pretty good writer and I've enjoyed the Demon Child Series. If you like fantasy and aren't a stick in the mud to please, you'll enjoy this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great new series will keep you entertained,
By
This review is from: Medalon (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
Medalon is different in tone and structure from a lot of the fantasy books I'm used to reading, and that's a big reason why I'm such a fan. Jennifer Fallon has done a great job of creating the oppressive society that births the protagonist, R'Shiel, and the dialog-heavy text reveals as much about the characters as typical, description-heavy fantasy novels. This is a great book to read if you've just finished one of those intense epic series and need a change of pace. It doesn't truly resolve at the end, so you'll want to have the second and third books on hand to offer some closure.
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