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Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea [Hardcover]

Diana Marcellas (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 11, 2001
The shari'a people are an ancient race-a proud and gentle people, ruled by witches who harnessed the powers of the world for the benefit of all. When the seafaring Allemanii tribes came to their shores, the two races lived side by side for generations, staying apart but trading and learning from each other in peaceful harmony. But something went horribly awry and the shari'a people were suddenly and brutally slain by the settlers who had come to dominate the land. They feared the shari'a . . . and more important, the witches who led them and who held powers that the Allemanii could barely comprehend. The remnants of this gentle people were scattered, and any shari'a who held the knowledge of the old ways and powers were proscribed and hunted to death.

That was long ago, and young Brierley thinks she is the last shari'a witch in the world. She knows what discovery it would mean, but she cannot deny her gifts as a healer; risking discovery, she goes out time and again to bring solace . . . despite the fact that those Brierley saves are the very people who killed most of her race.

When she saves the life of a nobleman's wife-a nobleman sworn to obliterate any trace of witchery-Brierley stumbles into a web of deceit and power struggles more deadly than anything she has ever faced. But she refuses to walk away-and by staying the course, Brierley gains the possibility of finding a love to last the ages, as well as a way to reclaim her people's heritage.

With Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, Marcellas has crafted a beautiful first novel that explores what it means to be different, to value that difference, and what happens when one trusts in true love.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In fantasy, witches often suffer the same fate as most vampires trite, formulaic death by clich‚. Happily, Marcellas's lyrical, spellbinding debut, with its full-blooded characterizations, sidesteps the common pitfalls of "witch" fiction. Brierley Mefell, a young shari'a witch, lives on Yarvannet, a world of two suns, believing she's the last of her ancient race. The Yarvannet earls have not burned a shari'a witch in nearly 200 years, but Brierley takes care not to broadcast her powers. She leaves the coastal cave where she leads her lonely existence only when she receives a "calling" to perform a healing among the seafaring Allemanii, who long ago slaughtered the shari'a and destroyed Witchmere, their underground capital. Protecting the bewitching Brierley's refuge is an Everlight, an object that suggests the extraordinarily gifted shari'a originally came from another world. After Brierley heals the wife of Melfallan, a handsome nobleman, she can no longer hide her powers and must plan to escape. However, the discovery of young Megan, another shari'a, makes her search for survival and the keys to shari'a history even more important. Despite the use of certain romantic stereotypes (caves, ancient books, forbidden love, dragons, magical forests, etc.), this first of a three-book series provides ample enchantment. (Sept. 12)Forecast: With blurbs from Morgan Llywelyn and Elizabeth Haydon, this strong female fantasy could well catch on with fans of those writers and also of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jane Yolen and even Ursula Le Guin.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When the seafaring Allemanii arrived in the land of Yarvannet, they destroyed the shari'a witches who posed a threat to their rule. When young healer Brierley Mefell, who believes she may be the last of the shari'a, comes to the aid of a noblewoman and saves her life, she unwittingly becomes a pawn in a dangerous political game that could lead to her death or to an unexpected and surprising love. Marcellas's first novel begins a fantasy epic that mixes political intrigue and forbidden magic with the personal story of a young woman's journey toward self-knowledge and maturity. A well-paced plot and strongly realized characters make this a suitable choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 11, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312874847
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312874841
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,127,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful world building, history lessons, luck weaken plot, December 10, 2001
This review is from: Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea (Hardcover)
Brierley Mcfell is a witch, descended from the all-but extinct shari'a and still living under the absolute prohibition of all witches. Yet, her healing gift is a calling that Brierley cannot deny no matter how much danger it puts her in. When the pregnant wife of the local Earl, Melfallan Courtray lies dying in an assassination attempt, Brierley brings her powers to bear, healing the woman and exposing her fatal secret to the world.

Melfallan would just as soon reward Brierley as punish her, but he is only an Earl and the Duke has other plans--plans that include using protecting a witch to overthrow Melfallan and replacing him with someone more compliant. It would suit the Duke just fine if Brierley confesses, then conveniently vanishes, leaving Melfallan completely exposed and without the venu of a trial to attempt to bring down the Duke. Somehow Melfallan has to protect herself and also the unique successor she finds in the Duke's capital--a shari'a witch almost overwhelmed by her secret.

Author Diana Marcellas's world-building skills are everywhere evident in MOTHER OCEAN, DAUGHTER SEA. The genocidal history of the peoples who populate her world, the powers of the witches, and the strange technical/magical beings who supplement the purely magical powers of the witches, make for interesting reading and set the stage for more books in this series. At times, Marcellas's narrative becomes lost in retrospectives about the history of her land.

Perhaps it is this reviewer's flaw rather than that of the novel, but I found the romantic development between the Brierley and the married Melfallan to be disturbing, especially as neither seemed much concerned about the impact that their relationship would have on Melfallan's wife. I would also have enjoyed the book more if Brierley had succeeded more through her own actions rather than through luck or through the efforts of others.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't start reading this series, it is incomplete.., December 4, 2007
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This is a great book with an interesting story and a wonderful romance. However the series ends after the 3rd book and the concluding 4th title may never be pulblished.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars wow, November 25, 2002
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"skyeatssoul" (Collingswood, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
definitely a new twist on the idea of all powerful witches and wizards; the plot is well done and the ideas are fresh. i would recommend it to anyone who reads fantasy, especially those interested in strong women protagonists. i absolutely loved this book and i can't wait for the second one to come out!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
When the second sun sets into the sea, the shadow of the offshore islands slowly climbs the coastland slopes, ascending the serrated pattern of the trees one by one, each dark pine and everwillow passes from daytime green to silhouette shadow Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
other high lords, sea larks, winter plague, cave witches, noble folk, high lady, crest road, skirt hem, young earl
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Captain Bartol, Count Revil, Duke Tear, Sir James, Lady Saray, Duke Telar, Brierley Mefell, Sir Micay, Duke Rahorsum, Mistress Mefell, Count Robert, Earl Giles, Gammel Hagan, Duke Selwyn, Duke Tejar, Sir Niall, Mistress Brierley, True Night, Count Parlie, Count of Lim, Count Sadon, Master Harmon, Thora Jodann, Lady Mionn, Master Ennis
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