Amazon.com Review
In this luminous fantasy, Sherryl Jordan surpasses her award-winning novel
The Raging Quiet with a vividly realized story that centers on a young healer, the evocatively named Gabriel, as he moves inexorably toward fulfilling his destiny with a heroic sacrifice. Born in the urban city-state of Navora, Gabriel is also strongly drawn to the tribal society of Shinali that survives on the plain outside the city gates. He is haunted by a secret guilt, a moment from his childhood when out of fear he failed to help a dying Shinali woman. The richly detailed narrative moves quietly through Gabriel's training at the Citadel, where he learns the mystical arts of healing mind and body, and then gains in pace and excitement as he attracts the unwelcome attention of the sly and unstable Empress and is drawn irresistibly into the intrigue that surrounds her dependence on the malevolent counselor Jaganath. When Gabriel must flee the city, he retreats to the simple life of the plains people and his love for the strong and serene Ashila. But when the Navorans imprison the Shinali and then plan to destroy them, Gabriel must find the courage to make the sacrifice that will save both their nations. Themes of forgiveness and redemption, echoes of the Nazi Holocaust and the genocide of Native Americans, as well as a radiant love story illuminate this beautiful and intelligent novel for fantasy readers of all ages. (Ages 12 and older)
--Patty Campbell
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Jordan's (The Raging Quiet) fantasy creates enough drama to keep readers glued to their seats, despite characters that lack dimension. The citizens of Navora have pushed the native Shinali off their land, but a prophesy foretells a coming change: a Navoran man will help the Shinali reclaim what was theirs, and (after much of Navora has been destroyed) the two civilizations will live in peace. When the empire's powerful advisers recognize the signs that Gabriel, a young healer studying at the prestigious Citadel, may be that presaged Navoran, they will stop at nothing to thwart his destiny. They eventually imprison the entire nation and the young healer in an abandoned fort. Jordan fills her taut narrative with gripping images, such as the opening chapter in which a seven-year-old Gabriel witnesses the murder of the Shinali chieftain's daughter. Her descriptions are equally vivid when Gabriel's look-alike brother is mistakenly murdered by the advisers, when he first sees and instantly falls in love with a Shinali healer and when he applies his powers of healing to the infirm. Unfortunately, the characters themselves are not beleivable: Jaganath, the corrupt chief adviser to the empress, is too evil, while Gabriel's mentor at the Citadel, Salverion, is too wise and pure. But the plot's twists and turns will keep readers hooked; even though it is clear that Gabriel will fulfill the prophecy, readers will wonder how he will manage and what he will have to sacrifice along the way. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
