6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT, January 31, 2006
I absolutely loved this book. It is one of my favorites. The story has such depth. The characters are well developed. It is layered with action, excitment, and intrigue, with emotions bringing it all together to form a story with depth. So many of the books today are frivolous and shallow with no emotional content. I highly recommend this book.
The Khadrach hordes have overrun her home and murdererd her husband. Elienne the widow of the Duke of Trathmere, is imprisoned in the dungeons of her own castle. There a powerful sorcerer comes to her and offers her a choice. Come with him and become the Bride of an unknown Prince, or stay where she is and either die or become the Khadrach Inquisitor's concubine. At first she does not want to go, her husband has been dead less than a day and the thought of being with anyone else repulses her, for she loved her husband greatly. Then the sorcerer reveals that she is pregnant with her deceased husband's child. In order to save the child and herself she agrees to go with him. The sorcerer, Ielond takes her forward in time, to a different place and a different world of which Elienne knows nothing. But the cost of transporting her into a time which is not her own, means that upon their arrival Ielond must die. With Ielond dead, she is set adrift in her new world. With the help of instructions left by Ielond, his apprentice Kennaird, and the sorcerer Taroith, Elienne acclimates to her new world and sets about saving the prince.
Prince Darion of Pendaire was cursed at seventeen by the evil Regent Faisix (who doesn't want to give up control of the realm) with dark magic that left him sterile. In Pendaire, a king cannot inherit the throne unless he can prove he can continue the bloodline by providing an heir. Since Darion cannot he is scheduled for execution whereupon his cousin would inherit the throne; his cousin who is completely controlled by Faisix. The prince's Guardian, the sorcerer Ielond, searched through five thousand years of history to find the one woman who could give Darion an heir and spare his life. That woman is Elienne, her unborn child (passed off as Darion's) will ensure he will be crowned king.
Elienne doesn't want a new husband, but Darion demonstrates that he's a caring and compassionate man who doesn't deserve the fate that awaits him. Putting aside her grief and heartache, she decides to help him and uses her wit to foil several of the evil Faisix's plans to discredit her and Darion. Gradually she begins to fall in love with Darion and he with her, but a prophecy given to Elienne by a Seer makes her think that she is doomed to fail Darion. In order to spare Darion grief and heartache should she fail, Elienne remains aloof, cool, and distant. Their relationship grows strained as her pregnancy advances. She is restless, a sense of doom hangs over her and she knows its a matter of time before Faisix strikes again. It is up to her to see that Ielond's hopes come true, to make sure that at whatever cost Darion lives to be King.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant step into the Fantastic, August 10, 2000
This is a wonderful read... The lyrical quality of Janny's writing, pours visions into the mind's eye as one is reading, literally painting scenes with her fluid grasp of words... The carefully created world to which Elienne is carried away by the sorcerer is perfectly rendered, with its own political hierarchy around which the plot swivels gracefully; and there is also the beautifully conceptualized system of magic and sorcery, which adds to the strength and 'realism' of this fantasy realm.
The pages literally turn themselves!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't miss this gem of a stand-alone fantasy novel., February 13, 2010
This review is from: Sorcerer's Legacy (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is just plain enjoyable. It has time travel, magic, prophecy, romance, an evil regent, a handsome prince, a one-in-a-million lady, and a wonderfully unfollowable plot all in the pages of this hidden gem. I've been reading fantasy novels for over 25 years, and how this one slipped past me, I'll never know. This book is really good. Read it if you get the chance.
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