A Sorcerer's Treason (Isavalta, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah Zettel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2003

A World of Magic and Peril

1899, Sand Island, Wisconsin: Bridget Lederle is a lighthouse keeper on this stormy, windswept shore of Lake Superior. One cold night she sees a boat foundering near the island's shoals, and rescues its lone occupant. The strangely dressed sailor tells her a fantastic tale, of Isavalta, a world where magic reigns, and where she is-incredibly-destined to play a key role in a power struggle between the Dowager Empress and her foes.

Isavalta, where magic can be found in the pattern of knots on a string, the colors of a dress, or even smoke in the air, beckons to her. Bridget has the second sight of her family, but the magical land where she will go with the sailor holds far greater marvels, and terrible perils that even she cannot see. For she carries secrets within her that even she doesn't know, secrets that could change the fate of the fabulous magical world that calls her home . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An award-winning science fiction author, Sarah Zettel proves equally adept at high fantasy with The Sorcerer's Treason, her fantasy debut. This compelling novel, which blends elements of Russian, Chinese, and Indian myth to create a complex and believable new world, should please Zettel's fans and earn her an appreciative new audience.

A lonely, vision-haunted outcast, Bridget Lederle maintains a Lake Superior lighthouse. A vision leads her to rescue a strangely dressed shipwreck victim who claims to be from another world--a world which, he says, Bridget is destined to save. Impossibly, Valin Kalami knows she has visions of the past and future--and he too has visions. After seeing his visions of Isavalda, Bridget agrees to sail with him across the Land of Death and Spirit to his world. There she discovers she may not trust Valin--or anyone else in the treacherous, intrigue-tangled imperial court of Isavalta.

Zettel's SF novels are Reclamation, winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel and a Philip K. Dick Award finalist; Fool's War, a New York Times Notable Book; Playing God; The Quiet Invasion; and Kingdom of Cages. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Alternating between her lighthouse-keeper heroine's native Wisconsin and the magic-ridden world of Isavalta, SF author Zettel's (Playing God) first fantasy novel, despite a plodding plot, should please readers eager to leave this dull world of ours behind. In the year 1899, during a gale on Lake Superior, Bridget Lederle rescues a lone sailor, Valin Kalami, who proves to be a visitor from an ethereal realm called Isavalta, the home of Bridget's birth-father, who impregnated her mother during a brief stay on Earth. Her Isavaltan blood explains Bridget's sporadic ability to see both the past and future. Kalami persuades Bridget to travel to his dazzling world, where he is Lord Sorcerer to the Dowager Empress, Medeoan Edemskoidoch Nacheradavosh (a name typical of the book's tongue-twisting nomenclature derived from Russian and various Asian languages), who refuses to hand over rule of her kingdom to her mysteriously ailing son, the Emperor Mikkel, and his new bride, Empress Ananda. Intrigues abound, magic lies hidden within threads, a fox becomes a powerful "Vixen" and the dowager keeps a caged phoenix capable of engulfing the world in flames. Since the old woman simply won't relinquish power, Bridget must fight both her and her traitorous sorcerer. Villains may menacingly twist figurative moustaches, but none seriously threatens the courageous heroine's virtue. This sweet-tempered melodrama will appeal mainly to younger female fantasy fans, who will be sure to welcome the forthcoming sequel. (Apr. 24)Forecast: Zettel's established reputation (1997's Fool's War was runner-up for the Philip K. Dick Award for Best Paperback Original SF Novel), blurbs from such fantasy stars as Sara Douglass, Andre Norton and Elizabeth Haydon, plus national advertising and regional author appearances, will ensure a strong start. Support from romance fans may help keep up the momentum.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (June 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765343746
• ISBN-13: 978-0765343741
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,875,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but could have been a lot better, September 15, 2003

By 

Mark "Fantasybooks" (STANFORD-LE-HOPE, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Sorcerer's Treason (Isavalta, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had really high hopes for this story after reading a review at a website for writers. I expected Birget to be whisked away to another world, well okay she was, but I didn't expect it to take nearly a third of the book!

A slow start isn't so terrible, but Birget is supposed to be this woman with an amazing capacity for magic. Great! I like that kind of thing, but when I read this I found everyone BUT Birget doing it! She is supposed to be the heroine of the story and she hardly does anything!

The two sorcerers Kilami and Sakra steal the show. Kilami is a bad guy and is well fleshed out, and Sakra is the good guy. To my mind Sakra is the hero not Birget and should have gotten top billing. Birget could have been so much more, but the way she is written she comes across as a waste of space! If she is to be the heroine, shouldn't she be heroic? At least she should DO something instead of watching the world go by!

By the way, the second book (Usurper's Crown) is a waste of time. Don't buy it unless you like prequels. It is about Birget's mother and just rehashes everything revealed in this book about Ingrid and Avanasy all be it in greater detail.

Mark E. Cooper
Author of The Warrior Within (ISBN: 0954512200)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well paced, but too many rabbit trails, February 7, 2005

By 

Julie Norman "Julie" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sorcerer's Treason: A Novel of Isavalta (Isavalta, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Bridgt Lederle, a lighthouse keeper on Lake Superior, finds she has a destiny in a land called Isavalta. She discovers that she is a powerful sorcereress but is caught in the intrigue of an aging dowager, intrigue and betrayal.

I read the first book, and couldn't wait to read the next. While there are many similarities, this one took a different turn. The pace was good, there was a mapped out story, but I was left unsatisfied at the end.

There were too many rabbit trails i.e. Land of Death, Baba Yaga/Vixen, Bridgit's aunt, etc. that were never really completed. Too many areas were touched on that seemed interesting, but took you away from the main story. I also thought that Bridgit was not really the main character, the driving force of the book, nor was she the one that I admired most. She was supposed to be a powerful sorceress, but she hardly did any magic herself. If I were to choose my favorite character, it would be either Sakra or Ananada. There were also too many characters to remember and keep track of. The story lacked the driving focus of the climax; derailed so many times by those rabbit holes. It merely concluded, and then the story ended.

Sarah Zettel did try hard to weave the myths and story of Isavalta together, and it is compelling reading. It would be a fine book to get lost in if you don't mind the rabbit trails.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!, May 20, 2004

By 

"a_nemi" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sorcerer's Treason (Isavalta, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book because I liked the cover (the UK version have beutiful covers) and it looked like other books I liked. It also said "if you loved Robin Hobb, you'll love this!" and they were right!

Sarah Zettel has a great language, great characters and a wonderful imagination. After the first chapters you're completely into the story and can't put it down. Her characters have depth and feel real, they all have their reasons and feelings for doing what they do, no one's pure evil or pure good, they are all real people.

The first book is in "present" time, the second book is about what happend before the first book. At first it feels a little bit irritating, but after just two chapters you're completely into the book and can't stop reading and don't mind it anymore.

The writer has some original ideas, many of them very imaginative. I like writers that really make a new world and have a new idea about magic and fantasy - without getting lost into it and getting pathetic.

I can really recommend this series to anyone who likes Robin Hobb, George RR Martin, Diana Wynne Jones, and the like. Great series, I'm so glad I finally bought it!