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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tough book, but it ultimately shines, December 19, 2005
This review is from: Storms of Destiny: The Exiles of Boq'urain (Mass Market Paperback)
It's been a while since I've read an A.C. Crispin book, so I had forgotten how in your face she writes. Her Star Trek books are one of the few earlier ones to actually use the words "make love" or anything like that (back when Trek books just didn't acknowledge stuff like that openly, though the subtlety was always there), and she's not afraid to write about sensitive topics. Thus, Storms of Destiny hit me hard right at the outset. It's an extremely strong fantasy with vivid characters that don't fit any of the standard stereotypes, except in the broadest sense. Even better, the story is self-contained, though the ending opens up a lot of vistas for the rest of the series to explore. The book is brutal, but it's also quite effective.
Thia, a young priestess of the god Boq'urak, has never seen life outside the cloister. She also hasn't been much for the rules, being secretly taught to read and write by a mentor and how to get around secret passages in the complex. Using one of those passages to make it to dinner on time, she encounters a horrible rite that sours her entire belief system, revealing Boq'urak to be almost evil incarnate, and so she runs away. Eventually, she meets up with a warrior priest on the run from his own people for abandoning his fellow soldiers to die, a gender-neuter healer of a race of scholars who is exiled because he investigated the ancient ruins around his home too diligently, an enslaved prince who was captured by pirates as he was reconnoitering a rebellious province and sold into slavery, and a bitter spy for that same rebellion. Together, they must aid the prince's realm as it reels from invasion, as well as fight off Thia's demonic god before he can kill them all.
Crispin doesn't shy away from descriptions of battle, though she's no Michael Stackpole. No, it's the sex that's brutal (though thankfully, not "on-screen" much). Talis, the spy, was brutalized by her uncle and now has sworn off men. Thia's on the run from a god who brutalizes some of his "Chosen Ones" much the same way, and the woman who Prince Eregard loves has to marry Eregard's oldest brother, who is nothing but horrible to her. And he's not even the villain of the book! These scenes do not quite reach the level of rape, usually because either something happens to forestall it or because Crispin moves away from it in the telling, but it certainly isn't pleasant to read about. This roughness is a clear contrast with Thia herself, who is the ultimate innocent, as is Princess Ulandra, who is just as clean, and neither understands this sort of thing. The innocent love that develops for both of them (I'm not going to tell you who their partners end up being, because it's not clear until the end of the book) is quite pleasant when compared to all that came before.
Crispin has a way with her characters, grasping them and clearly showing us (rather than telling us) what makes them tick. She spends almost forty percent of the book getting them all together, so we get to see them as individuals before they are in a group. They all eventually end up in the same city, which is a bit of a coincidence, but one I can live with. The brother/sister relationship that develops between Jezzil (the warrior priest) and Thia is quite sweet and it's interesting to see just how sheltered both of them have been all their lives. When Jezzil finally comes to a decision about his loyalties, it's quite clear that the women who have befriended him are a big part of it, and it stems from the character we have seen.
In fact, all of them grow and change in believable fashion, and they are all a joy to read about. They're interesting, their backgrounds are interesting, and those histories always inform what they're currently doing. The only thing that I might have liked to have seen is a bit more foreshadowing for one sequence between Eregard and Talis after his secret is revealed (Talis was Eregard's final owner before it becomes known that he's really a prince). That came a bit out of nowhere, but it does show the effect that his wearing of the slave collar for over a year has done to him quite well. While I found the coincidence of them being in the same city to be a bit much, I did think that the reasons for them getting together, once they all had met, were quite realistic.
Finally, I'll mention the plotting. Crispin has given us an interesting story that moves from the demon chasing them all to fighting off an invasion, and the last two chapters suddenly turn all of the events of the book on their ear, paving the way for the next book. Crispin's description of action is quite good, but it's the quieter moments where she really excels. The unpleasant scenes are *quite* unpleasant, but the tender moments are a nice salve for those wounds. These characters form a bond that is a treasure to behold, and Crispin doesn't just give it to us. She shows it to us as it develops, and we believe it. The prose is wonderful and each scene does exactly what Crispin wants it to do.
I can't find any major faults with Storms of Destiny, and the only quibbles I have are mentioned above. If you go into the book knowing there are some harsh scenes and are prepared for them, then it's an even better book. Even without knowing, I quickly righted myself and could not put the book down. It will be a long wait for the next one, and I plan to have it as soon as it's published.
David Roy
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderfully engaging, gripping read, August 24, 2005
This review is from: Storms of Destiny: The Exiles of Boq'urain (Mass Market Paperback)
Storms of Destiny, the first installment of best-selling author A.C. Crispin's fantasy epic, The Exiles of Boq'urain, promises to be "unputdownable."
It delivers.
From the opening pages to the final chapter, this novel and the characters who live and breathe between its covers will enchant and enthrall its readers. Jezzil, a Chonao warrior, Thia, a novice priestess, Talis, a strong, young revolutionary, Eregard, Prince of Pela, and Khith, a Hthras physician, this unlikely yet engaging quintet pulls the reader into their world to face an enemy more horrific than they can imagine.
Masterfully written, rich with detail and fast-paced, this tale of friendship, loyalty, courage and adventure grabs the reader and holds on relentlessly until the final battle is fought and the last page is turned and only then, reluctantly and by necessity, lets go. For now.
The stage is set, the players are in place and the audience waits with bated breath for the curtain to rise on Act II...
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read, March 2, 2006
This review is from: Storms of Destiny: The Exiles of Boq'urain (Mass Market Paperback)
Storms of Destiny is a fantasy adventure from the word go. In retrospect I would say that it was a mix of Dragonlance and Planet of the Apes. A strange mix, you say? It won't seem quite as strange once you read the book.
"In a world at peril, five exiles must band together to stop a god.
Banished from their former lives, an unlikely group of comrades -- a warrior disgraced, a disillusioned priestess, a fiery revolutionary, a mysterious non-human healer, and an enslaved prince -- are drawn together in a desperate race to stop an invading army. But they soon discover the danger is infinitely greater, for their true enemy is none other than a malevolent, vengeful god who has destroyed many worlds..."
There are five primary characters (for the forces of good):
The Exiles of Boq'urain: Storms of Destiny is the first book in a trilogy about five adventurers who must defeat the demon Boq'urak. The story begins with the warrior-priest Jezzil infiltrating an enemy fortress. It goes horribly wrong and his comrades quickly find themselves outnumbered. His training tells him that he should fight to the death, but he wants to live. He flees for his life, instantly marking him as an outcast to the Pen Jav Dal
Thia is a 19-year-old novice priestess. A wrong turn in a forbidden tunnel, reveals the true nature of the god she worships; Boq'urak. She flees the temple, barely escaping with her life. She finds herself lost, not only in a world that she has never known existed outside the temple, but also in her spiritual direction. She had spent her life in the service of a monster and now has no one to pray to for help.
Khith is a generless, furred creature that lives in the jungles that surround the city of the ancients. He, er "it" is a sorcerer, healer and scholar. His thirst for knowledge about the ancients eventually gets him the boot from his community.
Prince Eregard is the youngest of the King's sons. The Crown Prince Salesin (his oldest brother) is an overpowering, greedy, manipulative tyrant and he isn't even the king yet. Even his own father (the King) fears him. In an effort to stop an uprising the King asks Eregard to sail to Katal to discover the source of the unrest (I bet you couldn't guess that Salesin's greed has a lot to do with it). On the long journey, the ship is captured by pirates (I love pirates) and Eregard is forced into slavery.
Talis Aloro hates men, plain and simple. She was savagely raped by her uncle and her father did nothing to set things right. She also happens to be the right hand...er, woman to the man who is plotting against Eregard's kingdom.
The story moves between the points of view of these characters, showing the reader the world through many different eyes.
There are a few places that seem to drag as she sets the stage, but they are few and far between. The first book of a trilogy always has the hardest duty; setting up the world and characters for the rest of the books to run with. She did a remarkable job of getting all of the pertinent information across without just spelling everything out for you. The story ends with several unanswered questions, setting us up to dive right into the next book the moment it is released.
Ann Crispin has wove an incredible story here. She fleshes out her characters to the point that they are almost tangible. Her battle scenes are brilliantly laid out; you can almost smell the blood on the battlefield. Swordplay, revolutionaries, magic, strange creatures (both good and bad), not one but two formidable enemies and an underlying moral about freedom (with it's many levels) and the cost of keeping it, this book has it all. If you enjoy fantasy at all, you will love this book. It was a fun read.
I can't wait to pick up the next one.
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