Wind from a Foreign Sky (The Tielmaran Chronicles, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Katya Reimann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tielmaran Chronicles | Publication Date: April 15, 1997

Gaultry enjoyed the simple, pastoral life of a hedge witch, where her most daunting task was to travel to the nearby village to purchase supplies. But her peaceful life is shattered when it becomes entangled in an ancient prohpesy--a prophecy which names her and her headstrong twin sister, Mervion, as their nation's salvation...or its destruction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Chancellor of Tielmark is bent on returning that small principality to the malignant Empire it broke away from 300 years ago. To do so, he kidnaps and holds spellbound the lovely sorceress Mervion, who, according to prophecy, may play a part in the Chancellor's treason. Mervion's twin, the young huntress and apprentice sorceress Gaultry Blas, must set out to rescue her sister and save the land. With predictable spunk, Gaultry withstands multiple injuries and indignities, including a near-rape and the allure of a wolf-eyed warrior bound to protect her. But before she attains full-blown enchantresshood, the narrative runs amok. Lacking the magic of convincing linguistic invention, first-novelist Reimann conjures up heavy-handed, contradictory plot convolutions that spill enough weltering male blood to blanch the die-hardiest feminist. Her prose shoots off the charts too, with phrases like "eyes agleam with suppressed frenzy." The fantasy is high here, but the execution of it is anything but.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In her first novel, Reimann creates a medieval-type world in which Gaultry Blas, a young witch, must tap into the unknown depths of her magic and embark upon a journey to rescue her twin sister from imprisonment by the chancellor of the realm. The adventurous tale of spells and castings, swordplay, a journey fraught with danger and challenges, and a fiercely independent woman who must rely on a man duty-bound to protect her belongs in most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed 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: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (April 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812549333
• ISBN-13: 978-0812549331
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,411,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent ideas and images, poor execution, November 21, 2005

By 

the_smoking_quill (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wind from a Foreign Sky (The Tielmaran Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Gaultry is a young, beautiful, spirited huntress, who has been raised by her great-aunt, a hedge-witch, on the border of Tielmaran. One day, the outer world cruelly ends her idyllic life, as a squadron of soldiers seeks to abduct her, and she finds herself a key figure in a prophecy that will bless or curse the entire realm.

Ms. Reimann creates, for the most part, a well-imagined world with some fresh touches. However, the kindest thing I can say about her telling of the story is that, this being her first novel, she shows glimmers of potential. To identify the major problems: First, the story begins, for the sake of excitement, as Gaultry and the prophecy are about to collide; consequently, the plot is over-burdened with flashbacks and info-dumps about the history of Tielmaran--information that could have been much more gracefully integrated via an earlier starting point. Second, the magic 'system' involves drawing power from the realm's gods (yet spells are called spells, not prayers), and its workings are never defined well enough to bear the crushing burden of the book's climax, which also spins out of control from Ms. Reimann's inexperienced quill. (An unfortunate example from p. 374: "There was a weird short-circuited merry-go-round through all the bodies in the circle, an unpleasantly long dance, before the Glamour-spirits were properly settled." Note that neither circuits nor merry-go-rounds are otherwise known to exist in Tielmaran.) Finally, several plot-threads are left dangling, presumably for the second and third installments.

Overall, this is worthy of a (cheap) used purchase or a library loan for undemanding fans of escapist fantasy. (Books like Green Rider by Kristen Britain and The Sword by Deborah Chester came to mind as I read this one.) However, I would certainly recommend above all of those, if one can tolerate more vivid descriptions of violence and sexual content, A Game of Thrones by George Martin; The Briar King by Greg Keyes; Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb; Rules of Ascension by David Coe; or anything by Guy Gavriel Kay (especially A Song for Arbonne and Tigana). Two stars.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic fantasy well-done, November 7, 1999

By 

Jennifer Mo - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wind from a Foreign Sky (The Tielmaran Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Katya Reimann's debut novel is surprising in its thorough world-building and exciting (and even) pace. The well developed religion and geography are fascinatingly different; equally interesting is the system of magic used consistently throughout.

Aside from an excellent background, there's also a fast-paced plot with plenty of suspense and surprises and some truly likeable characters. Gaultry's relationship with the male protagonist is one of the more intriguing I've run across-- NOT your usual sappy and predictable romance. And unlike most epic fantasies, Wind has a satisfactory conclusion, though a few strands are left dangling.

What else is there to say? If you like fantasy, try it! While I found the sequel to be a disappointment, Wind from a Foreign Sky is an excellent fantasy.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wind from a Foreign Sky (The Tielmaran Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I generally don't read books in this category, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I couldn't put this book down. I actually read it in one sitting, I was so engrossed. Thinking that perhaps I'd like other books in this genre, I tried a few (on people's recommendations) and was terribly disappointed. This book is an excellent read. I highly recommend it to anyone.