Bloodrights (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stepping away from the SF thriller milieu of her first two novels (Looking for the Mahdi and Faraday's Orphans), Wood turns her attention to fantasy, with less successful results. Antonya is an orphan raised by an isolated sect of monks, who have been murdered in one of the Faith's frequent Purges, killing sprees intended to cleanse the land of heretics and other dangerous souls. Now Antonya intends to take revenge against the protector of the Faith, the treacherous Lord P'tre Terhune. Her first step is to gain the allegiance of the lordless warrior Kerric of Myro, telling him she is Terhune's niece. With Kerric's contacts, Antonya builds an army to threaten P'tre Terhune's kingdom. Terhune has troubles of his own at home: constant court intrigues and power plays between himself and the depraved old high Priest of the Faith, K'ferrin, and K'ferrin's grandson, B'nach. To defeat Terhune, Antonya will have to become as ruthless and inhuman as he is, ready to sacrifice anything for the ultimate goal. The novel strives to address important points on morality, hypocrisy and power with its braided plot, but character development is sacrificed in order to do so. Too many playersAsuch as a dangerous ex-Assassin, a boy who may fulfill a grand Prophecy and two warriors who leave P'tre Terhune's guard to support AntonyaAseem to exist merely to satisfy particular plot points, never becoming integral parts of the story. Infrequent flashbacks to Antonya's idyllic childhood at the monastery add little, and summary exposition frequently replaces storytelling to keep the plot moving. Readers who can overlook these weaknesses, however, will find a fast-paced adventure story with plenty of action and intrigue. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With the aid of a mercenary Defender, Antonya Terhune takes up arms to win back the lands stolen from her family by a lecherous and greedy uncle. Along the way, Antonya learns the necessity of compromise, the sting of betrayal, and the bitterness of lost love. The author of Looking for the Mahdi uses fantasy as a vehicle to explore the creation of a personal myth as her heroine battles her way to a position of power and respect while carving a better destiny for her world. A good choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 501 pages
• Publisher: Ace (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441007635
• ISBN-13: 978-0441007639
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,241,922 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #5 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wood, N. Lee

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Always did like happy endings, November 2, 2000

By	M. Woodman (Canton, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the second N. Lee Wood book I have read, the other being Looking for the Mahdi. Both were excellent. There was good reason for that New Yorks Time Notable review.

Bloodrights is a book I found hilarious, especially the last chapter, too bad it wouldn't make sense without the rest of the book. Antonya is a wonderful heroine, even if she gets a bit confused in the middle. Wood likes making her characters grow. This book has excellent characterization and an interesting plot. It is an easy read, so don't be intimidated by the thickness, it only took me 24 hrs on and off. Just a warning, N. Lee Wood likes ruining her characters, but don't worry, everything is always better in the end. She also seems to like happy endings. Thankfully unlike some other authors Wood is nice enough to tell us what happens to the characters after the book.

I was hooked by the first chapter. If you like fantasy mixed with liberal doses of action and intrigue this is a book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense, exciting, gratifying!, October 11, 2000

By	Hank Schwartz "banjo & SciFi" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

N. Lee Wood's "Bloodrights" begins in the small confines of a feudal wintery forest as we travel through it with Antonya and begin to learn about this curious young woman who may be a thief, a spy, or one of the Wierd. She is remarkably strong, resourceful and self-reliant.

Our concept of her universe grows as we watch her deftly track and eventually capture the magnificent Defender Kerrick who, despite himself, is enlisted in her growing plans.

The action quickly rises as the two play out a scheme to overturn local kingdoms and consolidate them into a force sufficient to attack the Citadel itself.

The plot surges to new heights and then suddenly drops back before plunging upward yet again. Surprises abound and keep us firmly in the relentless grip of this story.

Like a snowball that has turned into an avalance, events explode in deadly and unexpected ways until we finally pass beyond the turmoil and suffering to the hard won conclusion of this wonderful tale.

The many characters and circumstances are all finely wrought and intensely believable. They are strong people at the limits of their abilities to act or to cope with the powerful twists of the fate that is testing them. Their relationships are as fascinating as their personalities. I was particularly intrigued by Antonya's connection to Kerrick and to Morgan the Assassin.

I found Wood's first novel "Looking For The Mahdi" to be an excellent read but was disappointed by "Farraday's Orphans". "Bloodrights" is an exciting and gratifying read and fully redeems my faith in Wood.

I highly recommend it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bloodrights, June 27, 2002

By A Customer

I loved Faraday's Orphans. I was surprised at how bad this was. There's scarcely an original bone in the body of this pseudo-medieval, lumberingly written tome. There's a princess trying to get her kingdom back. There are thewed warriors and sexy assassins and all such things. The structure actually has its interesting points, and the author avoids the worst genre cliches, but the writing was so dull and mundane that I found the book unreadable.