There are a lot of things to like about this book, and there's one major problem.
On the pro side: the world is fascinating and its cultures and theologies are very complex.
The characters are decidedly unique and the relationships between them feel both real and layered.
The plot sparks and sustains the reader's interest once what's going on finally becomes clear - something that doesn't happen until several chapters into the book.
On the con side: the exceptionally dense world building creates a major obstacle for the reader, and the indices at the back of the book don't provide enough help in sorting things out.
My suggestions: move the indices to the front of the book and group entries by association, not just alphabetically. For instance, there are four distinct types of allegiance possible between gods and beings. The existing index lists them alphabetically by type, so they're all over the place, rather than having one entry titled 'allegiance' with subtitles for 'adopted', 'bestowed', 'born' and 'taken.' Characters should be listed by family, country or association, not by name. The entry on vampirism needs to explain more about how vampires are made and how they live, so the reader can understand Rian's experience in the early chapters and how being 'Bound' to Heriat will affect her and define her relationship with him.
Instead, the author leaves the reader to flounder in what's a very deep sea and it doesn't serve. After finishing the book and rereading the indices, I still have no answers to some of my questions about what happened in some parts of the book, and what some of the choices Rian and Eluned made will actually mean for them in the long term.
In short, however, it's a really good book if you can keep reading long enough to sort out the important parts of what's happening and who's who. It's very well written, the author's understanding of people is deeply rooted, and I ended up caring a lot about some of the main characters. It's mostly the mechanics of some things that still have me stymied, and I expect that future books will help me understand them better.
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martine gillesReviewed in France on October 12, 2015
restée sur le bord de la route pendant que l'histoire continuait ...
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