Can't remember what exactly inspired me to start a re-read of this series but I'm not sorry I did. It's a fantastic medieval European fantasy series (truly a great depiction of a medieval Europe -inspired setting) that feels so real; from the most desperate of war refugees to the daimones of the Upper Spheres to the working economy... Do yourself a favor and read this series if you haven't already.

Book One is an excellent opener that very smoothly introduces the reader to the excellent cast of characters, the various intrigues of the court and surrounding kingdoms, the religious traditions of Wendar & Varre, and how magic is accepted (or not) in the world.

Liath and Rosvita are probably my favorite characters throughout the entire series and it can be hard to go through Liath's experiences in this one (as Liath says, calling Hugh a pig is an insult to pigs) but I console myself by imagining, in another time, that Rosvita would be a professor and Liath would be her PhD candidate and they would produce amazing research in perfect, inquisitive harmony with each other. ( )

El rey Henry de Wendar se encuentra rodeado de amenazas. Su hermana Sabella trama una guerra civil, una raza de seres inhumanos está arrasando la costa norte y su corte le presiona para que nombre a su heredero. Los espíritus campan a sus anchas y oscuras manifestaciones se suceden. Mientras, dos muchachos deben salvar sus vidas en un entorno en extremo peligroso: Alain, un huérfano destinado a la Iglesia pero que juró fidelidad a la Dama de la Guerra cuando ésta se le apareció, y Liath, que ha aprendido las artes mágicas prohibidas de mano de su padre.

I think most successful Fantasy novels written in the last 15 years have some twist or signature element that sets them apart from the others. This book, 20 years old, doesn't have a particular hook. Instead, it is a competent attempt at telling the typical Hero's Journey archetype with a couple of interesting wrinkles. Language and events from Christianity are borrowed and inserted into the Fantasy setting. For example, the characters talk about "pentekoste", an event at which tongues of flame appeared above the heads of believers and they became able to understand languages they don't speak. The book didn't have any commentary or strong opinion on the real things it was referencing except maybe to highlight how male-dominated Christianity is, and I found its straightforward borrowing of religious terms, stories, and characters to be distracting.

The characters were generally well-formed and worth investing in, but I found the story a little disappointing. This book reads very much as the first entry in a single multi-volume story, with a great deal of setup and background without very much payoff. I haven't decided yet whether I'll seek out the next book in this series.

Words I learned from this book:
Faience - A sort of Earthenware decorated with colorful glazes.
floralegia - From Latin, literally a gathering of flowers, in Medieval usage a compilation of excerpts from other writings.
soughing - To make a moaning, whistling, or rushing sound.
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A fantasy novel set in historical Europe following a young woman and man finding their place in a warring kingdom. The world is a typical historical European setting but with different fantasy races and magic. There is also a strong focus on powerful women. The plot is slow as the characters build and more elements of the world are demonstrated. The main characters are well written and believable, but take time to be enjoyable. The book gets better the farther it goes a long. There are a few romance pieces that I just don't really get. The ending is good and I feel like this book really set up the series. I wouldn't recommend this book if not committed to moving forward as there are a lot of plotlines that are unanswered. ( )

To tell the truth, I found this book to be quite tedious for the most part. There were so many details and extra storylines that in my opinion could be left out, or at least shortened considerably.

The book began really slowly for me, and I was not super interested in the characters – definitely not in Alain's POV at first. However, it did pick up quite fast from there - I found Liath's portions with Hugh to be harrowing but engrossing and I enjoyed them.

Then, around the 300-page mark, I'd say, things began to slow down again and I was more or less forcing myself to read.

Still, the writing was very solid throughout, and the story was interesting though there were certain points of view I just didn't care for. There were many political and religious information that wearied me, or that I didn't find entirely plausible. And again, I was barely at all invested in the characters. I'm not sure why – they just didn't appeal to me all that much, and that's a big let-down, because more than anything, good characters is what I'm looking for when I read a book. Maybe I was just not in the mood to like them, I don't know.

Thankfully, the ending was a saving grace for me, because although I suspected it would happen that way, it left me hoping for a better sequel. So despite my misgivings I am going to continue on with the series, hoping that it indeed gets better even if it doesn't get any more concise (the following books are only getting longer). But high fantasy is never straight to the point, so I'm willing to forge through it and just enjoy the fantasy elements themselves, the strange creatures and magics and worlds - hopefully I will also grow to care for the main characters more.

Reading this review over now, I realize it sounds almost like I did not enjoy this book at all. I did, for parts of it. It was just very long, too long. But for people who like fantasy, it's a pretty decent read anyway. At least, a decent beginning for a series.
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