The King of Idris has known for years that he would send his daughter Vivenna to marry the heathen God King of Hallandren. He is convinced that war will break out between the two nations within a year. So, sending his daughter to the foreign court is a mere formality, a stalling technique. He questions using Vivenna, a wise, dutiful, pious daughter as a token when she could be a help to her people. Almost at last moment he decides to send his youngest daughter--Siri, rebellions, hot-headed, and flamboyant into the clutches of his enemy.
After being introduced into the court of Hallandren Siri discovers secrets about the God King that could put her, as well as him, in grave danger. The gods are posturing and aligning in preparation for the coming war, and Lightsong the Bold, who does not believe in his own divinity, is faced with difficult decisions. He has control over a large portion of the Kings armies, and others are tying to influence how he will manage them in the rumored conflict.
Meanwhile, Vivenna, decides it is time to manage her own fate, and makes a secret trip to Hallandren to rescue her little sister Siri from the God King.
So, I’ve been a Sanderson fan since the first Mistborn book. I totally got my husband hooked right after we got married, and The Well of Ascension came out. So we are a Sanderson fan household. My husband and I both agreed on this one. It is a good book, and a nice read but it doesn’t beat out the Mistborn series. Still, I enjoyed reading this one there is more romance, less fighting scenes, and a lot of political intrigue. I like the political intrigue, history, and economics that Sanderson puts into his books. It makes his worlds feel more real and complex. The best part is that he really knows how to center his characters in these conflicts so they can really shine. That was one thing Sanderson did really well in this book, to give all of his characters interesting internal journeys. I feel like all of the characters had to grow to overcome a conflict, which was then successfully resolved in this book, and that makes for a really satisfying read.
The only thing I really didn’t like is that when the book ends I’m not sure that the problems that existed in his world changed. When I put the book down I wasn’t sure if Hallandren and Idris were better off or worse off. I felt like the problems between them didn’t really change, or get resolved. This book felt a bit more edgy to me, but not offensively so. I could see conservative LDS readers getting mad because characters’ immodest clothing is described in detail. The court of the gods his immoral elements to it, referenced often in character dialogue. Nothing explicit in that area, and I’ve read worse, but I thought it would be nice to give a heads up. It’s annoying to get surprised by content from a book you expected to be completely clean.
3 comments:
I didn't know you were a writer!? I found you through Tristi Pinkston's writing challenge. I signed up for it to. That is awesome, and I wish you good luck for your Work in Progress!:)
Thanks! Yeah, I've been writing since middle school. I'm currently doing bad on the writing challenge. I just can't settle down on a project and so I'm sort of distracted. Hopefully, I'll get some more writing done today. :)
I saw this one at Borders the other day. I ALMOST bought it. I still need to finish the 3rd book in the Mistborn trilogy, then I'm planning to read this one. It sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!
Post a Comment