Janice Y. (jai) reviewed on 5/27/2007 + 310 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 11

This is the story of Rialla. As a young woman she belonged to a travelling clan and was a gifted empath, but her family was killed by slavers and she was made a dancing slave in Darran. The carnage of her clan ripped away most of her empathic ability. She escaped the slavers and went to the mercenary country of Sianim where she found a job as a horse trainer. But her life as a horse trainer is interrupted: her past as a slave in Darran makes her the perfect spy. She is sent to protect a lord pushing for the abolishment of slavery so that Darran can ally with Reth (a country which dispises slavery). Sianim's spymaster is convinced that only with the western countries allied can they defeat the East, who have coalesced under one ruler - who says he is the Voice of the god Altis. Rialla becomes a spy to avenge herself and to help the slaves still in Darran. A surprisingly easy read: went quicker than I expected. The story lacked a little something (maybe I never felt enough hardship in her story - too many convenient things happen that aid our protagonist), but a solid good read nonetheless. A note for fans of Briggs' Mercy Thompson series: that is urban fantasy, unlike this series which is straightforward fantasy, so the style is rather different.

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