Discount Price: $7.99
Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780441002733
ISBN number: 0441002730
Label: Ace
Manufacturer: Ace
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: November 01, 1995
Publishing house: Ace
Sale Popularity Level: 11012
Studio: Ace
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A new look for a New York Times bestselling author.
Patricia Briggs' 'unique' (Kliatt) novel of a slave, swordwielder, and spy gets a second life with an exciting new package to attract the fans that made her Mercy Thompson novels bestsellers.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
Bottom Line: Try before you buy
I had read the Mercy series by Briggs, so I was expecting something along those same lines, in the quality of writing and quality of story.
However, this book was a complete surprise because it did not match the Mercy series in the slightest way..not even a hint of it. And the reason, it's a much earlier work of the author's...like 1995.
Setting that aside, as a stand alone story, it was just 'okay'. Nothing great, nothing fantastic, nothing to write home about. Basically predictable from the story to the characters.
I'd recommend the Mercy series by the same author much more than this book.
Or if you want fantasy adventure, The Blade Itself, Winterbirth, Boderlands series by Lorna Freeman, Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman.
Rated by buyers 
-
This was my very first decent in a Patricia Briggs novel and I was sorely disappointed. I found the characters weak and the story forced. At the end of the novel I felt dissatisfied in the way I had spent my time. But the novel seems to have been given good reviews as a whole so maybe it's just me.
Rated by buyers -
The story, the execution, the characters and the setting all compare favorably to the bulk of Sword and Sorcery novels. Patricia Briggs is definitely worth reading and someone to keep an eye on the career of for the subsequent fifty years or so. This was my very first Briggs story, it won't be my last. I particularly like the growth of the main character as the story progresses.
Rated by buyers 
-
I cannot help but think that all of the five star reviews on this book are out of loyalty to Patricia Briggs, who has written some very good books in the fantasy genre. And I honestly remember liking this book a lot better when it very first came out-- in fact, I have held onto my very first copy all these years. But a thoughtful rereading had me cringing a bit at my early enthusiasm for this particular story.
The very first part is quite weak. There is way too much "tell" and not enough "show" as Briggs introduces former slave dancer, current horse trainer Rialla; Ren-the spymaster of Sianim; and Laeth a sometime nobleman, current mercenary. The characters are remarkably flat. Rialla for instance has more than a touch of Mary Sue in her with her blue hair, purple eyes, empathic ability and the ability to be the best dancer and horse trainer evah! Laeth is the wild younger son who ran away to become a mercenary to help deal with his dispair at losing the love of his life to his brother-- of course it was his own darn fault; and Ren is this enigmatic character who "knows all".
Other problems I had with the book was the failure of Briggs to set rules for her magic and abide by them. Rialla and Tris, a character met a little later in the book, both come up with new skills when they are needed. For instance Rialla remembers just at the last minute that she had the power to distract someone from an object she is carrying. Tris suddenly has the ability to disguise himself as a potted plant or a wobbly legged bench. He can also cause a wooden door to disintegrate into sawdust (leaving the hardware hanging in mid air) then reconstitute it.
The coincidences and plot holes are amazing. When Tris needs to be human it just so happens that he has carpentry skills, the old carpenter had died a year ago and the old carpenter's apprentice had gone to the city, leaving behind the old carpenter's tools. At one time we are told that he has made a promise in return for help in a bad situation to stay in the village as their healer. Then when he wants to leave he mentions that he only promised to stay for a year and now it's been two, besides there is a pretty good healer in the village now.
Then at some point it seems like nearly every character has some sort of magic power. There are also characters who are just introduced without any back ground or character to be killed or injured and help move the plot along-- Star Trek fans would recognize Red Shirts*. And the plot holes, oh, the plot holes. I cannot detail them or I'll spoil the story but you could drive an armored troop of mercenaries through some of them.
I really can't say that reading this book is totally unpleasurable. Occasionally there is some flash of the talent that Briggs has shown in her works since and she deals with themes that she comes back to later with a more mature writing skill so if someone is interested in the progress of a writer it is worth reading. But if you care about good story telling be prepared to be frustrated at times.
N.B. This review would have been a lot shorter if I had had not read this book on the Kindle and entered notes on the device everytime something struck me as wrong.
*Red Shirts are crew members on the Enterprise (nearly always wearing a blue shirt, hence the name) whose sole reason for existence is to be killed during the fight scenes.
Rated by buyers -
this book is a great game of chess...with pieces moving across the board in a strategy that does not become clear until the end of the book. i liked it. it was well written and entertaining
Find other books like this one:
