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adularia25's review against another edition
4.0
There is no other heroine quite like Rifkind. She is a healer and a warrior - a mage and a fighter - and rides a freakin' war unicorn - OK, it's just a telepathic horned horse, but still! She is both outcast from her own society and all the societies she travels to. She is a square peg in a world that is a round hole, and she forces the world to fit to her standards - not the other way around. She is tough, resourceful and able to get in, and more importantly, out, of any situation. Also - if you can find a copy with the illustrations - they are worth it!
spiringempress's review against another edition
3.0
I like to browse the shelves at 2nd & Charles for fantasy novels that never make any top one-hundred lists. Last time, I happened upon this book and immediately fell in love with the cover; a cool female heroine in a traditional male pose with a horse that has horns - um sign me up. And, while the plot did not follow any of fantasy's traditional forms, it still was overall a little lacking.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
spiringempress's review
3.0
I like to browse the shelves at 2nd & Charles for fantasy novels that never make any top one-hundred lists. Last time, I happened upon this book and immediately fell in love with the cover; a cool female heroine in a traditional male pose with a horse that has horns - um sign me up. And, while the plot did not follow any of fantasy's traditional forms, it still was overall a little lacking.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
The story follows Rifkind, an Asheeran woman from the desert, who is exiled from her clan. Both a warrior and a healer, Rifkand foretold the destruction of her clan and tried to warn her crippled father and foolish brother. However, the entire clan is slaughtered and after examining the remains, Rifkand starts to wander. She is accompanied by her horse, Turin, who shares an emotional connection with the woman, and a giant red ruby that belonged to her mother. While wandering the desert, Rifkand encounters An-Soren, another exiled Asheeran, who desperately wants her ruby.
Plagued by this sorcerer's presence, Rifkand ventures into the wetlands, a semi-European state, and finds herself embroiled with the politics of the land. There is strife between the king and his lower nobility, who see him as weak, for letting an Asheeran sorcerer beguile his queen and slowly take over his state Rifkand, an outsider and seen as a witch for her magical prowess, finds herself tasked with the responsibility of taking down An-Soren by the leader in the mountains, who is wrapped up the political game, and equally as dangerous.
It's a political intrigue with a brash woman at the center. And it's definitely interesting, but I felt like the narrative was a little distant. I wanted to really like Rifkand, but her characterization was hard to connect to. Perhaps, it's the era of the time, but I wanted to see Rifkand become a little softer. Her pupil deserts her and she defeats the only other Asheeran in the wetlands with no emotion really. I wanted a very Man of Steel moment. Maybe, I'm used to YA fiction, and part of me thinks that Rifkand is one of a kind because she doesn't flinch, she never hesitates and is always brutally honest but she never grows.
stormc's review
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
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