Scan barcode
A review by tita_noir
Medalon by Jennifer Fallon
2.0
This is the first in a three-book trilogy known as the Demon Child trilogy.
In Medalon, the Sisters of the Blade are the law and they believe in a society of laws and science. They do not believe in nor do they allow the worship of Gods. As a matter of fact, current Medalon society is built from the persecution of an immortal race of magical beings known as the Harshini. The Harshini were a sort of bridge between Gods and Humans and were a gentle and loving people who, although they could touch magic, could not kill or hate.
Centuries ago, the Sisters of the Blade and their male military protectors known as the Defenders, purged all Harshini. In this they were ably abetted by their neighbors to the North, The Kariens, fanatical worshipers of the God Xaphista and whose theocratic rulers' sole purpose is the decimation of any and all Harshini.
Many believe that the Harshini are dead and gone, myths from old stories. But still others believe they are in hiding, biding their time to return. And that they will send before them a Demon Child, a half-Human/Half-Harshini who has all the magic of the Harshini but none of the killing squeamishness. This Demon's Child's raison d'etre is to kill the God Xaphista.
Into this comes R'Shiel a young novice in the Sisters of the Blade and her half-brother Tarja, a Defender of some reknown. They get caught up in the power-hungry machinations of their mother in her quest to capture the highest office in the land, First sister and end up defying her and going on the run.
I had read and ADORED, Jennifer Fallon's Warlord trilogy. So after reading that, I had to go out and see what else she had written. I was hesitant at first to get this first series because I had so enjoyed the Warlord series and this one takes place in the same time/place as that one. But this one was written first and I really didn't want to go backwards. But I decided to anyway.
Well, at first, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that although this trilogy was written first, it actually takes place chronologically later than the Warlord series. So I could revisit those characters I liked and see what they were doing.
However, my pleasant surprise soon waned. I settled in happily enough to read this and it starts off great. But the middle half of the book drags interminably. There seemed to be an endless loop of circumstances where either R'Shiel or Traja or both are in mortal danger and need to be rescued by each other. In a fantasy novel of this sort, your main protagonists should be in danger for appreciable amounts of time, it is expected. But this just read as pure tedium. I was so astonished by how unreadable it was. In some cases, I skipped whole passages.
Luckily, the last third of the book picks up and redeems the book to the point that I do plan to read the next book.
But I was really disappointed in this after how great her other series is. This book had none of the verve, none of the flair and none of the character deliciousness of the other series. I hope that doesn't continue into the next two books of this series.
In Medalon, the Sisters of the Blade are the law and they believe in a society of laws and science. They do not believe in nor do they allow the worship of Gods. As a matter of fact, current Medalon society is built from the persecution of an immortal race of magical beings known as the Harshini. The Harshini were a sort of bridge between Gods and Humans and were a gentle and loving people who, although they could touch magic, could not kill or hate.
Centuries ago, the Sisters of the Blade and their male military protectors known as the Defenders, purged all Harshini. In this they were ably abetted by their neighbors to the North, The Kariens, fanatical worshipers of the God Xaphista and whose theocratic rulers' sole purpose is the decimation of any and all Harshini.
Many believe that the Harshini are dead and gone, myths from old stories. But still others believe they are in hiding, biding their time to return. And that they will send before them a Demon Child, a half-Human/Half-Harshini who has all the magic of the Harshini but none of the killing squeamishness. This Demon's Child's raison d'etre is to kill the God Xaphista.
Into this comes R'Shiel a young novice in the Sisters of the Blade and her half-brother Tarja, a Defender of some reknown. They get caught up in the power-hungry machinations of their mother in her quest to capture the highest office in the land, First sister and end up defying her and going on the run.
I had read and ADORED, Jennifer Fallon's Warlord trilogy. So after reading that, I had to go out and see what else she had written. I was hesitant at first to get this first series because I had so enjoyed the Warlord series and this one takes place in the same time/place as that one. But this one was written first and I really didn't want to go backwards. But I decided to anyway.
Well, at first, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that although this trilogy was written first, it actually takes place chronologically later than the Warlord series. So I could revisit those characters I liked and see what they were doing.
However, my pleasant surprise soon waned. I settled in happily enough to read this and it starts off great. But the middle half of the book drags interminably. There seemed to be an endless loop of circumstances where either R'Shiel or Traja or both are in mortal danger and need to be rescued by each other. In a fantasy novel of this sort, your main protagonists should be in danger for appreciable amounts of time, it is expected. But this just read as pure tedium. I was so astonished by how unreadable it was. In some cases, I skipped whole passages.
Luckily, the last third of the book picks up and redeems the book to the point that I do plan to read the next book.
But I was really disappointed in this after how great her other series is. This book had none of the verve, none of the flair and none of the character deliciousness of the other series. I hope that doesn't continue into the next two books of this series.