ISBN: 0-451-45143-0 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A first novel full of fighting, sorcery, hard choices of lesser evils, and way too many fantastic elements and sub-plots to be appropriately developed in one book.
Reviewed by David on August 23, 1998
Genre: Fantasy (High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Elves, Demons, Dragons)
Synopsis: Keleios, a half-elven princess is training in magic when her school is brutally attacked by a vicious relatives. On the run with several surviving allies, she has to cope not only with the rapidly multiplying enemies, but also with a dark sorcerer who seems more eager to bed her than to kill her.
Full Review: Even the brief summary seems to indicate the main problem with this first novel. The main character, Keleios, is half-elven princess, a trained fighter, a survivor of demoniac tortures and favors. She is also an herb-witch, a journeyman sorcerer and an enchanter. She is only twenty-one.
There are sorcerers, high priests of dark gods, demons of various ranks, devils, the dark gods themselves, shapeshifting dragons, hungry demigoddesses, succubae, and soul-sucking demon swords.
Her nemesis, Lothor, proves to be a valuable ally, although his single-minded and unscrupulous pursuit of the young half-elf makes him more dangerous to Keleios than many of her diabolical enemies.
Much of the book Keleios spends fighting, rarely winning but always surviving, usually with high price. She is an interesting character, tough and honorable, willing to learn from her mistakes, able to forgive, as well as sacrifice precious things to preserve other, more precious: independence for honor, blood for victory, justice for survival.
Hamilton's Anita Blake series shows much more polish, although the characterization of Anita and Keleios prove quite similar.
This book is complete by itself, but clearly open for a sequel. However, it is probably better if Ms. Hamilton spends her energy on her newer, better crafted universes.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5; World-building: 5; Originality: 5;
Copyright date 1992, Penguin Books (Roc), June 1998, Mass-market, 303 pages
ISBN: 0-451-45143-0 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com