Captive Prince & Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat

The impossible just happened.

I read a series that restored my faith in romance novels.

Yes, I know. I'm as shocked as you. I honestly never thought this would happen. I gave up years ago, burned out on poorly written supernatural romance or Mills and Boon that sacrificed characterization for sex and plot (always in that order) and thinly veiled rape scenes (yeah, you wish I was joking). I'll read it for the porn, obviously, but I gave up pretending there was anything like higher art to it.

Then I cracked open the Captive Prince... okay, so I pressed the button to turn my kindle on... and rediscovered hope.

The Captive Prince was sexy, it was imaginative, it didn't do the literary equivalent of throwing characterization out of a moving car. In fact it cradled characterization to its manly bosom and made sweet tender love to it.

Yes, I went there. I wrote that sentence. Because it happened.

The premise is your standard sexy slavery premise. (Been there, done that, hidden the books where no casual peruser of my bookshelf can ever find them.) The prince Damon is betrayed by his bastard half-brother and sold as a pleasure slave to a neighbouring enemy kingdom. Trapped in this decadent foreign culture, he has to survive a power struggle with his new owner, prince Laurent, and escape home to re-take his throne. You can already see the sexy questionably-consensual shenanigans coming, no pun intended.

But this book focuses on what romance novels usually ignore. The characters. Specifically, their motivations, their loyalties, their place in the world. These things aren't warped to shape the plot, they're what drives the plot. They're the reason the two leads despise one another, and the reason they eventually come to a grudging respect (pun intended). Despite there being very little sex, at least between the two leads, the delicious slow-winding tension proves what I've suspected all these years - good characterization can be sexy.

The world-building is no slouch either. In case you haven't figured it out, this is male-male romance and the author's taken an unusual tactic in normalizing it. Apparently in Laurent's culture there's a superstitious dread attached to bastards, so in order to safely engage in premarital sex, the upper classes openly keep same-sex 'pets'. Interestingly Damon's culture has no stigma against either kind of sex, and he accuses Laurent's people  of 'making things needlessly complicated for themselves'. In a way it's representative of the two cultures and two men; Laurent is all elaborate schemes and hidden agendas while Damon is bluntly straightforward and blind to nuance. It's one of the reasons they consistently misunderstand one another and also turn out to be very good for each other.

Readers should be aware that this is the first book of a trilogy. The first two have been released, but the third won't be out until February. Both are a decent length with self-contained stories and incredibly addictive. I hopped straight from the Captive Prince to Prince's Gambit, even though I had work the next day. On a more serious note, some readers may find certain subject matter disturbing. Sexual assault is threatened and depicted, and child abuse is discussed. I respect the author for actually addressing these issues instead of pretending slavery is all sunshine and rainbows, but some readers may want to steer clear.

If that doesn't bother you, I highly recommend these books. They're not going to win the next Miles Franklin Award but they perform spectacularly well inside their niche and aren't afraid to take chances. Brisbane fans also note that the author is going to be at Supanova this month so it's a great chance to get your stuff signed and thank her for her part in guiding the romance genre out of the dark place Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey took it to in recent years.

It was a novel experience, reading romance without the shame or regret or bitter self-loathing, but I think I like it.

"A golden prince was easy to love if you did not have to watch him picking wings off flies."

Five Worst Fathers in Australian Fantasy

Father's Day is come and gone, and I've decided to incorporate this into my next article; the five worst father or father figures in Australian fantasy. Why the worst? Because whinging about things is easier than praising them, obviously.

To be fair, what's happening here is
only partly due to StarDrifter's
absentee parenting...

Remember, these are not the King Magnuses or StarDrifters of the world. These are not fathers who tried their best, but made mistakes or bad judgement calls. These are the fathers that either didn't give a damn or went out of their way to make their kid's life hell.

Remember,*SPOILERS BELOW*. 

***

5. Galen Flint from The Last Stormlord
He's a minor character who only appears in the first book, but I argue he is indirectly responsible for every bad thing that happens in that series. His solution to abject poverty is to drink until he forgets about it and his reaction to his son's god-like power is to terrify him into hiding it. If this guy had been even remotely supportive, Shale would have showed his abilities to the Rainlords, the Rainlords would have taken him to the Cloudlord in time to learn rain summoning properly, and Taquar would never have got his greasy mitts on the throne. There's a lesson here; good parenting can save the world.

A naive, lonely sorcerer
with god- like power and
daddy issues..just what every
demon wants!

4. Michael from Mage Heart
How to mess up a kid; buy her from her desperate mother, lie to her about the circumstances, teach her to fear and despise her own gender, isolate her within her own culture, then die leaving her alone in the world. Small wonder Dion keeps playing around with demons; she is so deeply confused about her own sexuality I'm surprised she doesn't have a breakdown every time a man stops to ask her the time.

3. Longfield from Tender Morsels
Honestly, this guy doesn't even merit the title of father. Abusive rapist jerkass that deserves to be eaten by a bear is closer. You know what, on second thought, I'm taking Longfield off this list and saving him for that 'most contemptible characters you'd like to bury in a swamp' list I'm working on.

3. Battu from Prophecy's Ruin
Another text-book demonstration on how to screw up a child. Granted, we can't quite put the blame for Losara and Bel's severing on Battu; he wasn't even in the same country when that happened. But we can blame him for stealing a child from loving parents, raising him in an atmosphere that's by turns neglectful and oppressive, grooming him for a battle quite literally against his own self, and attempting to manipulate his affections for Battu's own selfish agenda. Luckily Losara doesn't have any pesky 'feelings' and manipulates him right back. Happy Father's day, Battu. You deserve everything that comes to you.

Not only did Gayed raise a
fanatically loyal psychic
assassin, he was genre
savvy enough to die before
she inevitably turned on him.

2. General Gayed from the Mirage Makers
This guy is clearly taking notes from Battu and Michael. He also steals a child from loving parents, brainwashes her to serve his own agenda and turns her against her own identity in fundamentally damaging ways.
The difference is he's actually good at it. Considering Ligea is psychic, the fact that he has her so twisted round she believes he loves her is kind of impressive... in a sick, horrifying, you-bastard kind of way.

1. Everyone from Evil Genius
And for the winner we have a group nomination; Cadel's adoptive father, his secret imprisoned father, and his psychologist father-figure. All of them work together to manipulate Cadel in deliberate, callous ways and screw him up severely. Really it's mostly luck that he didn't turn out a raving psychopath like they were hoping. Fortunately he has the sense to go find himself a healthy father-figure elsewhere or we'd have a lot more to worry about than a toddler playing god with the Sydney public transport system.

So there you have it - the five worst of the worst fathers in Australian fantasy. This will either destroy your faith in fatherhood or make you appreciate the one you have. One of the two.

Stormlord's Exhile by Glenda Larke

Stormlord's Exile was everything I was hoping for.

This finale to the Watergivers trilogy pays off on existing storylines and while following the usual form of fantasy novels, managed to do a lot that was new and different. It's one of the things I can always count on Glenda Larke for, to give me a traditional fantasy with non-traditional elements. (For an example on how to bore me to tears, see Eregon).

One positive aspect I mentioned in my review of the first novel was the world-building, and that hasn't changed. I love this world's distinctive culture and priorities. It's definitely not the usual medieval-style world. In fact, I believe it's meant to be futuristic Australia, which is probably why it resonates so deeply with me. If I were a mad genius that could engineer humans to have a super-power to survive the fall of the civilization, the ability to manipulate water would be top of the list. (That or immunity to any kind of venom - the number of times I came close to being bitten as a kid kind of freaks me out in retrospect...)

Moving on, the characters are straightforward while losing none of their complexity. Jasper's feud with his brother ended in an unexpected way that was oddly satisfying, and I enjoyed the twist in the storyline involving Laisa and Senya. Laisa is the most perfect villain ever, because she's not really a villain; she's a survivor. At one point in the book, someone muses that while Taquar has no true moral code, Laisa does, but is perfectly capable of putting it aside when it conflicts with her self-interest. Senya could be taken as a deconstruction and reconstruction of the annoying two-dimensional love-rival cliche. No spoilers, but a lot of things I found previously irritating about her are explained here.

I can't go into much more details without ruining the plot, but I was very happy with how this trilogy turned out. It's the kind I'd love to see turned into a movie or mini-series. George Miller would direct, Claudia Black would be Laisa, Rose McIver would be Ryka. I give this book a big red stamp of approval.

One thing I should note is that Stormlord's Exhile was rather hard to find. I eventually hard to order in from Pulp Fiction in the city (FYI, they are amazing. Very friendly and very reasonable prices). Apparently there were only 11 copies left with Harper-Collins and it's no longer in print, so if you want a brand new edition, you'd better hop to it.

"We have lived too long attached to our past, a past that should mean nothing anymore."

Master Post - High Fantasy

See below my masterlist of fantasy I've read (not comprehensive - still updating). Those marked in red have been reviewed, those in black haven't been. Links are included. 

I've split this list into separate sections, to make it easier to navigate. Enjoy!

Epic:

Books or series in the style of Tolkien or Robert Jordan where the world-building is vast and the action is big. 


The Broken Well trilogy by Sam Bowring - An interesting deconstruction of the black and white encoded morality common to high fantasy. Contains a very genre-savvy villain, for a given value of 'villain'.

Strange Threads by Sam Bowring - Series featuring a very disturbing villain, but has an interesting take on magic as an aberration rather than a natural phenomenon.

The Black Magician by Trudi Canavan - A series about a low-born girl who discovers she has forbidden magic.

The Bitterbynde by Cecilia Dark-Thornton - The first book of this series contains fascinating ideas about memory and identity, but the second and third are a huge letdown. Recommended cautiously.

Battle Axe by Sara Douglass - First book of the Axis trilogy. A fairytale on a bad acid trip and my first love in high fantasy. Also see the sequel Enchanter and Starman. 

The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass - Sequel series to the above Axis Trilogy, wherein every bad decision comes back to haunt the characters. Cruelly knocks down every trope set up in the prequels and makes me love it anyway.

Beyond the Hanging Wall by Sara Douglass - Stand-alone book. One of Douglass' early works. A decent read about restoration of the rightful ruler to a land.

DarkGlass Mountain by Sara Douglass - Series that's both sequel and canon-welding for the Wayfarer Redemption and Beyond the Hanging Wall. A definite must-read for any fans of the previous trilogies, but anyone else should probably avoid.

Medalon by Jennifer Fallon - I had some serious problems with the brother-sister relationship, as outlined in my review. I'm much more fond of the sequel Treason Keep, which introduces the very likable Princess Arina.

Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon - The main female character was a moronic twit, but everyone else was fine and the world-building was original. A friend of mine with usually good taste loves this series, if that makes a difference.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan - Gorgeous writing of a world where reality is not quite what it seems. Deals with nasty topics like rape and incest, but doesn't fetishize them.

The Quickening by Fiona McIntosh - No, not the Highlander phenomenon. Though I guess it does have a few things in common. The magic in this series is simple, logical and wreaks an almighty amount of havok. Highly recommended. 

Valisar by Fiona McIntosh - I never got beyond the first book, however, she has done great things with other series, so it may have improved.

Fisherman's Children by Karen Miller - Some nice world-building, but the main character really annoyed me.

Power and Majesty by Tansy Raynor Roberts - I avoid the sequels, but the first is a fantastically entertaining piece of decadent world-building.

Splashdance Silver by Tancy Rayner Roberts - One of the few comedies on this list, in the style of Terry Pratchett. Riffs high fantasy so hard it will have you in stitches. Also see the sequel Liquid Gold.

The Dark Griffin by KJ Taylor - A well-thought out take-that at bond animals with an omniscient morality licence. Tackles themes of discrimination and racism. 

Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins* - First book of an unpredictable tragedy with characters that are neither good nor evil, and leaves just enough threads dangling for the sequel Sisters of Fire. Can't wait to see where this series goes.

Non-Western:

Books or series that have imaginative world-building - not the usual Western medieval fare. 

Born of Empire by Simon Brown - Has some great world-building, but falls down in plot, characters and just about everything else.

Threshold by Sara Douglass - Depicts a very problematic relationship with serious issues of consent, but still an extremely entertaining read about an Eldritch abomination trying to devour a world resembling ancient Egypt.

Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn - A beautifully written depicting of changing times within a Japanese-like culture.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff - A book about an assassin school set in a civilization reminiscent of ancient Rome. By turns hilarious and tragic. Thoroughly recommended.

Watergivers by Glenda Larke - A power struggle set in a barren world where the aristocracy has the ability to manipulate water. Thoughtful exploration of the harsh realities of this system.

Mirage Makers by Glenda Larke - A great main character with an interesting mix of honor and underhandedness, torn between the culture she was born into and the one she was raised by. I've read the first book, but am struggling to get through the second.

The Aware by Glenda Larke - Contains a kick-ass female protagonist. Not my favorite book, but a good way to spend a few hours.

Havenstar by Glenda Larke - Walks a fine line between science fiction and magic in a dark dystopian future. Great story with a very sensible, cynical protagonist.

Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller - Vivid characters struggling through a brutal, violent world. Though the first book was set in a fascinatingly different culture, the second and third revert to standard medieval fare (but are still very good!).

Romance:

Books that focus mostly on romantic relationships. 


The Last T'En by Cory Daniells - A combination romance and political thriller, where the last of an ancient bloodline must seduce a conqueror to save her kingdom. A little trashy, but very addictive.

The Devil's Diadem by Sara Douglass - Also could fit into the alternate history list below. Features fairies and demons and deadly family secrets.

Medair by Andrea K. Host - Deals with cultural imperialism and loss. Is one of the few books to have a main character's triumph be about accepting failure.

Seven Waters by Juliet Marillier - Nicely written series about Celtic myths. The point-of-view characters are all-perfect Mary-Sues who never make a mistake or a misstep but if you can ignore that, they're a good read.

The Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat - A gay romance political thriller. Yes, it is all of those things. This restored my faith in romance after the beating it took from Twilight.

Mage Heart by Jane Routley - The first half is fantastic, the second half focuses way too much on the yawn-worthy romance. Also see the rather violent sequel Fire Angels.

Shattered Court by MJ Scott - A light, fluffy romance with some interesting ideas below the surface. Very easy read and good for a lazy afternoon.

Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins - A reincarnation love-story with vikings. Switches between the modern world and the realm of the gods, so falls into high fantasy by default.

Historical: 

Series or books that take place more or less in our own history, even if it's an alternate version of history.

The Troy Game by Sara Douglass - You will either love this or hate this quadrilogy. It melds fantasy, myth and history into a two-thousand year old competition to control a powerful labyrinth within London. Characters are born over and over against to scheme and betray each other. A guilty pleasure of mine, but my brother loves it too, so make of that what you will.

The Crucible by Sara Douglass - Unless you have problems with alternate depictions of Christian beliefs, you need to read this trilogy. It's smart, subversive and just damn fun to read.

The Ancient Future by Traci Harding - Is this a good time to admit I don't really enjoy Traci Harding's work? Probably not - I'll just go skulk in a corner and hide my face in shame...

The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins - A combination of Narnia and high-octane nightmare fuel. Switches between the modern world and a magical alternate reality.



Teens:

Series or books aimed at teenagers or young adults. Non-explicit violence or sex, or simply avoids it altogether. 


Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody - The first book was the best. After this they started dragging out and the author hasn't even gotten around to completing the series yet.

The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth - Imaginative fantasy world with likable characters. Had the occasional bit of graphic violence, so may not be for every teenager. Recommended with caution.

A Dark Winter by Dave Luckett - A deconstruction of high fantasy's obsession with magic and warfare. A great read for both teenagers and adults.

Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell - Beautiful classic series about a lineage of wild horses in the Snowy Mountains. Every child who ever wanted a horse should read these.

Sabriel by Garth Nix - Best teen series ever, full stop. Good for both adults and teenagers. Everyone should read this, along with the sequels Lirael, Clariel and Goldenhand. 

Song of the Summer King by Jess E. Owen - Griffins and cultural imperialism. Fairly simplistic plot but imaginative premise.

The Last Wizard by Tony Shillitoe - This was a pretty decent read, with a protagonist who refreshingly didn't have or need a romance story-line. Definitely for teens though; some of the aesops were a little anvilicious.

Stone Mage and the Sea by Sean Williams - The story drags a little but has some very non-conventional world-building.

Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins

So I know I tend to come on here to bitch about books I don't like or am at best indifferent to... but not today! Today I talk about a book that blew me away.

I went in with relatively low expectations. I discovered Kim Wilkins years ago as part of a university course - she was a guest lecturer for the week covering gothic genre. My opinion back then was that she was a great lecturer (from her I learned the term 'brain-explosion') but I wasn't that impressed with The Ressurrectionists. I went on to read others, like Angel of Ruin and Giants of the Frost, but I never came away feeling really satisfied. Clearly there was something good about them because I kept reading them, but there was an odd depressing after-taste I didn't like.

Then I went to the library last week, intent on picking out Australian authors, and found Daughters of the Storm. I don't know whether my tastes have changed, or Wilkins has become more nuanced, but I loved this book.

The premise is that the King of the Thyrsland is dying, and his five daughters set out on a quest to cure him. Each of them hide secrets that could be the doom of their land, and as their quest unfolds, their secrets begin to be revealed. What really makes this book is the absence of any particular good or evil characters. All of them perform terrible actions, but also good ones. There's only a hair's difference between the protagonists and the antagonists, both sides capable of great selfishness and great selflessness. I genuinely didn't know where some of these characters were going, and found myself surprised several times.

The recurring theme is family. All of the characters are keenly aware of who they are connected to and how they fit into the world, whether they resent it or embrace it. Whether connected by marriage, blood or adoption, family is an immensely powerful force. Betrayal of it has terrible consequences, neglect just as terrible; one could argue that none of this would have happened if the eldest daughter Bluebell had put more effort into forging positive relationships within her family, or had at least paid more attention as to what was going on inside it. Then again, all tragedies require a fatal flaw in their lead, and this is in many ways a tragedy.

I really can't go into any more detail than that without giving things away. All I'll say is this; each character is fully realized in their motivation. They didn't bend to the shape of the plot; they shaped the plot, and when the final scene came, you suddenly see the horrible inevitability of what's been building all along. I cannot wait for the sequel.

"Wild happiness, which had veered so close, now fluttered off on its mad wings. Always beyond her fingertips." 

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

So are we still putting women on pedestals now?

I really thought we were past the Madonna/Whore complex, but apparently not. According to Daughter of the Forest, the perfect woman is... well, perfect. She never makes a mistake, never says the wrong thing, she's an accomplished healer by twelve years old, always obeys her moral code to the letter, and suffers in silent martyrdom for the good of her brothers/husband.

And the really, really annoying this is that otherwise, this was a very good book. It was a lovely adaptation of the fairy-tale 'The Seven Swans' with a dreamy sort of mood that conjured up misty, romantic images of pre-Christian Britain. (or possibly Ireland - I was a little unclear on where it was set). The main character, Sorcha, has seven brothers who are cursed by their stepmother to become wild swans and Sorcha must complete a long, painful task to free them. If Sorcha hadn't been so damn perfect, it would have been one of the best books I'd ever read.

In case you're thinking I'm being too hard on Sorcha, think back on all the other books you've read. The most compelling characters were the ones like FitzChivalry of the Farseer Trilogy, who reacted to his social shunning with surliness and anger, and caused as many of his own problems as he solved. Or, if we're going with Australian fantasy, the ones like Axis from Battleaxe, who was an absolute prick but got the job done, usually in a way that ended with bodies on the ground.

In comparison, Sorcha is just boring. She's porridge while Fitz is a rich tender steak and Axis is a spicy curry. And she could have been so very interesting with just a little bit of tweaking. Her brothers all adore her? Okay, make her a little spoiled. She's a prodigy healer? Fine, give her a bit of an ego. Or if she has to have that romance with the foreign leader, then make her kind of a bigot - everyone else is, so it's not like she'll stand out. Otherwise we're just watching someone go through a series of trials from which she learns absolutely nothing because she was perfect to begin with.

Unfortunately, this book was still good enough that I've already read one of the sequels, which has exactly the same problem so I can't excuse it as the author having an off book. Damn her. I'm so confused; I don't know whether to enjoy her books or be furiously annoyed by them. This must be what people who like Twilight feel like.

"I had once told Simon he could make his tale end any way he liked. But this was not strictly true. I set my path straight ahead; but there were others that influenced its course, that diverted and changed and confused it."

Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke

Second novels are usually when everything starts coming together, and we start to see the shape of what's to come.Stormlord Rising is the sequel to The Last Stormlord, and second in the Watergivers trilogy.

Here we see Jasper (formerly Shale) begin to be a player in politics instead of the pawn. Taquar tries to control him, but that's a little difficult when his entire position depends on Jasper's existence and he doesn't have anything that he can threaten to bring him in line. That, and Jasper really hates him. For a supposedly brilliant man, Taquar seems to be pretty blind about how to inspire loyalty in others or recognizing when someone hates him more than they fear him.

Even more interesting is Terelle, who makes the journey across the Salt with her great-grandfather toward Khromatis, and in doing so learns some startling facts about the history of Watergivers. That, combined with the tension between Shale and the new Lord Gold indicates that there may be a religious crisis in this world's future, like they didn't have enough going on.

While I'm on the topic, I have to say that I really enjoy Terelle's water-painting powers. It's different from the Watergivers; subtle, nearly invisible to the people around them, but potentially even more devastating than the Storm Lord. Also, there's a lovely visual of her 'shuffling images' within her paintings. She is the character I'm most interested in, and I hope to see more of Khromatis in the next book.

Meanwhile, the Rainlord Ryka has been captured by the Reduners and must make horrible compromises to survive. I'm not usually a fan of the 'captor wants a woman who will stand up to him rather than a submissive slave' trope but in this instance, considering the history and twisted psychology of Ravard, it works. It's also satisfying to see that the book doesn't condemn Ryka for her choices, or romanticize her situation. It makes no bones about the fact that if Ryka slips up, Ravard will kill her.

The final battle felt a little ant-climactic, but that was fine, seeing as everything was clearly being set up for the third book. There's enough mysteries left unsolved and enough confrontations left unfinished that there will be plenty of material to work with. The action was imaginative, using the powers of the Watergivers without forgetting their limits, and the characters all had well-developed motivations and goals. With the possible exception of Senya, who is meant to be spoiled and irritating anyway.

I'd recommend this for teenagers and up. There's violence, particularly in how the Watergivers use their powers in battle, and there's a lot of sex with questionable consent, including but not limited to Ryka and Ravard. It's fairly easy to find in Australian bookstores - I got my copy from a clearance outlet - but it's also available in electronic form from Amazon.com. For physical copies, try the following websites:
* Booktopia
* World of Books (second-hand website)
* AbeBooks (second-hand website)

"For the first time in her life, she was aware of herself as a being of water. For the first time, she felt herself, her connections, her place in the world, her desires."

The Last T'en by Cory Daniells

I've finally forced myself to start digging into the Bookfest pile next to my bed. Bookfest is a great place to find series that are no longer as popular as they used to be but it's a bit like fossicking for gold (see what I did there?). You can get some real stinkers and some real gems.

The Last T'en is somewhere in between.

I don't like to say 'meh' because that implies the book was bad, and it wasn't. It was just average. It's one of Cory Daniells early series, so as a starting place for a new author it was pretty good. It was easy to read, had some interesting world-building, and presented thorny obstacles for the characters.

The premise is that the cultured island of the T'en has been conquered by General Tulkhan of the brutal Ghebites. The last surviving member of the royal family, Imoshen, must use every tool at her disposal to preserve her people's way of life. She will bind the General to her or die trying.

To be clear; this was a romance. Which means there was a lot of the characters going back and forth on how wildly attractive they found each other, but how inappropriate that attraction was. So if that's your thing you'll enjoy this, but if it's not you won't. For a romance novel, it was positively thoughtful, breaking down the political situation with a surprisingly heard-headed female protagonist who has no issue manipulating the male for survival or political gain. It was no Game of Thrones, but it didn't embarrass itself either.

However, if it's going to be judged as a romance, I have one major criticism. It came dangerously close to having the female protagonist raped by the male, not once, but twice. One of these instances was somewhat justified by him coming from a patriarchal culture in which that behavior was the norm and represented the ultimate gap between their ideologies. One could even say it was inevitable; the brutally logical outcome of these two cultures and these two people with that kind of power imbalance. However the other instance was not necessary to the plot or character development, and came off as a somewhat distasteful attempt to build sexual tension (FYI: rape is not sexy).

That aside, it's an addictive read. I found myself halfway through without realizing it and was annoyed I had to put it down to do something else. Yes, it's kind of trashy, but it's enjoyable and it will keep you entertained for the length of the book. The only major quibble I had with the writing was Daniells' habit of switching point of view without a break in the text. I'd recommend it for older teens and up because it deals fairly explicitly with sex.

Just bear in mind this isn't political fantasy with romantic elements; it's romance fantasy with political elements. How much you enjoy it depends on which end of the scale your preferences lie.

Medalon by Jennifer Fallon

I'm going to say this once, and hope it doesn't get quoted out of context.

There's a right way and a wrong to do incest.

(In fiction, obviously.  I'm pretty certain there's no good way to do it real life.)

The fantasy genre is no stranger to this particular theme, and not just since Game of Thrones. Sara Douglass is infamous for it, Terry Pratchett pulled an ambiguous did-they-or-didn't they in Pryamids, and Glenda Larke tackled it head-on in Heart of the Mirage. They approached it from different angles and different perspectives, but they did so with an awareness that it's a sensitive issue and a controversial topic.

Medalon... I'm going to be really mean here... Medalon was just weird about it.

To give some context, Medalon is based in a world where a corrupt church is in power and oppresses different races and faiths. Two of the main characters, R'shiel and Tarja, are the son and daughter of a high-standing church official. Plot happens, and they discover that R'shiel is not actually the official's daughter, she was just adopted for boring reasons I won't get into. Anyway, what with one thing and another, they run away and start a rebellion because that's how adults handle problems. And during this rebellion, they get cursed by the shittiest love goddess in the multi-verse and decide that despite being raised as siblings they are wildly attracted to one another.

To be fair, this is not entirely different to what happens in the Axis Trilogy or the Mirage Makers. Both trilogies exist in worlds where the ruling class are blessed/cursed (mostly cursed) to only find fulfilling relationships within their own bloodlines. The difference is that these trilogies addressed the inherent issues within this. Characters like Axis and Ligea, who were raised in separate cultures, were revolted by the practice and compromised by finding lovers who were distantly related enough not to freak them out. Characters like Caelum and Zenith played out the full horror of the premise, showing the logical outcome, and it's not awesome.

In comparison, while Medalon attempts to do something similar with the love goddess, it just comes off as a cheap attempt to explain why the two characters suddenly violated such a strong taboo. And don't tell me just because they're not blood-related they're not siblings - there's a lot of adopted people who'd violently disagree. If Medalon was going to go there, particularly in a culture where incest is forbidden, it needed either to show either how screwed up these two characters were that they were okay with it (think Jamie and Cersei Lannister) or the horrible implications of being entrapped into these feelings by a power outside your control (as per Zenith and StarDrifter SunSoar).

As it is, Medalon treats incest as a disposable barrier in it's will-they-or-won't-they romance, and that's not okay. I'm going to hope that the sequels address this issue with more nuance. Otherwise I'm going to be coming back here and ranting some more.

"She had long ago stopped thinking of him as her brother and was envious enough of Mandah to recognise jealousy when she felt it." 

Enchanter by Sara Douglas

And so continues my Sara Douglass obsession. Today I'll be reviewing the second book in the Axis trilogy (or Wayfarer Redemption if you're in America) Enchanter. Note this is the second book in the Axis Trilogy, so there will be SPOILERS.

In my Battleaxe review, I remarked that book was all about subverting expectations. Success depended on the heroine marrying the wrong man, the hero was a first class dick, and the forbidden army had a legitimate grudge. In comparison, Enchanter is easier to predict; its foundations were already set up in the previous book so it takes that traction and goes with it.

Axis, the main character, has finally been reunited with his people and is learning the ways of an Enchanter. However war is swiftly coming to Tencendor, and he will need to act quickly to forge humans and Forbidden into an alliance against the horrific Gorgrael. Meanwhile, Faraday suffers in her marriage, her only joy the secret worship of a pagan goddess. Azhure becomes a warrior, but there are things that don't add up about her, and there will be a bloody reckoning before the end. 

The fun in this book is watching the characters grow into their own. All the potential that was hinted at in the first book is now fulfilled tenfold. If Battleaxe was about them tentatively accepting their role in the Prophecy, then Enchanter is about actively embracing it. It's also where we see them start to sow the seeds of their downfall (some of which won't come to fruition until several books down the line). Many of these are easily foreseeable problems, and are even called out by other characters, but this book functions like the first half of the tragedy, in which the characters' fatal flaws are set up that will be their doom. Axis' arrogance and Faraday's self-sacrifice for example will cost them heavily, but their mistakes makes sense for who they are and how they perceive themselves.

Also enjoyable was the in-depth exploration of the culture of the Avar and the Icarri, which is one of the most fun examples of world-building I've ever encountered. No, they're not perfect; all three races are deeply flawed and secretly convinced they're superior. Some of them have traditions that the others find repellent (I'm not even going to get into the Icarri incest) or bitter history that makes co-existence difficult. But all of it makes their relationships way more interesting than the stagnant perfection of Tolkien's elves or similar.

Readers should keep in mind this book doesn't shy away from the gore - Faraday's husband gets perhaps the worst of it, though other characters don't do so well either. There are also some seriously questionable actions taken to achieve the protagonists' goals. Lets just say that George R. Martin didn't invent morally flexible characters and leave it at that. The characters' taste for the melodramatic can also get tiring at times, but what the heck, it's all part of Douglass' style.

Ultimately this is a good read and a very worthy installation in one of Australia's fantasy classics. It's easy to find, just head to your local bookshop.

"They were both so young and both so sure life would work out exactly as they hoped. Well, already plans and vows lay shattered across the floor. Could they not see that?"

Born of Empire by Simon Brown

Oh god, I just wasted two hours of my life.

I mean, I know for people who aren't speed readers it would be a few days so I'm lucky it was only two hours, but still I could have done something productive with that time. I could have worked on my novel...learned to crochet...baked a cake...

Anyway, since I already wasted those two hours, I might as well get a review out of it. 

Born of Empire by Simon Brown is awful. Just awful. 

I know I usually find something nice to say, and yes there are one or two good points, but this entire novel was just a mess from start to finish. I only finished reading it because no book has defeated me since Anna Karenina (and oneday I'm going to go back for a re-match and kick that skanky Russian bitch's ass) so no way was I letting this one get the better of me. 

The book's about... to be honest, I don't really remember. There's an empire, and an expedition that goes out to start a new colony, only there's politics and a lot of forgettable people plotting overly complex plots. It's like it was trying to be Game of Thrones, with only the vaguest idea of what Game of Thrones was about and characters so cardboard you really didn't care (or remember) when they died. 

No, seriously I don't remember. I can't name a single character or overarching theme. That's how interesting this book was, and how invested I was.

There was only one plot thread I managed to retain, and to Brown's credit, it was an intriguing concept. Basically the aristocracy can perform blood magic, but in order for it to work, they have to sacrifice something they love. The bigger the sacrifice, the more powerful the magic. So they keep kennels of animals and human slaves that they treat well and form strong relationships with, all so they have a supply of sacrifices on hand. The most interesting parts of the books were from the slaves' and slave-owners' perspectives, and the questions that were asked, like: what is love? If they only love me for a purpose, is that really love? Is the sacrifice worth it and in what circumstances? Honestly, I could have read a whole book focusing entirely on the relationship between the aristocracy and their slaves. 

But instead I got politics. Thanks. I really feel like I invested those two hours of my life wisely. 

On the bright side, I only spent a dollar on it... which probably should have been a warning. Crap. Here's some advice, kids; if the book is only a dollar and it's not at Bookfest, probability says it's not worth reading! Just ignore the quote on the Amazon website from Garth Nix; clearly Simon Brown has something on him, or else he's locked in a basement somewhere ala Misery. 

Born of Empire is a book aimed at adults but should not be read by anyone, unless you're planning to skim over most of the book and just focus on the antics of the nutty aristocracy and their someone-call-a-domestic-abuse-hotline slaves. I am saddened that my love of reading took me down this path, but I recall one of the few good quotes from this book: 

"Maddyn cleared his mind of the thought by reminding himself that all love entailed tragedy and there was no point in struggling against it." - Born of Empire

The Art of Arrow Cutting by Stephen Dedman (or six degrees of separation from awesome writers!)

They say everyone in the world is connected to everyone else by six degrees of separation. I discovered how true this was when my mum casually mentioned she'd gone to primary school with a writer, Stephen Dedman.

So I got curious and went hunting on the internet, where I found he'd written quite a bit. I only bought one, The Art of Arrow Cutting, but it was a good read. Well done, mum's school friend. Well done.

The premise is that the main character 'Mage' (yeah, not joking) screws himself over by performing a good deed. He buys a bus ticket for a girl in need and she, in true fairy tale fashion, returns the favor with the gift of a magic key. Not that she tells him it's magic, but he figures it out once people start trying to kill him for it. (Thus the screwing over part.  You'd think a gift card would probably have sufficed.) He sets out to find her and hopefully figure out what the hell is going on.

I was puzzled a bit by it being set in America, as it was the kind of story that could really be set anywhere. Probably trying to expand the target audience. But the contrived coincidence of fantasy that usually annoys me - the right people showing up at the right moment with the right abilities - doesn't apply here. Yes, Mage conveniently gets exactly what he needs at any given time, but it's justified in a way that ties it into the larger plot.

Mage himself is a chivalrous pervert with an extremely slashy vibe with his stuntman friend Takumo, who is the most competent, badass sidekick anyone could ever ask for. Batman would kick Robin to the curb if he saw this guy's moves. Their ally, the down-to-earth lawyer Kelly, is a perfect example of how to include female characters in a male-dominated narrative. She didn't get involved because she couldn't resist Mage's magic dick (although technically, I suppose his dick could be magic) but because of spoilery reasons I won't get into. Basically she had a motivation and a useful role that wasn't love interest. Other writers take note.

The narrative is fast-paced, the action clear and to the point. Lets say I never got bored with this story. Occasionally the characters would blurt out a lot of exposition about mythology that even I couldn't spit out at a moment's notice (and I spent a lot of my childhood in libraries memorising mythology books) but it was always relevant to the plot, with later pay-off. I particularly liked that Mage thought outside the box to come up with surprising but logical ways to utilise his new powers.

I'd recommend this to urban-fantasy readers who want a supernatural mystery. If you like Harry Dresden, you'll enjoy this as well. There is violence and sex, but nothing too gory, so I think it would be appropriate for older teenagers and above. It can be found on Amazon in paperback and the Australian Amazon in electronic form.

And just to be different this week, I'll finish with a great and wise quote from the book:

"Most of us aren't equipped to handle miracles, man. I'm not sure that I am, not without being seriously stoned." - Takumo

Top Five Kick-Ass Heroes of Australian High Fantasy

Not long ago I did a top five list of Kick-Ass Heroines of Australian Fantasy. So in the interests of fairness, here is another list, this time for all the awesome guys of Australian fantasy.

**Please note that there will be SPOILERS.**

--

5. Jasper of The Last Stormlord

Some men rule by the sword.
Jasper doesn't need no sword. 

Jasper was a child born into abject poverty but whose stunning powers made him the only possible successor to the all-powerful Stormlord. Kidnapped to be used as a puppet ruler, Jasper escaped through a scheme that combined both simplicity and common sense.

He went along with the plan, waited until he was Stormlord, then kicked said kidnapper to the curb.

This is a guy of ruthless political efficiency who could have been a player in Game of Thrones. He may not have a formal education but god help him if you try to manipulate him. He's also a fair and reasonable ruler who believes in religious freedom, education and civil rights. Sure he had to kill a few thousand people to get there, but in a civilization constantly teetering on the brink of disaster, bleeding hearts end up dead.

Also, he has super powers to make the Last Airbender look like a pussy and can suck the water out of you. No, not that way. With his super powers. Jeez, dirty mind much.

--

4. Prince Gar from The Innocent Mage

The badass bookworm who proved you don't need
magic to save the world. Though it might have
helped with that whole 'survival' thing.
Fanart by GoldenLionofRa

Now I know what you're thinking; Gar isn't the main character. Clearly you weren't paying attention. It's obvious that Gar is the real hero of this series and Asher was just the opportunist who talked himself onto a throne at the end.

Gar was the prince born without magic, the guy perfectly equipped to rule who would have been an amazing king, but because of a little magical deficiency was passed over in favor of his younger sister. Evil overlords have been born out of less!

But no, Gar willingly stepped aside, and only made a play for the throne when it looked in danger of falling to that bigoted bastard of a royal adviser. Everything he did was for the good of the people, and when an eldritch abomination appeared, who sacrificed himself to finish it off? Not Asher, that irritating prophesied I'm-so-innocent-I-can-get-away-with-anything douche.

Nope. It was Gar, who gets a cool-looking grave while Asher lives and gets a throne. Goddamnit, leadership is a thankless job.

--

Some evil overlords would let this power
go to their heads. Losara is thinking about
taking his girlfriend out to lunch. 

3. Losara from Prophecy's Ruin

Losara had a rough start to life. He came into existence when a prophesied child was mystically ripped in two, producing an impulsive being called Bel and the more cerebral Losara. Raised by opposite sides, they were pitted against each other in a war of light and darkness.

Losara however didn't let that weigh him down. Not having much in the way of pesky emotions like anger or arrogance, he turned out to be a powerful, calculating sorcerer who always knew exactly what he was doing. You wouldn't catch him pausing to cackle at inopportune moments or allowing his enemies just enough time to escape. He matter-of-factly overthrew the psychopath who raised him, calmly and collectedly led his people to devastating victory, and reasonably talked his violent twin into rolling over and giving up.

Yes, he's a tyrant and a dark lord, but a benevolent genre-savvy one who's clearly read the Evil Overlord List.

--

If you see a hitchiker that
looks like this, for the love
of god, keep driving!

2. Axis of the Wayfarer Redemption

So Axis is a jerk. There's no two ways about it. This is not a guy you'd want to fight against. Or with. Or pass in the street.

But I'll say this for him; he gets results. He went from being the shunned illegitimate son of a duchess to sorcerer supreme to leader of an invading army to God of Tencendor. When this guy goes for a promotion, he doesn't muck around. He doesn't let little things like decency and the laws of life and death stop him either. He once cut out his half-brother's heart to raise his cousin from the dead, then let his other brother kill his ex-girlfriend just so he'd get the chance to kill the guy.

Sure he completely screwed up his kids, inadvertently bringing about the destruction of an entire continent and the horrific death of everyone he ever loved...but who hasn't made a mistake?

He's the guy who in any other book would be the antagonist, but through some mis-filing of paperwork in the karmic system is apparently the hero. So lets not piss him off by leaving him off this list.

--

The only guy on this list who avoided
war and thousands of  pointless deaths.
Make of that what you will. 
Fanart by celladore

1. Wyl of The Quickening

How do I explain Wyl? He's like the Ensemble Darkhorse who happens to be the hero already. He's the guy who gets killed off in the movie but is so popular he gets brought back and given his own tv show, except that during production they realised how awesome he was and ditched the movie, going straight to the show. That is Wyl.

He's the loyal second-in-command type. He's a strategic genius and a great fighter, but is very humble and really would be perfectly happy just to serve a good ruler. And because the antagonist is an f-ing moron, he has Wyl killed for this terrible crime of absolute loyalty.

Fortunately, Wyl is so awesome you can't kill him. Or you can, but it doesn't last. He just comes straight back and starts hitting on your girlfriend, subverting your underlings, forming alliances with your enemies... Don't screw with Wyl, that's all.

He'll be terribly honorable about it, but you will end up just as dead as if you'd set fire to Lostara's house while knocking up Axis' daughter and talking smack about Jasper's girlfriend. (I'd include Gar in this gag, but he's already dead, so not a lot he can do there.)

--

So to recap; Jasper is the Avatar, Gar is Boromir, Losara is Xanatos, Axis is half a step away from Tywin Lanister and Wyl is Phil Coulson.

Is everyone clear on who not to ask for help?

--

Song of the Summer King by Jess E. Owen

Xenofiction can be misleading, can't it? To look at the covers of The Dorset Squirrels or Duncton Wood, you'd think they were about fluffy cute rodents and their gosh-darn adorable troubles.

(To give you a hint; not fluffy, not cute, and not adorable by any stretch of the imagination).

However, I'm happy to report that I've found a book about sentient animals you can give to your kid and not worry about those years of therapy. I picked up Song of the Summer King at Supanova, and while dealing with some serious themes, it can be safely enjoyed by young teenagers.

Oh yeah, and it has griffins! Who doesn't love griffins?

The premise is a young griffin named Shard coming of age in his pride. The pride is composed of two elements; the Vanir griffins native to the area and the larger Aesir griffins who took the territory by force a generation earlier. Shard is the only surviving male of pure Vanir blood, making him a figure of interest to pretty much everyone. He has to choose between the ways of the invaders and the ways of his forebears.

Art by Jennifer Miller

This could easily have been a very black-and-white story, but I think Owens has managed some real nuance in how she explores cultural imperialism. While the Aesir did some awful things she takes care to show they are not an inherently evil race. They're just people... or griffins... with the usual mix of good and bad. And Shard has known them his whole life, so his struggle to choose a side feels real and heartfelt. The standout character for me was Shard's nest-father, whose gruff relationship with his mate and adoptive son was surprisingly sweet. In fact, the entire book was respectful of both blood and adoptive families, dismissing neither and giving due weight to both. This is how you handle adoption, peoples.

Outside of Shard's nest-father, however, the characters are kind of two-dimensional. It's not a fatal flaw in a young teenage novel, but this book is definitely not Sabriel, which can be enjoyed by young and old alike. It's like I could see what kind of characters were being portrayed, but their motivations didn't always make sense. They were just doing what they were doing because the plot demanded it.

For example, Shard didn't have any real reason to learn the old ways. He'd already got what he wanted; he'd succeeded at the hunt, was granted the right to stay in the pride, and was best bros with the Crown Prince. No one risks all that to 'make the pride stronger' unless they're already at risk of losing it all anyway.

Art by Jennifer Miller

What might have worked better was if the order of events was switched around. If the hunt had taken place in the middle of the novel instead of the beginning, that would have given Shard a concrete goal to strive for and a damn good reason to break the rules. It's outright stated that he's the skinny runt of his generation so the old ways would be his way of compensating. Ie. 'If I get caught learning the old ways I'll be exiled, but if I fail the hunt, I'll be exiled anyway, so I might as well take the risk'.  

Other than that, I have no complaints. It's clearly meant for young adults, so me and my nitpicking are not the target audience. I'd recommend it to teenagers in the 12-14 range. There's some violence, but it's not explicit, and sex is only vaguely referred to. The animalistic body-language was nice and I'd have liked to see even more of the descriptive language of the landscape. I'm also hoping for a cross-species romance between Shard and the young wolf Catori in the sequels, but that might just be my weirdness talking, not any real possibility of it.

Song of the Summer King can be ordered in paperback from Booktopia or Book Depository, or in electronic form from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

And if you love the cover art, like I do, check out the artist on her website or Deviant Art. All the art I've used in this post is hers, simply because she does such gorgeous work.

Update on Jupiter: Illusions of Faith

I've just realised (nearly three weeks later - my bad!) that I never mentioned what came of my review on Jupiter:Illusions of Faith by Kynan Waterford. Hold onto your seat, because it's totally exciting.

Everyone holding on? Brace yourselves...

Kynan Waterford contacted me!

(crickets chirping)

Shut up, it's totally exciting. He explained one of the aspects of the novel that bugged me. If you've read the review, you'll know that I had a teeny-tiny baby bitchfest about Garen and Leisa's relationship. Mostly about how the love-at-first-sight thing was not an adequate explanation for Garen's sudden outburst of human emotion, etc, etc. (Yes, I have a thing against romance; you know this about me already) Kynan explained the sudden change in Garen.

If you haven't read the novel, please note there are *SPOILERS* below. Read ahead at your peril.  

Apparently the reason for Garen's sudden attraction to Leisa was less about her and more about the fact he was no longer accompanied by his heavangel Kari, who was the one responsible for blocking his emotions all this time. No Kari = Garen acting like an actual person. Seeing as Garen had been whining about Kari's absence during the entire novel, and Kari had a good old-fashioned 'I have you now my pretty' speech at the end, I was somewhat mortified to have this pointed out to me. Usually I'm the person who sees things coming three plot points away!

Here is the passage from what Kynan told me:

"Until he is captured, Garen is almost always in the presence of his heavangel mentor, Kari, who has been 'saving' Garen from his emotions (or stealing them, depending on your viewpoint). This allows him to do the nasty things he does and keeps him from being distracted from his mission. However, when he inserts Kari into the Golgotha's communication network (before he is captured), he is separated from his heavangel mentor for the first time in a long time. This means Kari is not around to prevent Garen from feeling emotion, and hence, why an otherwise fairly tame encounter with Leisa, someone he becomes interested in, has such a profound effect on him."

So there it is. Definitive proof that even someone as awesome as me can get things wrong. It's hard to believe, I know, but there it is.

(And many thanks to my lovely housemate Ian who was nice enough to proof-read this post for me and caught several embarrassing spelling mistakes.)

Australian Urban Fantasy You Should Be Reading

In light of my recent foray into Urban Fantasy, I decided to combine two of my favourite things: lists and fantasy authors!

Here are three Urban Fantasy authors from Australia that are worth reading. I'm sure there are others, but these are ones I've read previously. No doubt more will be added to this blog over time :-)

1. Narrelle M. Harris

I picked up one of Narrelle Harris' books up at Supanova a few years ago, which was actually the start of my interest in indie authors. She's a Melbourne author that does several  genres, one of which is Urban Fantasy.

I started with her Opposite of Life series (the second book actually) which had the most depressing and yet realistic take on vampires I've read in a long time. In this world, vampires are trapped as they were at the moment they died. They have extreme difficulty learning anything past what they already knew when they were alive and so have to watch the world change around them, growing increasingly isolated and out of place.

It sounds tragic and horrible, and it is, but the characters' genuine affection for each other made it all worthwhile. Similar to the British tv show Being Human, Harris' work explores the isolating affect of the supernatural while showing that the support of friends and family can ease the burden.

2. Keri Arthur

Keri Arthur (also from Melbourne!) has written a number of paranormal books, including the Circle of Fire which I have previously reviewed. I'll be honest, I wasn't that impressed by her. However, I have been told by a friend whose judgement I trust that the series steadily improves, so I'm not going  to write her off just yet.

She is more on the Paranormal Romance side of the fence than Narelle Harris, who is more skewed toward Urban Fantasy. To elaborate, Paranormal Romance is very similar to Urban Fantasy except with a more heavy focus on romance. I definitely prefer Urban Fantasy myself, which is probably part of the reason I didn't really enjoy Keri Arthur's work, but that's just my own preference so don't let that scare you off. She's fairly well-known, so clearly she's doing something right.

3. Daniel O'Malley

Some would argue that Daniel O'Malley does not write Urban Fantasy. I'd tell them to take a long walk off a short pier.

He has supernatural creatures existing behind the scenes of an unsuspecting world, working to keep the masquerade going. There's a no-nonsense female protagonist who's solving a mystery and finding depths she didn't know existed. There are lives in danger and a world in need of saving. If that's not pure Urban Fantasy, it's definitely heavily involved.

If you ignore every other author on this list, check out this guy! You won't regret it. The Rook is his first novel, while the sequel is coming out this year. Go to his website (see above link) to read the first four chapters. I guarantee you'll be hooked by the end of the first.