Melanie Rawn's best-selling debut is a novel of love and war, magic and madness, and deadly dangerous dragons that hold the secret to unimaginable wealth that could prove key to mutual peace-or a bloody tyrant's reign. And among it all, an idealistic young ruler struggles to civilize a culture that understands the strength of the sword-but has yet to discover the true power of knowledge.
I very much minded the sexism and the gore, but I liked the overall story. It's a bit of a problem with oldschool fantasy - on a meta-level, the values and scenes displayed are often straight-out alien, from today's perspective.
To say I loved every minute of this book would be a lie. I loved a lot of it, and I was angry and hurt and sad through a lot of it too. I identified with and cared for these characters more than I expected I would. Maybe it's just a case of reading the right book at the right time in my life, but I understand Sioned on a level I haven't experienced with a character in a long time. And I loved and was furious with Rohan in turns. I can't wait to see where the series goes from here!
