"excellent fantasy"
When the Virsat conquer the land of Tireera, they enslaved
the Tidars who were there before them. Most are slaves and
considered less than human but some are free though
treated like third class citizens. Forentel, the daughter
of the High General and the High Judge, is shocked when
she sees her twin near the royal palace. She learns that
she is the daughter of A Tirdar woman, who had sex with
her father and unable to comply with her father's wishes
to marry a lecherous, wealthy old man she runs away. Also on the run is Prince Erba whose brother killed their
father the king and assumed the throne. Now Erba is in
hiding because his sibling wants him dead so he won't
threaten his power base or try to gain the throne. Both
Forentel and Erba are making their way to Dreffir, the
city where it is said the Tidor came from. Erba wants to
see what everyone thinks is a magical place and Forentel
wants the people to teach her to use her magic that is
growing stronger and to learn about her heritage. In
pursuit of their goal the two runaways must face several
dangers including cannibals, man eating plants, slavers,
and a soldier determined to bring Erba back to his brother. DAUGHTER OF THE DESSERT excels at strong characterizations
and in most cases the women are independent thinkers
capable of ruling or doing whatever they set their minds
to accomplish. The power structure in Tireera is uneven
and the slave population and the residents of Dreffir look
upon Forentel as the Delass (the bridge) and once she
figures out what that means she will do all in her power
to see that that life in Tireera is changed. Readers will
eagerly await the next book in this stunning new series. Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 19, 2006
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 25, 2007
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