"enthralling fantasy saga"
The only thing sixteen-year-old Eliana is looking forward
to is graduating the Verdiano Rural Conservatory and
performing at the Imperial Court. She doesn't question the
religion of the Lord and the Lady, or the magery that most
people love or use or the Fedeli who eradicate all traces
of heresy. The war and famine in the world doesn't touch
the budding musicians who are insulated from anything that
unpleasant. Eliana's views change when the Fedeli come and kill one of
her closest friends and kidnap her roommate. She leaves
the conservatory, rejects the Circle of mages and the
official religion, and turns to the Old Ways. She
discovers that the famine is caused by the Mage's use of
sorcery and ends up in a refugee camp where she becomes the
rallying point of a people that desperately need a leader
that will fix their world. FIRES OF THE FAITHFUL is an enthralling fantasy saga very
reminiscent of the Joan of Arc story. Readers get so
caught up in the heroine's world that they actually feel
they are a camp follower. Naomi Kritzer is an expert at
characterizations and plotting, so much so that the
audience will want to finish it in one sitting and put it
on the keeper shelf. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 4, 2002
|
