The Burning Land

Way of Ârata #1

by Victoria Strauss

When the Empire of Arsace suffers political and spiritual tensions in the years following its freedom from oppression, the beautiful Axane journeys to a hidden world that threatens her homeland, while the young Shaper Gyalo leads a dangerous expedition to reclaim a band of renegade mages. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Fantasy, Ebooks, Romance

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 20, 2004

About the author

I'm the author of nine novels for adults and young adults, including the Stone duology ("The Arm of the Stone" and "The Garden of the Stone"); the Way of Arata duology ("The Burning Land" and "The Awakened City"); and "Passion Blue" and "Color Song," a pair of historical novels for teens. I've reviewed books for SF Site, Black Gate, and Fantasy magazine, and my articles on writing and how to get published have appeared in Writer’s Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, I served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards.

I'm an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that warns about literary schemes and scams. I maintain the Writer Beware website, blog, and Facebook pages, and I was honored with the SFWA Service Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here, we enter a fantasy world that's clearly inspired by the real-life situation involving Tibet and China. The Âratists have recently come back into control over their land, after the fall of the previous regime. (Which was one that was fueled by a populist revolution, set up communal methods of doing agriculture and industry, was strongly atheist, but quickly became authoritarian and oppressive.)

Brother Gyalo is a devout Âratist monk. He is also a Shaper - a wielder of magic. Shapers are both revered and feared. They are required to become monks (although Gyalo embraced his lot in life enthusiastically) and their magic is tightly controlled through mandatory use of an addictive drug.

Now, Gyalo has been chosen to become leader of an expedition. A rumor has persisted that a splinter group of Âratists survived the purges of the revolution by fleeing across the harsh desert known as The Burning Lands. If they survived, the Brethren (reincarnated leaders of the Church) believe they should be contacted and brought back into the fold - and, if necessary, purged of heresy.

Meanwhile, a disaffected young woman, Axane, who holds a secret talent of her own, lives in the hidden cave dwellings of Refuge. Alone among her people, she knows that there is something more to the world than her small community.

When this true believer and this secret heretic meet, a chain of events will be thrown into motion that may shake the foundations of both their worlds.

At first, I felt rather skeptical of the whole Tibet/China parallel that the author draws, here. I also found some of the characters and events to fall too neatly into familiar fantasy tropes. I still wish it had been a more fully original fantasy world. But as the story developed (this is quite a long book) I was won over. It transcends mere magical battles and becomes a very interesting discussion about religion. What will belief lead a person to? What sacrifice, what actions? When fear of change, fear of the 'other' is added to the mix, what then? When political expediency meets individual power and ego - what then?

Strauss keeps her world's 'truths' nicely ambiguous throughout this volume, which allows the reader to consider different characters' viewpoints well. We don't know who is 'right' about their god - or if anyone at all is correct.

This book is first in a duology. It ends at a nice stopping-point, but I look forward to seeing where Strauss takes the story in the next volume.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media to introducing me to Victoria Strauss' writing through this book. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

[Roxane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out like some good, interesting fantasy even if I did wince at the prologue (I hate prologues! They are info-dumps when you don't even know anything about the story. I think prologues are laziness on the writer's part) and I did find that the story dragged along at times and that most of the time, the reader was well ahead of the book's events but hey, a lot of fantasy is predictable, if only because it often relies on common tropes and archetypes, so I can deal with that if the book lives up to some other expectations... And it did to a certain extent. For instance, it wonderfully illustrated the many ways in which religion may affect everyday life, how it can be twisted and lead people to do the most horrible things all the while believing that this what their God wants of them.

It also did some great things as far as characterization was concerned... at first...

Let me explain. The book introduced a strong female character who fights against everything she's been brought up to believe, who goes out of her way to be able to stand on her own two feet, only to better have her fall and act in an unbelievable way at the end! I was so disappointed and angry I nearly threw the book across the room.

Spoilers ahead.

Axane is raped near the end of the book, repeatedly by the same man. She escapes as soon as she can only to find out that she's pregnant. Grief, shame, joy, she goes through all sorts of feeling that I could believe... what I could not believe is that she would go and throw herself into the arms of another man and go ahead and have sex with him just like that. I don't care that she's been in love with this man for months now, long before the rape and the pregnancy. This was rushed and stupid and made no sense character-wise. I don't know what's in store in book 2, quite frankly, I'm not going to read it, but I think the main idea was to get Axane pregnant by this man because the kid's going to be important at some point or another in the narrative... And that, ladies and gents, is how you destroy a wonderful female character and use her as a plot device.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

reviews.metaphorosis.com

3 stars

After eighty years of atheist government, the church of Arata is slowly recovering its traditional place. Talented and powerful young monk Gyalo is sent to investigate rumours of an uncontrolled community far across the desert Burning Land, only to uncover truths about himself and his world that shake the foundation of his faith.

I first encountered Strauss' writing many years ago via her Arm of the Stone books, which I enjoyed, and which brought me to this duology. I'm sorry to say that I enjoyed The Burning Land less on re-reading than memory suggested.

The Burning Land is fundamentally about faith and devotion - a thoughtful exploration of belief and temptation. It approaches the subject from an essentially religious viewpoint, examining the emotional impact of doubt on a true believer, without really questioning whether belief is valuable overall. The result is, like Christian rock music, interesting, but slightly alien.

Strauss draws heavily on Christianity in this story - there are clear parallels in the religious storyline, just as the atheist Caryaxist government is a thinly disguised proxy for a Communist regime. It feels like a setup for a heavy-handed Message - and yet there isn't really one. The book is surprisingly entertaining despite its leanings.

While the book is focused largely on analysis of the feelings of Gyalo and Axane, a young woman he meets, there's a distance between us and them that makes the experience tend more toward intellectual than emotional. Gyalo is unflinching in confronting challenges to his beliefs, but he largely stays within that belief system - considering issues of heresy and apostasy. He touches only tangentially on larger questions about whether faith is warranted at all, making the book less substantive and engaging than it could have been. Strauss does better with his emotional responses, which feel both genuine and intriguing. She keeps a strict focus on religious and story-present-day elements - there's clearly an interesting backstory about Gyalo's youth, but he himself barely considers it.

The book starts with a formal religious structure that frankly is not interesting until it fits into the structure of the story. You're best off skipping the prologue and coming back to it after reading a chapter or two. The mythic/religious structure is in fact interesting, but only in context. Despite the story's foundation in religion, and Gyalo's constant consideration of it, the 'heresy' at the book's core never really hits home. We have to rely on Strauss' cues to know just how 'odious' it is. Given that this tension is a linchpin of the plot, the detail seemed surprisingly unimportant.
 
The story takes place soon after great political struggles, but references to the past are clumsy. Unlike, for example, Tamar Siler Jones' books, set in the aftermath of great battles but focused on the present, Strauss spends quite a lot of time setting out past events that are mildly interesting but substantially slow the story's progress. In the first third of the book, it seems as if every chapter has a long pseudo-flashback or info dump that should have been trimmed and blended in instead.

All in all, an interesting an unusual-for-fantasy direct look at faith and belief. If the story doesn't delve as deep as it might, it's still interesting, and a fairly solid adventure romance besides.

NB: Received free copy from Net Galley. 

[Steven Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very different and thoughtful epic – epic in the sense that these are grand themes of faith, the existence of gods, the interpretation of doctrines, and earth-shattering schisms. Strauss sets up her pieces slowly and deliberately, and gives us the opportunity to see the approaching storm from both sides, both of which is “right”, and neither of which is “wrong”. Her characters are driven by internal desperation and soul searching as much as external events, their own revelations and conclusions as terrifying as any battle or sudden betrayal. But Strauss does not shy from showing the blood and guts of a war based on religion, the way that faith and doctrine can always conveniently manage to justify the slaughter of innocents. By the end of the book I was thoroughly invested in the world and in Gyalo and Axane's struggles and I need to know how it all ends!

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the synopsis and then began reading the book itself, I was reminded of the kinds of stories that N.K. Jemisin is known for. That made me a little skeptical as to whether or not I would enjoy the book, since the two N.K. Jemisin books I’ve read were a bit boring to me. I don’t know how Victoria Strauss did it, but, with the exception of a couple slow points, her writing, story craft, and world building kept me engaged throughout the book. Also, towards the beginning of the book there were some details that led me to make a few predictions for how the story would turn out. However, every single one of them was wrong. Perhaps my research paper addled brain missed some signs and foreshadowing, but I can’t even remember the last time a book wasn’t at least a little predictable. Despite the unpredictability, the plot still made perfect sense. There was never anything that was confusing or made me turn back a page to reread and see if I missed something.

I recommend this book to everyone who loves Fantasy, especially if you happen to be a fan of N.K. Jemisin, or if you enjoyed her stories but found the telling to be lackluster. Though it didn’t bother me, I feel obligated to mention that The Burning Land does contain a rape scene. It’s towards the end of the book and, though it’s necessary to the story and not too graphic, may be an issue for some readers. In that case, I would still give the book a chance, since there’s enough “warning” before the scene, and it only takes up about a paragraph, so it’s easily skippable. Normally, I’d recommend otherwise, but this book is truly great and shouldn’t be missed.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent examination of religion and the conflict that can arise from fractionally differing beliefs. Well-plotted, with well-developed characters.

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the start of a fantasy series. It's a good setup, and it stands on its own well enough, with satisfying resolutions to some important threads.

The kingdom of Arsace has restored its king in exile to the throne, after decades of harsh rule by godless tyrants. They're free once again to worship their beloved god Arata, and publicly celebrate their religious ceremonies. But just a few years have passed, and there's still much rebuilding to do, and one of the outstanding issues concerns renegade Aratists imprisoned by the Caryaxists, who escaped and fled into the Burning Lands--the harsh desert region where Arata is believed to be sleeping. Gyalo Amdo Samehen, a devout priest, a Shaper, and trusted aid to one of the most senior of the Brethren, the reincarnated children of the First Messenger of Arata, is appointed to lead an expedition into the Burning Lands to rescue and bring home any survivors of those exiles. Neither he nor those who send them have any clue what he's going to encounter.

Meanwhile, in Refuge, deep in the Burning Lands, the descendants of those lost Aratists are a healthy, successful colony of over three hundred people, secure in the knowledge that they are the Risen Arata's chosen people, the only people left in the world, destined to repopulate the world when the Next Messenger comes to summon them forth. Axane, a young woman who is the daughter of Refuge's leader, is a Dreamer, a fact she has kept carefully hidden. Dreamers in Refuge, at the age of 35, must retreat to the House of Dreams, confined to a life of sleeping and Dreaming, creating the veil that keeps Refuge hidden and safe from the demons they believe are the only other life in the world. Because Axane has kept her ability secret, her Dreaming is untrained and unconstrained--and she sees the outside world in her Dreams, and has seen enough of the outside world to know that Arsace and the rest of the kingdoms of Galea are still there, inhabited by human beings, and that part at least of her people's beliefs are simply wrong.

Axane and Gyalo are both headed for revelations that will shake their beliefs to their core, and disrupt their societies. And as they each try to serve their people and their faiths, they find their faith even in the leaders they've trusted all their lives crushed and broken.

Strauss builds a world and a religion that make sense together, and treats the inhabitants of that world--traditional Aratists, the divergent Aratists of Refuge, and the occasional atheists, as intelligent, thinking people who have reasons for what they believe or don't believe. They also, for good or for ill, have reasons for their actions.

This is a very solid fantasy novel. Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like another review that I recently saw on Goodreads, I originally thought that Victoria Strauss was re-creating Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism in a fantasy context. There were indeed some parallels, but there were also some key differences. The first one I noticed is that Strauss' fictional religion, Aratism, is messianic. It's a central tenet of Buddhism that anyone can become a Buddha. There are Bodhisattvas who strive to awaken others to their Buddha nature, but each Buddhist is actually still the one engaged in his or her own salvation. So there are no messiahs in Buddhism. Another seriously critical difference between Tibetan Buddhism and Aratism is that Tibetan Buddhist monks practice non-violence. The Brethren of Arata don't adhere to such a code. In fact, violence among Aratists is central to the plot. The sort of violence that occurs is reminiscent of historical conflicts between Christian sects. I came to the conclusion that Victoria Strauss has constructed a syncretic religion composed of elements from Buddhism and Christianity. It's East meets West in a fantasy world.

The male and female protagonists are both complex. Gyalo, the male protagonist, evolves in an unexpected direction while still maintaining the essence of his character. I don't agree with the Goodreads reviewer who seemed to think that Axane, the female protagonist, had been "ruined" by traumatic events. For me, the strength of a female character is demonstrated by how she reacts to trauma. Axane is severely impacted by trauma, but she's a survivor. She is eventually able to move on with her life. I appreciate that sort of portrayal of a female character.

The fantasy aspect involves paranormal powers. Strauss confronts the issue of ethical responsibility in the use of paranormal powers through the differing approaches of Aratist sects.

The Burning Land is a thoughtful book that I recommend to readers who are interested in compelling fantasy that addresses religion and ethical responsibility.

For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 27, 2015
Such an excellent read.

Likes: The world-building in this book was so fantastic, I felt fully immersed in the world Strauss created. I thought a lot about the book when I wasn't reading it, and read it whenever I got the chance. The characters were each realistic in their personalities and flaws. They behaved like human beings would in the world she created, not just the way the plot needed. Usually the villains in fantasy books are so one dimensional or just psychotic, but I can't even definitively tell you who the antagonist is. Everyone in the books bears some responsibility for the good and bad things that happen.

What truly intrigued me was the book's exploration of belief. From blind obedience to atheism, each character fluctuated in believable and understandable ways, and it never seemed preachy in either direction. Perhaps a benefit of a completely made up world and religion, but I couldn't help but draw from my own experiences and relate to them from my own perspective.

Usually when a book descends into a path of destruction, I feel myself disconnect. The author is not usually up to the task of conveying the horror and emotion of death and destruction on a massive scale. Strauss managed to navigate this well, and when she described the feelings and actions of the characters who witnessed and participated in the events, I was riveted. It was flat out great writing.

Dislikes: Well, none. I loved the plot, the characters, the internal logic, the beauty of the setting, and the writing. Well done.

re-read May 05, 2016
It'd been so long since I read this, I decided to re-read it before I finally get to its sequel. Still think it's a good book but it didn't bear up to re-reading as much as I thought it would. The first time was best because a lot of the mythology is a bit long winded to explain and once you get the idea these parts of the book move very slowly. However, it's still a good read with lots of well written moments.

[Janet Ursel · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you pick up a work of fantasy, you expect many things. You expect to find some magic, some adventure, an interesting new world. And Victoria Strauss's The Burning Land certainly delivers all of that. But it goes well beyond. I have rarely read a novel that examines the nature of faith more deeply and more intimately than The Burning Land. Strauss has created a fully realized and realistic religious system that borrows elements from several of the world's religions, complete with hierarchies, dogmas, histories, and heresies. (My sociology of religion professor would have been so proud of her.) And she puts in the center of all of this Gyalo, a man of very deep faith who is sent on an unprecedented mission and will find himself tested in ways he could never imagine. Don't imagine that this is some dry philosophical thesis. It's all about what happens when the rubber meets the road, when the deepest beliefs are shaken and challenged and transformed in the heat of action.

Complete review here.

[Toni Boughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THIS is fantasy at its best! Ms. Strauss brings together a cast of disparate characters, each with their own unique voice, in a wonderfully realized world. At the heart of the book is the question of how faith is handled when challenged, and what happens to an entrenched religion when faced with proof that rocks it to its very core. As an added bonus, this novel is free of the usual vaguely-medieval-European trappings and instead has touches of Asian and Middle Eastern - this alone makes for a refreshing change from the usual glut of fantasy books.

I recommend this book to lovers of good, deep fantasy.

*Free copy obtained from NetGalley*

[Jaymi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through netgalley in exchange for this review.

Victoria Strauss’s The Burning Lands is book one of a two book series on what it means to have faith, influence the corse of humanity, and love. In this book we are introduced to two societies: one who harnesses the uses of Shaping (the magical system employed in this series) and allows those who own it to be free from restraint and another who carefully uses the Shapers to craft a religious tradition built with restraint.

In this book, we meet Brother Gyalo, a devout monk of the Âratist order from the second society. He has been charged with the honor of going out into sacred land to discover whether or not a secular group of Âratists survived the oppression of the Caryaxt who ruled his country for almost three generations.

His travels take him and his entourage deep into the Burning Lands, a vast desert that cannot sustain people well. Misfortune hits and Brother Gyalo is forced to use his powers of shaping to help him and a few of his crew survive, an act that causes his order to cast him out as an apostate. He arrives, along with 2 other survivors to a huge underground cavern where the secular Âratists live. As their beliefs forked off from the main branch for 3 generations, they aren’t sure what to think of these outsiders. This is where we meet Axane, a girl who has the powers of Dreaming. She becomes entranced by Gyalo and his stories of the outside and declares her desire to help him escape.

The last part of the book returns Axane, Gyalo, and the others back to society where they are met with resistance and vitriol. Gyalo is banished as an apostate for having used his powers and in failing to bring the lost Âratists back to the modern ways, the Brethren take it upon themselves to destroy them themselves by using any means necessary.

This book is a triumph of storytelling, world building, and restraint of using magical powers. Yes, it’s fantasy, but it has this strange undercurrent of what it really means to be alive, to be given gifts of miraculous powers, and which side of the fence is greener.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy epic fantasies with lots of world building that will have you questioning what it means to have faith, then Strauss’s The Burning Lands is for you.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reputation of the Burning Land as a place that has no sustaining resources, and that kills everyone who enters it, was too easily thrust aside once the expedition entered the lands. It made sense that most people wouldn’t be aware of the hidden resources of the desert, but for a while it came across as “everyone who enters this land dies… except that much of it is actually really easy to survive.” I expected at least a little bit of difficulty as they entered the area. That said, the Burning Land does eventually show its harsher side.

I enjoyed the basic core of characters in the book, including Gyalo and Axane, a Dreamer he meets while on his expedition. Gyalo is unusually firm in his faith without falling prey to many of the potential tropes in that area. Axane helped to keep me glued to the pages because I cared about what happened to her. A couple of the soldiers who accompanied Gyalo also show a surprising side of themselves. That said, some of the side characters are highly predictable and lack dimension. There’s never any question about how the order will treat Gyalo (or his companions) after he returns with his revelations. Nothing in that section was surprising, which made that portion of the book rather depressing.

There’s some great material in here exploring religion in interesting ways. The rules and strictures, the taboos, the heresies and outlooks… the main characters explore these things in thoughtful and interesting detail. With respect to dream interpretations, prophecies, etc. the book doesn’t make anything easy. There are plenty of things which are open to interpretation in all sorts of ways, and watching different characters come to different conclusions fascinated me. All of this added up to some great world-building.

Despite the occasional down-side, I very much liked The Burning Lands. It is not a fast-paced or action-filled book, and I found that to be just fine. The details of civilization, religion, and so on pulled me in until the very end, and I’d be interested to read the follow-on.



NOTE: Review book provided by publisher
For longer review including premise, visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/02/r...

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

A realm long held in the iron grasp of godless tyrants, Arsace is finally free to worship its beloved, once-outlawed deity, Ârata. But decades of cruelty and oppression have left their mark—evidenced not only by the desecrated Âratist temples throughout the holy city of Baushpar but by the widespread mistrust and suspicion that has lately fallen on the Shapers, the powerful mages whose magic is beholden to no religious or government institution.
Both a Shaper and a deeply devout priest, Gyalo Amdo Samchen has embarked on a great mission into the sacred Burning Land to rescue the renegades who, years before, fled into the desert to escape the city's madness—among them the Dreamer Axane, who dares not reveal her forbidden visions of a world beyond. But shocking truths await Gyalo in the hidden sanctuary of Refuge—and what he learns there of his quest, his land, its leaders, and its faith will cause him to question everything he fervently believes while providing the terrible spark that could ignite the war to end all wars.

*3.5 stars*


Fantasy, romance, action and danger...what more could we ask? Not too much, if the truth be told. The author has written a very solid fantasy novel here, drawing excellent MC's in Gyalo and Axane. Complex characters that delve into the moral and ethical situations that the author handles very well.

The downside for me - and it is a big one - was the religion and faith angle. The rules, the heresies etc just seemed to weigh down the movement of the plot. I felt that when something was about to get going, we would stop for an explanation first...

Anyway, a good story with some very clever characters. Worth a look!


Paul
ARH

[Fred Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Victoria Strauss’ debut novel “The Arm of the Stone” came out, I was impressed.

I continued to enjoy her work through the sequel “Garden of the Stone” and the first book of her second series, “The Burning Land.” A recent re-release of “The Burning Land” ($7.99, Open Road Media) gave me the chance to revisit Strauss’ work.

I initially reviewed “The Burning Land” when it was released in 2004, and I said then that it started slow. Almost 11 years later, as I revisit it, that seems quite the understatement. On this second read, I found the first 100 pages of the book to be almost interminably plodding. It was an effort to get through that portion of the book, and if I had not read it before and remembered enjoying it, I probably wouldn’t have made it.

I still believe “The Burning Land” makes some good points about human nature and blind faith, and I did enjoy the last three-quarters of the book, but I don’t leave it this time as impressed as I remember being after the initial read.

For some reason, I never got around to reading the sequel, “The Awakened City,” when it was originally released. I was excited about revisiting this duology as I had fond memories of Strauss’ work. I walk away from my reread of “The Burning Land” a bit less enthused, and it might be a bit longer before I jump into the sequel.

Read the full review: http://spychocyco.blogspot.com/2015/0...

[Ronja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Před začtením se jsem se (po přečtení pár recenzí) obávala, že ta kniha bude fakt strašná. Nakonec tak příšerná nebyla, po zhltnutí prvních pár desítek stran mě docela bavila, s postupem času ale nastalo zhoršení...

Zezačátku se příběh zdál zajímavý - fantasy svět s vlastním náboženstvím, díky němuž někteří lidé získali zvláštní schopnosti. Fajn, to zní docela dobře. Jenže postupem toho náboženství přibývá. Je ho hodně. Fakt hodně. Koneckonců, na tom je taky celá kniha založena. I když příběh samotný rozhodně špatný není, ono všudypřítomné rozjímání nad náboženskými problémy je...ze začátku zajímavé (prý tohle slovo používám, když o něčem nechci rovnou říct, že je to fakt špatné - prý), ale číst o tom pět set stran je opravdu úmorné. Jo, koncept má autorka skutečně promyšlený, ale toho filozofování a rozvláčného stylu je příliš na úkor akce a epické linky, takže čtenářovu pozornost to neudrží věčně.

Hrdinové mi navíc všichni přišli odosobnění a neuvěřitelní, jedinou silnou postavou je Axana, která se ovšem nakonec zachová jako slepice. Po tom všem co se jí stalo jako fakt?

Když se koukám, co jsem napsala, tak se divím, že dávám takové hodnocení. Ale já jsem hodná a dokud GR nepřidá desetibodový systém hodnocení, budu si muset ty půlky hvězd prostě domyslet a v hodnocení přidám. Tak.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantasy that will take you into a world that has been godless for several long years. Even though the people can now worship their gods, they are scare and suspicious. The main characters are so well written that they are compelling. It is an action packed adventure with a world that has magic, hidden romance and secrets. This a thought provoking novel you don't want to miss!

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

[Alysa H. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been trying for quite a while with this book. It is very well written — as I expected after having read and enjoyed 2 other books by author Victoria Strauss — but I was expecting a fantasy book with religious themes, and this really more of a religious book about religion, couched in the trappings of fantasy. This is just not at all interesting to me. Too bored to continue, I am giving up.

** I received a Review Copy of this book via NetGalley **
(2015 Open Road Media edition)

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series that is a good mix of fantasy and science fiction. It's a shame that politics and religion haven't changed much in this version of the future. Well written so there is turmoil and hope going into book 2. I've never read this author before and she seems to have a nice style and vision.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this book for NetGalley.

Ms. Strauss creates a rich and colorful fantasy world with the strong underlying theme of religion. This is very thought-provoking, which good literature should be.

I enjoyed reading the novel and following the different viewpoints of religion in the book. An interesting and different take on fantasy.

[Brett]

Fantasy

[Alice Sabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oops, I read this already. However, I didn't love it enough to read it again.

[Stacey]

Not interesting enough... may come back to it. Seems a complex, savoring book. I am way short on time to savor books.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engrossing read, with just a couple of slow parts. Intriguing characters, excellent world building. Will continue with the series.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good fantasy.