The Warrior of the Third Veil

The Sisters Avramapul #2

by Victoria Goddard

In the cities along the river Ihil, the nomad tribes of the Middle Desert are almost as legendary as the gods. Sardeet is the youngest daughter of the Bandit Queen of the Oclaresh, but her father was a man of the city, and after her husband's death, he brings her to her uncle to recover from her grief.

She walks veiled and silent, as befits one who is rumoured to be the widow of a god, and the people of the city whisper about how beautiful she must be for those rumours to be abroad. They generally dismiss the other part of the story, that the reason her husband is dead is because her sister killed him.

Sardeet's sister Pali, however, knows that this is true--and that there are consequences.

The Warrior of the Third Veil is the second story of those about the Sisters Avramapul. It takes place after The Bride of the Blue Wind. While you do not need to have read The Bride of the Blue Wind, you will probably enjoy this one better having done so.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Short Stories

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 5, 2017

About the author

I walked across England in 2013, fulfilling a long-held dream. I'm currently the sexton of an Anglican church in Nova Scotia, which means I am keeper of the keys and opener of doors (and shutter-off of alarms). I have a PhD in medieval studies from the University of Toronto, looking at poetry and philosophy in the works of Dante and Boethius -- both the poetry and the philosophy come into my stories a great deal (and occasionally the Dante and the Boethius).

I like writing about the ordinary lives of magical people on the other side of the looking glass ... and the extraordinary deeds of ordinary folk, too. Three of my favourite authors are Patricia McKillip (especially 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' trilogy and 'The Bell at Sealy Head'), Connie Willis ('Bellwether' and 'To Say Nothing of the Dog,' which latter would make my top-ten books on a desert island), and Lois McMaster Bujold ('The Curse of Chalion' and its sequels). I'm aiming somewhere between them and Neil Gaiman's 'Stardust' ...

Reviews

[˗ˏˋ eg ˎˊ˗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pali my beloved <3

[sardit · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really hard to decide how to rate a book sometimes. There is, according to the author's website, a third book due in this series. I strongly suspect that that third book will make me decide how I feel about this book, because right now the series feels - well, it feels like one incomplete story.

The first book was gorgeous and lush and fairy talesque and very thin on characterization. It feels like all the characterization that wasn't addressed in the first book got pushed to this book, instead. It's the emotional aftermath of the first - Sardeet is reeling from her experiences in the first book and deciding what her path will be after that, Pali is protective and looking for her own career growth as an adventurer. It's a pause and regroup, character focused story, and while I like that, and I like the characters, it's definitely a big change from the first. The focus on character is something I thought was very much missing from the first, but it feels like it has second book of a trilogy issues without a strong sense of the third book's destination, which usually pulls a second book along, in my opinion.

I like the characters, I like the prose, but while the first book was strong on plot and thin on characterization, this book is thin on plot and strong on characterization. The third book could pull it together to make for a really great combination! There's a lot of potential there! But right now the potential feels a little lost.

[Jarmila Kašparová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Četla jsem to ve špatném pořadí (až po The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul, která se odehrává o mnoho let později) a vůbec mi to nevadilo. Výše zmíněný román je klasická high fantasy a Pali v něm je postava, která působí skutečně a živě a je mi hrozně sympatická. Kdežto tohle je spíš pohádka nebo pověst, jeden z těch starodávných magických žánrů, kde hrdinové vracejí ukradené slunce na nebe a bohové unášejí smrtelné krásky jako své nevěsty. Nejkrásnější na tom je, že Pali působí stejně přirozeně v obou žánrech. Také se mi líbí, že jsem se dozvěděla víc o Kaphyrnu - měla jsem jej za převážně pouštní svět, ale pochopitelně: je to svět a je velký a má oceány a severské země a spoustu dalších míst a podnebí. Je to kratičká knížka, spíš novela než román. Tak na jedno odpoledne. Zanechala ve mně pocit spokojenosti a touhu po světě, kde hrdinky dědí meče po prababičkách a putují světem na létajících kobercích.

[Fernanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

sofreu da síndrome do livro do meio, mais desenvolvimento de personagem do que a enredo, mas continua com a narrativa charmosa e o universo maravilhoso

"May my sister's son, Arvoliin the Flame of the Fire of Love, grant you a warm heart and a welcoming hearth", she said, "and joy in the morning when you wake in the light you returned to the world, and rest in the night that is no longer dread."

[Queen Talk Talk · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is nice to meet a young Pali.

This story flew by. Lots of layered meanings tucked into the dialogue. How do you know you are on the right path? The conscious choice makes it the right path. That isn't to say there won't be detours or wrong turns. Misinformation and inattention will cost you.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how all the little back stories to the larger works exist -- like stars in a constellation. I don't want to read them all at once, but I'm enjoying them. I particularly love how the women in this story forge their own path once fate is done with them, and it's exciting to see where they will go next.

[Jess Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame that the promised third book in this series hasn't appeared, since this novella has BIG 'middle book' mood. I felt like little plot happened, but the character developments were satisfying.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was charming. It's amazing how rich a fantasy story can be without any real action. And I like Pali and Sardeet even more, although I am disappointed that Sardeet ran off with the knife thrower instead of setting out on an adventure entirely on her own.

[Rebecca (ofliterarynature) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had a more typos than usual, but honestly I don’t care because it was great! I hope Victoria finishes the third book soon 💜

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aftermaths

This follows up on all the consequences of the last book. An adventure in itself, but more a meditation on what it all means.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I am READY for Pali Avramapul to go out adventuring, I am HYPED to know what mischief and mayhem she gets up to.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice. Told a bit like a legend, with a detached tone. I would have appreciated a larger scope of the sisters' lives, though.

[wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

big dawg pali

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a bit more characterization and some important moments for Pali, so this series is looking up. It's weird to read about the promised third book that definitely doesn't exist.

[Katie Styrt]

Even better than the first book in the series!

[AJA · Rating 2 out of 5]

filling in some back story for pali. It was ok, but again we already had most of this information.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[Talenyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was less a sequel than an obnoxiously long epilogue that still didn't finish the story.

[Kate K. F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and how it dealt with family, grief and the complex what happens after when dealing with gods and a world similar to fairy tales. I love this world and how much Goddard's books dig deep into those ideas of who we think we are meant to be versus who other people think we should be. The Sister's Avramapul novellas are shorter and they both feel like fairy tales.

[Charlie Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully well-told tale, wholly believable in its fantasy, because in all the parts that matter, the author's writing is absolutely true. Her people are real and behave in real ways. Their societies ring true. Her fine workmanship has made sure that there are no barriers, no beliefs un-suspended, to prevent us from accepting and living in her constructed world for the length of the story, and beyond.
Well done, Ms. Goddard!

Read this after The Bride of the Blue Wind.

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Victoria Goddard's books are always good, but those set before the Fall have a kind of fairy tale quality that I find less compelling than the post-Fall books, especially the Lays of the Hearthfire. It's almost as if just as His Radiancy needed Cliopher to ground him during his reign, Goddard needed Cliopher to inspire a magical realm grounded in ordinary life.