What do you think?
Rate this book
Oathcursed #1
Ilfayne's Bane
He destroyed a continent. Dethroned a god. Now her love will destroy him…
Oathcursed, Book One
Hilde is shunned for her strange looks and ability to dream the future, both unwelcome gifts of the half-kyrbodan blood that flows in her veins. One of those dreams summons the legendary mage, Ilfayne. Beneath his cynicism and penchant for melting eyeballs, she discovers a tortured man driven by demons as cruel as her own. And the only man who doesn’t recoil from her.
Condemned to four thousand years of loneliness and regret, Ilfayne finds a rare thing in a friend. For that, he will do anything to keep her safe. Just as he gathers the courage to reveal the tender feelings he thought he’d lost, her kyrbodan blood forces her to bond with a man of her own race. To deny the bond means she could die. Either way, she is lost to him.
Now llfayne’s oldest enemy has resurfaced, a sorcerer who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Including targeting their greatest vulnerabilities—Ilfayne’s hidden love for Hilde, and Hilde’s guilt-wracked conscience.
When the sorcerer makes his move, Hilde holds the lives of two men in her hands—and faces a terrible and deadly choice. Loyalty…or love.
Oathcursed, Book One
Hilde is shunned for her strange looks and ability to dream the future, both unwelcome gifts of the half-kyrbodan blood that flows in her veins. One of those dreams summons the legendary mage, Ilfayne. Beneath his cynicism and penchant for melting eyeballs, she discovers a tortured man driven by demons as cruel as her own. And the only man who doesn’t recoil from her.
Condemned to four thousand years of loneliness and regret, Ilfayne finds a rare thing in a friend. For that, he will do anything to keep her safe. Just as he gathers the courage to reveal the tender feelings he thought he’d lost, her kyrbodan blood forces her to bond with a man of her own race. To deny the bond means she could die. Either way, she is lost to him.
Now llfayne’s oldest enemy has resurfaced, a sorcerer who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Including targeting their greatest vulnerabilities—Ilfayne’s hidden love for Hilde, and Hilde’s guilt-wracked conscience.
When the sorcerer makes his move, Hilde holds the lives of two men in her hands—and faces a terrible and deadly choice. Loyalty…or love.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
131 people want to read
About the author
Julia Knight
41 books85 followersOooh let's see. Um, loved fantasy since that first King Arthur book when I was about 8. I love all fantasy but particularly Epic, and I like a strong romance element too ( which is probably why that's what I write!)
I love Pratchett, Cherryh, Gaimen to name but a few, but heck I'll give anyone a go.
I love Pratchett, Cherryh, Gaimen to name but a few, but heck I'll give anyone a go.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 23, 2009
Ilfayne's Bane by Julia Knight is a Fantasy novel wrapped in a love story. It's rather well-written and though it is not explicitly labeled YA (Young Adult) I do suspect that, but for one or two scenes, it skirts the border between YA and adult Fantasy fiction.
The story centers around Hilde, a half-breed human with strange eyes who is treated like the town witch. She does have dreams and sees portents, but tries to keep such things to herself. She works in a tavern that her grandmother runs, until one night she is attacked. She then decides to run away.
What ensues is a strange journey/mystery where she meets two people of infamous reputation: the wizard Ilfayne and his partner Regin. They and their exploits are legendary, Ilfayne for his magic, Regin for his fighting. Both rescue Hilde from attacks by Shadowmen, and bring her with them to Ainald, home of the kyrbodans. It is there that Hilde discovers her true heritage, and a hidden menace.
Meanwhile, in Ganberg, another city, the king has gone crazy. Girls are going missing, only to be found drained of their blood. And trying to find out why is about to start a war....
There isn't a tremendous amount of violence, but it's there. There's also some domestic violence and discussion of rape, and an attempted rape scene. Those would possibly disqualify this book as YA material, but none of them are gratuitous. I feel the novel is a bit naive and unsophisticated in some areas, but not overwhelmingly so--just enough to give me the sense that this is probably written for those a bit younger than myself, but perhaps it's the genre?
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, though initially the author leaves a bit too much to the imagination. It was hard to get a grasp, or a visual, of the characters until the book was halfway over. Also, don't look for the love story until later on--a lot of ground is laid before even the first glance is exchanged or any feelings develop. Be patient.
As the story progresses, there are additional layers added, and overall they work well. It's not easy to juggle so many sub-plots in one book, but the author manages to keep things going in a well-controlled and smooth fashion, even including a bit of emotion and humour along the way. Knight also manages to wrap the whole thing up in a tidy ending, which is nothing to sneer at, in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The small problems with it were just that: small. I would recommend this book for ages seventeen and up, because of the violence, domestic violence, and the attempted rape scene. The book's listed as 'Fantasy Romance' on the publisher's site, but the romance is really only a catalyst to the ending. As this is the first book in the Oathcursed series, it will be interesting to see how the characters and adventures develop.
The story centers around Hilde, a half-breed human with strange eyes who is treated like the town witch. She does have dreams and sees portents, but tries to keep such things to herself. She works in a tavern that her grandmother runs, until one night she is attacked. She then decides to run away.
What ensues is a strange journey/mystery where she meets two people of infamous reputation: the wizard Ilfayne and his partner Regin. They and their exploits are legendary, Ilfayne for his magic, Regin for his fighting. Both rescue Hilde from attacks by Shadowmen, and bring her with them to Ainald, home of the kyrbodans. It is there that Hilde discovers her true heritage, and a hidden menace.
Meanwhile, in Ganberg, another city, the king has gone crazy. Girls are going missing, only to be found drained of their blood. And trying to find out why is about to start a war....
There isn't a tremendous amount of violence, but it's there. There's also some domestic violence and discussion of rape, and an attempted rape scene. Those would possibly disqualify this book as YA material, but none of them are gratuitous. I feel the novel is a bit naive and unsophisticated in some areas, but not overwhelmingly so--just enough to give me the sense that this is probably written for those a bit younger than myself, but perhaps it's the genre?
The characters are pretty well fleshed out, though initially the author leaves a bit too much to the imagination. It was hard to get a grasp, or a visual, of the characters until the book was halfway over. Also, don't look for the love story until later on--a lot of ground is laid before even the first glance is exchanged or any feelings develop. Be patient.
As the story progresses, there are additional layers added, and overall they work well. It's not easy to juggle so many sub-plots in one book, but the author manages to keep things going in a well-controlled and smooth fashion, even including a bit of emotion and humour along the way. Knight also manages to wrap the whole thing up in a tidy ending, which is nothing to sneer at, in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The small problems with it were just that: small. I would recommend this book for ages seventeen and up, because of the violence, domestic violence, and the attempted rape scene. The book's listed as 'Fantasy Romance' on the publisher's site, but the romance is really only a catalyst to the ending. As this is the first book in the Oathcursed series, it will be interesting to see how the characters and adventures develop.
June 21, 2017
Another disappointing read. The writing here was a real problem - it lacked clarity and was all over the place; you often didn't know which characters were in a scene or who was talking. The action jumped all over the place - both in time (as in events happened out of sync) and in place. The world building was poorly executed and the romance element was lacking any kind of tension or passion.
Not for me!
Not for me!
March 30, 2010
Well, Goodreads just ate my review. I'll be doing an in-depth one on my blog.
Either way -- strongly recommended for readers of high fantasy, particularly if you like the grand sweeping epic feel of the DragonLance series.
Either way -- strongly recommended for readers of high fantasy, particularly if you like the grand sweeping epic feel of the DragonLance series.
Read
December 12, 2009I done wroted it :D
And it's been nominated for an EPIC award
And it's been nominated for an EPIC award
November 28, 2017
Not sure what I made of it really!
May 19, 2013
Ilfayne's Bane pulled me in from the start. The story behind the heroine's ancestry and circumstances is very intriguing and it's easy to get on board with her adventure. The story is fast-paced from the off yet does a very good job of building up a fully-fledged fantasy world, full of sorcery, wizards and plenty of dark magic. I also enjoyed the introduction of her key secondary characters, especially Hunter, who seemed a very genuine human guy in what for me was quite a 'high fantasy' world. Julia Knight does a very good job at displaying action sequences too, involving lots of sorcery, that's clear to visualise.
In the second half of the book my interest waned, though. There's a tragic love element for the heroine about halfway through that I felt was too long-drawn out and her melancholy slows down the pace and takes up much of the characters' conversations.
I also found there were one too many action sequences in the novel. Whilst done well, it seemed we skipped from one to the other, and we never stayed in one location or fighting one battle long enough to grasp it's true significance. To add to this, I felt the Big Bad needed a bit more presence when first introduced.
All in all, a good book. I would recommend for holiday reading or for someone who hasn't the time to get involved in a large, heavy tome.
In the second half of the book my interest waned, though. There's a tragic love element for the heroine about halfway through that I felt was too long-drawn out and her melancholy slows down the pace and takes up much of the characters' conversations.
I also found there were one too many action sequences in the novel. Whilst done well, it seemed we skipped from one to the other, and we never stayed in one location or fighting one battle long enough to grasp it's true significance. To add to this, I felt the Big Bad needed a bit more presence when first introduced.
All in all, a good book. I would recommend for holiday reading or for someone who hasn't the time to get involved in a large, heavy tome.
October 28, 2010
I have rarely come across heroes like Ilfayne and Hilde. The series that comes to mind is "Nobel Dead" by Barb and JC Hendee. I also am reminded of Marie Brennan's "Warrior" and "Witch" books. Each of these books are clearly dark fantasy and not romance or romance wannabe. I am always pleasantly surprised when story material is so well refined and is done by a woman. Way to go ladies!
Was it perfect? No. But it did not need to be. The story delivered in every aspect, just stronger in some while weaker in a few others. The weakness that stood out throughout the story was deliberate and not an absence of detail. I did not know at the time that the mystery of Ifayne needed to be drug out to the very last page. Throughout the book, his description was always incomplete. I found that I did not understand Hilde either. They were two people in a crowd that did not stand out unless you made the effort to look. In the end, the mystery of who they truly were as individuals became moot and as a reader, you became grateful and more appreciative of the decisions they made in the final scenes.
By the way, this is no short story and it appears to be the beginning of a series.
Was it perfect? No. But it did not need to be. The story delivered in every aspect, just stronger in some while weaker in a few others. The weakness that stood out throughout the story was deliberate and not an absence of detail. I did not know at the time that the mystery of Ifayne needed to be drug out to the very last page. Throughout the book, his description was always incomplete. I found that I did not understand Hilde either. They were two people in a crowd that did not stand out unless you made the effort to look. In the end, the mystery of who they truly were as individuals became moot and as a reader, you became grateful and more appreciative of the decisions they made in the final scenes.
By the way, this is no short story and it appears to be the beginning of a series.
February 21, 2012
There's a really good story hiding in here. The writing lacks depth and clarity; I found myself wondering if maybe the book had been over-edited. Every once in a while, something of what I hope is the author's true voice shines through. I'll also admit to a couple of times wanting to give Hilde and Ilfayne a good shaking and tell them to snap out of it; this is usually what makes me give up on a book, but I wanted to see how this one ended. The epilogue was satisfying, and I'm planning to read some of the author's later work in hopes it will grab me more.
November 22, 2009
Review forwarded to GUD Magazine for publishing on their site.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews