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Blood of the Kindred #1
The Betrayal
The noble and magical aelven were riven by war when a rogue clan embraced a forbidden source of the drinking of blood. In the bitter fighting that ensued, the vampiric Clan Darkshore were cast out of the aelven and driven across the Ebon Mountains. Stripped of their various clan colors, they were thenceforth known only as “alben,” hated and shunned. An uneasy peace now holds over the land, but it is whispered that Shalár, the beautiful and bloodthirsty queen of the alben, is readying a surprise attack to win back all that was lost–and none can say where or when she will strike.
The fate of the clans will depend on two young aelven lovers, Eliani and Turisan, who are blessed with a legendary the fabled power of mindspeech. But this ability comes with great risks. Time is running out as the alben mount their attack–and their ultimate betrayal.
The fate of the clans will depend on two young aelven lovers, Eliani and Turisan, who are blessed with a legendary the fabled power of mindspeech. But this ability comes with great risks. Time is running out as the alben mount their attack–and their ultimate betrayal.
373 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Pati Nagle
50 books62 followersPati Nagle is the author of two linked romantic fantasy series: the Blood of the Kindred historical series (THE BETRAYAL, HEART OF THE EXILED, SWORDS OVER FIRESHORE), and The Immortal Saga contemporary series (IMMORTAL, ETERNAL, FOREVER). She was born and raised in the mountains of northern New Mexico. An avid student of music, history, and humans in general, she loves the outdoors but hides from the sun.
Nagle's stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Cicada, Cricket, and in various anthologies, including collections honoring New Mexico writers Jack Williamson and Roger Zelazny. She has also written a series of historical novels as P.G. Nagle. She is a Writers of the Future finalist and finalist for the New Mexico Press Women's Zia Award. Her short story "Coyote Ugly" received an honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and was honored as a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.
She lives in the mountains in New Mexico with her husband and two furry muses, surrounded by trees, starry skies, and wildlife.
Nagle's stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Cicada, Cricket, and in various anthologies, including collections honoring New Mexico writers Jack Williamson and Roger Zelazny. She has also written a series of historical novels as P.G. Nagle. She is a Writers of the Future finalist and finalist for the New Mexico Press Women's Zia Award. Her short story "Coyote Ugly" received an honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and was honored as a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.
She lives in the mountains in New Mexico with her husband and two furry muses, surrounded by trees, starry skies, and wildlife.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 2, 2021
NB: Reviewer's note... After some reflection, I am reinstating the reviews I had deleted and will hold off on deleting the rest. I will link to an explanation at my blog page ASAP.
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I found this one to be really disappointing.
Good points: The world building had some interesting elements -interesting enough that I'm giving this 1.5 stars rather than the one I would have given it otherwise. In particular, I found the idea of the main characters being part of a magical race reminiscent of elves was really interesting: I wondered if the non magical and more 'primitive' (i.e. less technologically advanced) race known as the kobalen could be early humans, and it was really interesting to have the author potentially turn things around like that. (In other words, in many novels elves are 'other' and seen from the point of view of humans.) The elaboration of a relatively complex society was also relatively well done, a society in which kinship ties were of considerable importance and where magic was a part of everyday life.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
-World building:While the initial ideas with regards to the world building were very interesting, they weren't followed though. In other words, while the initial ideas were interesting, there were some elements of the universe/world which should have been established or explained and were not. This made me feel as though the author had some interesting initial ideas which they never really bothered to think through in much detail. Here are some examples of what I mean:
(1) Why the aelven could not even consider the notion that the alben (i.e. the 'evil' elves) might be sick/ill and not evil in the past and yet can do so in the present was not clear. Of course it might be due to the personalities involved in making the decisions in the past vs. present, but this is never explained.
(2) Was the alben queen responsible for the (past) war between the aelven and kobalen? If so, why? And if not, what were the origins of this war?
(3) Are the kobalen similar to 'early' or 'proto' humans?
(4) What was the 'betrayal' mentioned in the title? I mean, the alben or evil 'elves' betrayed their so-called creed centuries ago and are simply continuing in the same vein, so I'm rather at a loss...
(5) If the aelven are so in tune with nature and the world (e.g. being able to feel the magical life force of all living things, etc.) then why do they hate the kobalen so much (i.e. since they are, after all, another intelligent race)? Especially if their life force of 'khi' is similar enough to that of the aelven that the alben can survive by feeding on them rather than aelven, which is not the case for animals...
(6) The kobalen are referred to as 'primitive' by the aelven and the alben (i.e. the 'evil' aelven), but how true is this? The fact that they are tool users (e.g. they definitely make knives and such) is mentioned in this book. However nothing is mentioned regarding their society(ies): how do they function as a group or groups? Do they have any form of government? Do they build anything (e.g. houses)?
(7) How old was the alben queen when she and her people left Fireshore? What happened after several centuries to make her so obsessed with returning there?
(8) Where did the aelven come from? Have they always lived in the land they currently live in?
See what I mean?
-Characterization: There were BIG problems here.
(1) Eliani and Turisan's tru lurve. We are supposed to accept that they fall in love in love and handfast (i.e. 'marry') in the space of a few days. In fact, Eliani feels guilty for her lack of trust of Turisan! Which is ridiculous really, because, you know, she's known him for all of a week or so?
I mean, I understand that they found a magical connection to one another by touching one another's life source (i.e. 'khi') and that this probably means that they got some notion of the fundamental core of each other's personality and being. However, note that I use the word 'probably', because this is never established by the author, who simply leaves us guessing.
IMO, if we are supposed to believe that these two can really be deeply in love, we need a little more, here.
(2) Eliani. OMG. Somehow this (main) character was really and truly obnoxious. In particular, she is average in appearance but several men are (mysteriously and for reasons I truly cannot fathom) in love with her while she is utterly oblivious.
Remind you of any YA tropes?
She is noted for being 'impatient' (read, thoughtless), and when another character pauses to think about the kobalen and the fact that they do constitute another intelligent species she brushes this aside by noting (although she is hardly alone in this) that they are simply 'vermin' and that she hates them. She (although once again, she is hardly alone in this) never once considers the fact that she has killed many members of this race simply because they dared trespass on aelven lands.
Oh, and did I mention she's rather spoiled? For instance, she rushes into danger without even noticing that her father 'arranges' to have her escorted by others. She spends the entire book thinking solely about herself. It would have been nice to have her, despite her romantic woes, worry about others a bit. Just so as to not have her feel like a self-centered jerk. (Instead, she spends the entire book agonizing over Turisan. The only instance I can think of where she considers someone else's feelings is when she -very belatedly- realizes another fellow named Luruthin is in love with her and is being hurt by her relationship with Turisan.)
It is also established that she had a bad relationship with a fellow named Kelevon. It is hinted throughout the story that she was traumatized by her history with this fellow, but when we finally learn what happened it turns out he was just... insensitive? And that she blames herself for their breakup even though he was a bit of an ass?
So we have both a trauma without the actual trauma, and victim-blaming here, it looks like. And we're apparently supposed to root for an empty-headed ninny.
Lovely.
(3) Turisan. He seems to be a pretty decent fellow, but other than that, I can't say much about what makes him a unique person (except that he dislikes wearing formal clothing), even after reading the entire book. Go figure. *snores*
(4) Shalár. It is not entirely clear whether she is obsessed with retaking her people's ancestral lands (i.e. before they were driven away by the aelven) because things are going badly for her people and somehow in her desperation has come to associate this return with the solution to their problems, or because she's just cooky, or what. It's never really explained.
Also, she oscillates between having sex with every male in sight (which would be a GREAT and wonderful change from the nth virginal female character in fiction if only the author could be consistent about the character's reasoning) as she desperately hopes to conceive a child, before contradicting herself by saying that her consort should be the one to father her child. Er... what??? (I sense several logical fallacies, here. In particular, if you keep trying to be imgregnated by other males, you do know that means the sperm from your consort doesn't magically switch places with that of the other male in order to have him be the lucky baby daddy??)
I'm so confused.
-The plot. Overall, not much happens. Turisan shows up for a meeting at the beginning of the book, then everyone travels for a further council meeting. Eliani leaves to find out why one group didn't show up and winds up coming back for another meeting. The End.
Now, I'm not saying one needs to have non stop action in every book. But when it happens that the characters are already supremely unlikeable, the plot could have been the book's saving grace.
Suffice it to say that it isn't.
-The ending. The book doesn't END, it merely STOPS. In other words, nothing is resolved, and you have to buy 5 more books or so before anything will be. (I explain what I mean by non endings/stopping more in detail here.)
Other little notes:
(i) It seems that Eliani and Turisan's fathers were, at the very least, great friends and still care a great deal about each other. It is unclear whether they were ever more than friends (especially if they hoped for mindspeech between the two of them)? It would have been nice to have a book where not everyone is heterosexual, but one can't have everything, I guess. (Or anything much at all, in the case of this book.)
(ii) Luruthin is another male aelven who is (inexplicably, IMHO) in love with the vapid Eliani. He is brokenhearted when she handfasts (i.e. 'marries') Turisan but promptly falls for another woman (i.e. the very night Eliani and Turisan 'wed'!!). Oh well, the angst was nice while it lasted, I suppose. Oh, and did I mention his new squeeze is pregnant (because they know immediately when conception occurs)? Yep.
So all in all, I would recommend not wasting your time on this one. (I think I surprised myself by how much I felt like venting in this review. Oh well.)
1.5 stars.
---------------
I found this one to be really disappointing.
Good points: The world building had some interesting elements -interesting enough that I'm giving this 1.5 stars rather than the one I would have given it otherwise. In particular, I found the idea of the main characters being part of a magical race reminiscent of elves was really interesting: I wondered if the non magical and more 'primitive' (i.e. less technologically advanced) race known as the kobalen could be early humans, and it was really interesting to have the author potentially turn things around like that. (In other words, in many novels elves are 'other' and seen from the point of view of humans.) The elaboration of a relatively complex society was also relatively well done, a society in which kinship ties were of considerable importance and where magic was a part of everyday life.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
-World building:While the initial ideas with regards to the world building were very interesting, they weren't followed though. In other words, while the initial ideas were interesting, there were some elements of the universe/world which should have been established or explained and were not. This made me feel as though the author had some interesting initial ideas which they never really bothered to think through in much detail. Here are some examples of what I mean:
(1) Why the aelven could not even consider the notion that the alben (i.e. the 'evil' elves) might be sick/ill and not evil in the past and yet can do so in the present was not clear. Of course it might be due to the personalities involved in making the decisions in the past vs. present, but this is never explained.
(2) Was the alben queen responsible for the (past) war between the aelven and kobalen? If so, why? And if not, what were the origins of this war?
(3) Are the kobalen similar to 'early' or 'proto' humans?
(4) What was the 'betrayal' mentioned in the title? I mean, the alben or evil 'elves' betrayed their so-called creed centuries ago and are simply continuing in the same vein, so I'm rather at a loss...
(5) If the aelven are so in tune with nature and the world (e.g. being able to feel the magical life force of all living things, etc.) then why do they hate the kobalen so much (i.e. since they are, after all, another intelligent race)? Especially if their life force of 'khi' is similar enough to that of the aelven that the alben can survive by feeding on them rather than aelven, which is not the case for animals...
(6) The kobalen are referred to as 'primitive' by the aelven and the alben (i.e. the 'evil' aelven), but how true is this? The fact that they are tool users (e.g. they definitely make knives and such) is mentioned in this book. However nothing is mentioned regarding their society(ies): how do they function as a group or groups? Do they have any form of government? Do they build anything (e.g. houses)?
(7) How old was the alben queen when she and her people left Fireshore? What happened after several centuries to make her so obsessed with returning there?
(8) Where did the aelven come from? Have they always lived in the land they currently live in?
See what I mean?
-Characterization: There were BIG problems here.
(1) Eliani and Turisan's tru lurve. We are supposed to accept that they fall in love in love and handfast (i.e. 'marry') in the space of a few days. In fact, Eliani feels guilty for her lack of trust of Turisan! Which is ridiculous really, because, you know, she's known him for all of a week or so?
I mean, I understand that they found a magical connection to one another by touching one another's life source (i.e. 'khi') and that this probably means that they got some notion of the fundamental core of each other's personality and being. However, note that I use the word 'probably', because this is never established by the author, who simply leaves us guessing.
IMO, if we are supposed to believe that these two can really be deeply in love, we need a little more, here.
(2) Eliani. OMG. Somehow this (main) character was really and truly obnoxious. In particular, she is average in appearance but several men are (mysteriously and for reasons I truly cannot fathom) in love with her while she is utterly oblivious.
Remind you of any YA tropes?
She is noted for being 'impatient' (read, thoughtless), and when another character pauses to think about the kobalen and the fact that they do constitute another intelligent species she brushes this aside by noting (although she is hardly alone in this) that they are simply 'vermin' and that she hates them. She (although once again, she is hardly alone in this) never once considers the fact that she has killed many members of this race simply because they dared trespass on aelven lands.
Oh, and did I mention she's rather spoiled? For instance, she rushes into danger without even noticing that her father 'arranges' to have her escorted by others. She spends the entire book thinking solely about herself. It would have been nice to have her, despite her romantic woes, worry about others a bit. Just so as to not have her feel like a self-centered jerk. (Instead, she spends the entire book agonizing over Turisan. The only instance I can think of where she considers someone else's feelings is when she -very belatedly- realizes another fellow named Luruthin is in love with her and is being hurt by her relationship with Turisan.)
It is also established that she had a bad relationship with a fellow named Kelevon. It is hinted throughout the story that she was traumatized by her history with this fellow, but when we finally learn what happened it turns out he was just... insensitive? And that she blames herself for their breakup even though he was a bit of an ass?
So we have both a trauma without the actual trauma, and victim-blaming here, it looks like. And we're apparently supposed to root for an empty-headed ninny.
Lovely.
(3) Turisan. He seems to be a pretty decent fellow, but other than that, I can't say much about what makes him a unique person (except that he dislikes wearing formal clothing), even after reading the entire book. Go figure. *snores*
(4) Shalár. It is not entirely clear whether she is obsessed with retaking her people's ancestral lands (i.e. before they were driven away by the aelven) because things are going badly for her people and somehow in her desperation has come to associate this return with the solution to their problems, or because she's just cooky, or what. It's never really explained.
Also, she oscillates between having sex with every male in sight (which would be a GREAT and wonderful change from the nth virginal female character in fiction if only the author could be consistent about the character's reasoning) as she desperately hopes to conceive a child, before contradicting herself by saying that her consort should be the one to father her child. Er... what??? (I sense several logical fallacies, here. In particular, if you keep trying to be imgregnated by other males, you do know that means the sperm from your consort doesn't magically switch places with that of the other male in order to have him be the lucky baby daddy??)
I'm so confused.
-The plot. Overall, not much happens. Turisan shows up for a meeting at the beginning of the book, then everyone travels for a further council meeting. Eliani leaves to find out why one group didn't show up and winds up coming back for another meeting. The End.
Now, I'm not saying one needs to have non stop action in every book. But when it happens that the characters are already supremely unlikeable, the plot could have been the book's saving grace.
Suffice it to say that it isn't.
-The ending. The book doesn't END, it merely STOPS. In other words, nothing is resolved, and you have to buy 5 more books or so before anything will be. (I explain what I mean by non endings/stopping more in detail here.)
Other little notes:
(i) It seems that Eliani and Turisan's fathers were, at the very least, great friends and still care a great deal about each other. It is unclear whether they were ever more than friends (especially if they hoped for mindspeech between the two of them)? It would have been nice to have a book where not everyone is heterosexual, but one can't have everything, I guess. (Or anything much at all, in the case of this book.)
(ii) Luruthin is another male aelven who is (inexplicably, IMHO) in love with the vapid Eliani. He is brokenhearted when she handfasts (i.e. 'marries') Turisan but promptly falls for another woman (i.e. the very night Eliani and Turisan 'wed'!!). Oh well, the angst was nice while it lasted, I suppose. Oh, and did I mention his new squeeze is pregnant (because they know immediately when conception occurs)? Yep.
So all in all, I would recommend not wasting your time on this one. (I think I surprised myself by how much I felt like venting in this review. Oh well.)
1.5 stars.
August 26, 2019
I liked this book a lot. It made for a great day reading by the pool. Why I did not give it a higher rating...the main character had an unbelievable reaction to Mindspeaking and it lasted too long. She was raised knowing she would eventually govern her region. She has also been a part of their guard for years. Growing up that way she would think in militaristic terms. I believe she would have almost immediately realized how helpful instant communication across such distances and boundaries would be, especially with the looming danger they were facing. Instead of the “I don’t want an intimate relationship” conflict. Sure that could have been a big part of the book but having her not consider the benefits was in my opinion unrealistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2009
The Betrayal is a romantic fantasy told from three main point of views, Eliani, Turisan and Shalár. They live in a world where the aelven are the dominate race but divided. The aelven consider themselves to be a race of good elves, who rule their world by trying to do no harm and staying inline with nature. The alben are elves who have gone against the aelven creed by drinking the blood of kobalen. The kobalen are primative, hairy man-like creatures with questionable intelligence. The aelven do not consider the alben to be part of their aelven race anymore, ever since the Bitter wars, which was caused by the blood drinking.
Eliani hasn't been so lucky in the love department, so when she discovers the gift of mindspeech with Turisan, she is very hesitant and scared about accepting it and the love Turisan has to offer. The road to acceptance for Eliani is littered with ghosts from her past, so Turisan has many obstacles in his way while he tries to convince Eliani of his love for her. But Eliani has to decide quick, because the use of mindspeech could be the deciding factor of who will be the victor, if her people have to go to war.
Shalár, the queen of the alben, wants to reclaim the land, Fireshore, that was lost to her clan during the Bitter wars. She has been plotting to bring Fireshore and prosperity back to her dwindling clan, that begins to unfold unbeknown to the aelven. Shalár can be a fierce ruler and at the same time a compassionate soul.
The book cover for The Betrayal caught my attention at the bookstore but I didn't buy it then. Later that same day, I read a review on it at Romance Book Wyrm, which got me very interested. So, I ordered it online and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed reading The Betrayal, it reminded me of the Dragonlance worlds but with much more romance mixed in. The storyline moves along at a good pace, Pati Nagle keeps your interest peaked as you turn each page. You'll find yourself wondering just whose side are you on, the Aelven or the Alben.
The Betrayal is the first book in the Aelven series, the second book Heart of the Exiled is due out late spring/early summer of 2010 according to Pati Nagle's web site. There is a map, cast of characters, a glossary and more on the Aelven web site, good references while reading the book.
Eliani hasn't been so lucky in the love department, so when she discovers the gift of mindspeech with Turisan, she is very hesitant and scared about accepting it and the love Turisan has to offer. The road to acceptance for Eliani is littered with ghosts from her past, so Turisan has many obstacles in his way while he tries to convince Eliani of his love for her. But Eliani has to decide quick, because the use of mindspeech could be the deciding factor of who will be the victor, if her people have to go to war.
Shalár, the queen of the alben, wants to reclaim the land, Fireshore, that was lost to her clan during the Bitter wars. She has been plotting to bring Fireshore and prosperity back to her dwindling clan, that begins to unfold unbeknown to the aelven. Shalár can be a fierce ruler and at the same time a compassionate soul.
The book cover for The Betrayal caught my attention at the bookstore but I didn't buy it then. Later that same day, I read a review on it at Romance Book Wyrm, which got me very interested. So, I ordered it online and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed reading The Betrayal, it reminded me of the Dragonlance worlds but with much more romance mixed in. The storyline moves along at a good pace, Pati Nagle keeps your interest peaked as you turn each page. You'll find yourself wondering just whose side are you on, the Aelven or the Alben.
The Betrayal is the first book in the Aelven series, the second book Heart of the Exiled is due out late spring/early summer of 2010 according to Pati Nagle's web site. There is a map, cast of characters, a glossary and more on the Aelven web site, good references while reading the book.
June 13, 2010
A very decent fantasy story. The world building was great, the writing style really fit the fantasy setting and the storyline was interesting. I liked how you got to see things from both the aelven and the alben side of the story and Nagle even managed to make me feel for the alben, making it hard to pick a side. I was disappointed that the character that intrigued me the most (won't tell you the name of the character) was the one who didn't survive this book though. And I must confess I thought the book was too short. The story ended at a point where I wanted much more to happen and I felt frustrated by that. There is going to be a sequel luckily enough in January 2011 though: 'Heart of the Exiled'.
July 2, 2012
I was very disapointed. The story was very slow and most of this book was set-up. I don't mind a book that is a set-up for a series, but this book was not advertised that way. The main conflict, which was prodominant on the back of the book, just barely got started at the end of the book. I also didn't care for how the two main characters got together. They barely spent any time together (it felt like they were apart more than together). She was afraid to have a relationship with him due to a past failed relationship, but, yet, all of the sudden, she tells him that she will handfast with him (which in this world is permanate and very binding). Needless to say, I will not invest anymore of my time or money to this series.
March 23, 2011
I liked the story and the premise of the book. It was pretty well written and made me want to know what was going to happen. It was a tad predictable because I figured out who the betrayer was almost right away. I also get frustrated by writers who make up words in other worlds that are hard to say/pronounce/read.
July 30, 2012
1.5 Stars
I made it to page 228 and skimmed the rest. It just seemed to lose steam. The idea was neat but going back and forth between 6+ POV's was just getting painful. I honestly did not care about Dareth and Shalar. Turisan seemed a little flat. Eliani seemed to resort to acting like a little girl than a woman who was in charge of her homelands guard and future ruler.
I made it to page 228 and skimmed the rest. It just seemed to lose steam. The idea was neat but going back and forth between 6+ POV's was just getting painful. I honestly did not care about Dareth and Shalar. Turisan seemed a little flat. Eliani seemed to resort to acting like a little girl than a woman who was in charge of her homelands guard and future ruler.
May 22, 2011
I was lead to expect this would be a fast-paced, exciting book. It was just all right. I like the setup, it was the execution that fell short, for me. I was also disappointed to find that it seems to be part one of a much longer series.
October 10, 2011
I found this book a little wishy-washy for the Eliani/Tursian part. Had this book been really mostly about/with Shalar I may have enjoyed it more but even then Shalar was a little over the top being 'too bad ass' with really little to show for it.
November 14, 2010
blood drinking has never been better done
August 28, 2016
While good. It was not memorable, and had trouble keeping my attention.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews