[An old review from Amazon.com]

Medalon is a place ruled by a group called the sisterhood and the Defenders are the warriors sworn to protect and defend the Sisters from heathen corruption. The sisterhood and their followers believe that those that worship multiple gods are heathens and would love to get rid of all heathen taint.
The Harshini, a race that is believed to be extinct, are beings whom pocess powerful magic; the heathens are the only ones that seem to only believe in the existence of the Harshini, whilst to most they are a myth. There is a legend that says that the last Harshini king had sired a child with a human, the child has become known as the demon child, who was created to annihilate a god named Xaphista, the Incidental God.

R'shiel is the daughter of the First Sister of the Blade (the leader of the sisterhood), Joyhinia. She has become a disappoint to her mother because she shows no remote interest of becoming a Sister or following her orders. R'shiel's half-brother, Tarja is a captain for the Defender cause and a more greater disappointment to their mother. Joyhinia is the type of person that one will love to despise, she only attained the position of the First Sister by upsurping another, Mahina, who was more qualified.

While on duty guarding the northern border, Tarja finds out that his so-called little sister isn't who she was led to be, heritage-wise. Joyhinia has decieved many. Tarja confronts Joyhinia in front of many others and ends up having to flee for his life, along with R'shiel, whom he already disclosed Joyhinia's horrible deceit to. Tarja and R'shiel get caught up in a rebellion against the Sisterhood.

Those of you that enjoy Greek Mythology will enjoy the devine interventions from the heathen Gods in this series. My favorite God so far in this series is Dace, a boy god of thievery; he is just so darned amusing!

In the last couple of pages there is a character glossary. There's a lot of characters for one to memorize, so the glossary is quite helpful.

Is a wonderful read for all fantasy lovers. Fallon is now one of my favorite authors. Her sense of humour in this book is quite amusing, even during serious moments. I can't hardly wait to get hold of her 2nd book.

Check out Fallon's official site --> www.jenniferfallon.com ( )

This was a fairly good book and pretty good for a first novel. I'll definitely look to see if the library has her next in this projected trilogy.

The Sisters of the Blade rule their society with a tight secular grip. Having been raised to become one of the Sisters, the young R'Shiel doesn't fit in very well and eventually runs away from the Citadel and toward her true destiny. While this sounds like a well-worn plot, it does work in Fallon's hands. Recommended for readers who like a touch of magic and gods who tend to meddle in human affairs.

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

I was in the mood to find more fantasy books after I finished Sara Douglass's Wayfarer series, but about halfway through this book I just couldn't stand any more. The simplistic characters and the obvious plot really turned me off. ( )

Easily on the short list for "Worst Fantasy Ever Printed". Biggest disappointment: the atheist matriarchy sits around and does nothing. The nations are indistinguishable and uninteresting, which goes double for the characters. There is a whipping scene, but nothing else of value in the entire book. Makes a wonderful doorstop; makes an even better trade to someone else--though they'll probably never forgive you.