Martin F. Hengst

Ok, this started out ok… and then I was jarred out of the story by the girl's reaction to being sold into slavery. Sorry, but in that culture and era, this was not uncommon, nor would it have been terribly unexpected on her part to be sold, if not as a an out and out slave, as a 'bride' to the trader. So her reactions were completely wrong there, without some development of trust toward her father, which the author goes out of their way to show the opposite. Then, her collaring yielding show more that kind of pain… did I miss something? Is this actually SF where nerve-effects are being created by the metal? Because otherwise, that made absolutely no sense in context. If it was magical, say so, but there was no foreshadowing of magic, nor mention of it before that point in the story. Finally, the mistreatment of the girl by her fellow slave rang completely wrong. The girl abusing her had to have known that the consequences of damaging the goods would be severe. Torment and bruises under clothing, maybe. Savaging her until she couldn't stand? I was done. Look, if you're going to set a world up, do some research on parallel cultures, and stop trying to impose your mores and world view on top of them without a very good reason. show less

SENSUALITY RATING: Tired of Romance? Want to take a break away from Romance? This is a great Sci-fi even for ADULTS but "without" Romance.

GENRE: Sci-fi

SETTING: the world of Solendrea

CENTRAL FEMALE CHARACTER: TIADARIA - daughter of clan chief in the Frozen Frontier; a cry baby; possesses an unknown power.

CENTRAL MALE CHARACTER: ROYCE - former Knight of the Flame and Sergeant-at-Arms to the King; highest decorated soldier in the Imperium; last Swordmage: now Constable of a village.

SYNOPSIS: show more Sold into slavery by her father, Tiadaria finds her head on the chopping block but is bought by the only person that can commute her sentence. Royce, the Constable of the village, recognizes a power within her.

WHAT I LIKED: The forging of a powerful relationship by way of respect and caring.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE: She is a cry baby. Okay, I cried as I read some parts of the book but not like her. Oh my goodness.

OVERALL RATING: (5) stars because a great sci-fi adventure written to touch the heart. show less