Sunday 13 June 2010

The Betrayal - Book Review

The Betrayal by Pati Nagle

What is it about:
The noble and magical aelven were riven by war when a rogue clan embraced a forbidden source of magic: 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 gift: 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.


What did I think of it:
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'.

Why should you read it:
If you like elves and fantasy I think you'll like this story.

2 comments:

vvb32 reads said...

sounds good. but it also sounds like it fell short. ah well.

Sullivan McPig said...

well, I must confess I have the habit of liking the characters that die.