I really liked this book. Wow, it was great. Everything I look for in fantasy, well I suppose this is more of a dark fantasy, but that's probably why I like it.

 

Look at the cover !! Super pretty, and i'm not gonna lie it is why I picked up the book in the first place. The story itself though is what kept me reading.

 

This is the first book in the Outcast Chronicles trilogy. It does a really fantastic job of setting the series up, introducing characters and fleshing out the world. It covers the span of about 30 years, and follows the perspective of about four (or five I can't remember) characters. 

 

The main perspective (in my opinion) seems to be Sorne, the halfbreed son of the king, and Imoshen, a T'en woman (the magic people).

 

I love the world that Daniells has thrown us into. Its harsh, unfair, struggling. There's hatred, war and corruption. None of the characters are perfect. They make mistakes and have flaws. It's fantasy, and yet very real. It reflects real life.

 

This book ended in a cliff hanger, but then that's not very surprising, as it is part of a trilogy. I can't say if this series will have a happy ending in any sense, but if it does, the characters are going have to work very very hard for it.

 

I am very interested to read the rest of this series.

Upon Fair Isle, the garnet-eyed, silver-haired, pale-skinned, twelve-fingered T’En have nearly become a thing of legend, as years of intermarriage have made the race of conquerors nearly identical to their human subjects. But even so, T’En blooded nobles still rule the land, and, occasionally, that blood will show, resulting in a pure blooded “throwback”, causing a disruption of the tranquility as the specter of the violent past rears its ugly head. Imoshen is one of these blessed (and cursed) individuals.

 

For most of her life, Imoshen’s family has sheltered her from the revulsion and novelty that her condition causes among the nobility, but as dutiful adherents of the laws, they have taught her that as a “throwback” she must devote her life to one of service, abandoning any selfish desires for a family of her own. (Throwbacks are forbidden to marry or sire offspring.) And until recently, Imoshen accepted her fate in silence, but then her path crossed the only male throwback upon Fair Isle.

 

To say Imoshen and Roethe have sexual chemistry when they meet would be too mild a term for it. For once they are together the magic inherit within them ignites, drawing one to the other. Each touch of the other’s hand is lightning; each kiss is ecstasy; and each caress is pure nerve-tingling erotica. Quickly, Imoshen and Roethe cast societal conventions aside, announcing their intentions to wed. A decision that the nobility find frightening and somewhat abhorrent. But before the two can begin their life together, the wrath of the gods falls upon Fair Isle.

 

To the north, across the narrow seas, the Ghebite Empire has been spreading across the continent like a plague, engulfing each kingdom it touched. The barbaric horsemen too mighty for even coalitions of nations to hold back. And now – unlooked for – these conquerors have landed upon Fair Isle, intent on destroying the soulless “dhamfeer” as their religion labels the magical T’En.

 

Armies are raised. Battles are fought. And Fair Isle begins to lose.

 

All too soon, Imoshen finds herself the last of her family, Roethe’s fate unknown, beset with the legions of the famous General Tulkhan, the son of the Ghebite King and a mighty conqueror. And while every instinct within the young T’En screams for her to bar the gates to her small city, rally the remaining people and fight, the ancient T’En known as the “Aayel” – and Imoshen’s mentor – counsels something different: surrender! Not only of the city itself but of Imoshen to Tulkhan’s carnal desires to bed a pure blooded T’En. The Aayel warns that only by such a sacrifice can Imoshen save herself and all of Fair Isle!

 

Pretty interesting story. At least, I thought it would be as I began, and overall, it delivered on that promise – with a few exceptions that is. But let’s start with the positives about The Fall of Fair Isle.

 

As followers of Rowena Cory Daniells’ T’En novels already know, there is a lot of history and legend in the series. Not the general retreaded Tolkien fantasy or even the older Arthurian type that many fantasy aficionados are accustom to but something fresh yet still familiar. And in Fall, Daniells doesn’t make the mistake of unveiling her world in huge info dumps but deftly allows it to be revealed slowly and consistently as the story progresses, so that by the end many of a reader’s questions about Fair Isle and its T’En inhabitants have been answered without them even realizing it.

 

But the strength of this novel is definitely the romantic love triangle. From the first chapter, the attraction, distrust, and political machinations between Imoshen and General Tulkhan are front and center. The constant shifting of the viewpoint from one to the other allowing a reader to experience each person’s feeling as their first violent meeting leads to an even more complex relationship later on. And while Roethe enters and exits the narrative quite frequently, his presence and pull on Imoshen’s emotions and decisions never totally ceases. So if romantic love triangles and all their wicked twists and turns is something that you adore, The Fall of Fair Isle will not disappoint.

 

For all its interesting and compelling qualities, Fall did not entertain me as much as I would have liked, however. Mainly, this was due to my preconceptions of the novel. Perhaps I’ve read too many traditional grimdark fantasy series, but whatever the reason, I went into this novel expecting a great deal of combat, warfare, and intense political upheaval in the vein of Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire and instead found myself presented with a novel very light on the violence and warfare and heavy on the romance and emotional turmoil of the characters. A turn of events that was not necessarily bad but which did not meet my needs of the moment.

 

So should you give this novel a try?

 

It really depends upon your favorite type of fantasy faire. If that is grimdark or the violent variety of fantasy on the shelves, then The Fall of Fair Isle might not have what you are looking for. But if romantic fantasy is something you enjoy, then I’d recommend you pick this novel up.

 

Rebellion Publishing and Netgalley provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

In the Kingdom of Rolencia, those who own a magic known as Affinity must either serve the Abbey, be banished or face certain death, but not all those with Affinity are known and some can hide it very well.
The King's family are spread through Rolencia; the youngest son Fyn has Affinity and he is training to become an Affinity Monk, whereas the twin eldest sons are fighting to keep the land at peace and, frequent of late, each other. The only daughter holds a dark secret, but there is trouble brewing when their mysterious bastardised cousin Illien of Cobalt visits them, telling tales of his wife's and father's murder and betrayal at sea...


A semi-intriguing yarn that is pretty much standard epic fantasy: political feuds and families keeping secrets. Throw in unrequited love, children with varying special powers and hunger for power and you have a regular piece o' fantasy right in your hands.

This book did not start out well: the first half was spent setting the scene and rarely did something happen that was noteworthy. Things just seemed to potter along nicely. It was a very quick book to get through and, although the story was not terrible, it was rather tame. Toward the end the pace picked up as all the secrets began tumbling out, though it was all still rather tame. The rest of the series is not intriguing to me. It is generic fantasy and a quick read; there's not much to disappointed by if that is what you are looking for.

She does have this way of making you despair. Not like Hobb who makes me depressed, no, here I just despaired cos nothing seems to fall into place. It's one setback after another, those poor poor characters.

 

But hey that is what makes it good fantasy ;)

Daniells’ Besieged is the first book in a trilogy about the fate of the T’En (known to humans as the Wyrd), a race of near-humans blessed (cursed) with “gifts.” For three centuries there’s been an uneasy truce between them and humans. The T’En and the half-human/half-T’En Malaunje are confined to an island city, isolated estates and ghettos in select cities; T’En and Malaunje babies born to human women (which happens even if both parents are human) are given over to the T’En. That custom (and truce stipulation) is broken when King Charald’s queen bears a half-Malaunje child, and Oskane, the high priest of the Father, sees an opportunity to raise an assassin who can infiltrate T’En society and help bring about a “final solution” to the Wyrd problem. I use the term “final solution” fully aware of the connotation it should bring up with Nazis and Jews. I don’t know if Daniells wants to draw a parallel between Christian Europe and the Jews and Father-worshiping Chalcedonia and the T’En but it’s certainly there; and I can’t believe Daniells is unaware of it. For example, the event that sets Charald off on a final crusade against the T’En is when a delegation approaches him about repaying the loans the Wyrd had given him in the early days of his kingdom when he needed money to consolidate the throne. Compare this to similar situations medieval kings faced when they borrowed heavily from Jewish bankers. Or there’s the character of Charald, who becomes more and more Hitler-like as the story progresses.

 

T’En society is little better. For centuries they’ve lived in an increasingly dysfunctional society where men and women have been segregated into brother- and sisterhoods, ostensibly to protect the women from the uncontrolled gifts and aggression of the men. But the system has simply reinforced that aggression and has led to a dangerous imbalance between the two. The unexpected, and concealable, birth of a full T’En baby girl – Imoshen – to Rohaayel provides him with an opportunity to blow apart the centuries-old covenant and reassert what he considers a more proper relationship with the women.

 

Both his and Oskane’s plans fall apart when their two protégés grow up, and begin to think and act for themselves.

 

I’m giving this book a weak three-stars; it’s a 2.75/2.8 rounded up. The writing is usually good but there are sections that read awkwardly. They needed another draft to tighten up the writing. (The clearest example is the transition from part one to part two. I almost thought I was reading another, less competent author for the first few chapters.) Daniells joins those authors who write well enough that I can enjoy reading them but in this case I’m not captured by the story or characters sufficiently to care to seek out the next chapter in the saga.