Rating: 
Summary: FIVE STARS NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS
Review: What a pity a few feel they have to denigrate this superior work by an author who is so creative and talented with thin issues at best. One has to wonder about their private agendas. I have read this book twice. This book is wonderful. I teach creative writing at a local university here in Chicago. This work is rich in detail and texture, the plot fully realized; expertly executed with just a hint of underlying unanswered questions,obviously purposely left for our tantalization-for us to answer or, perhaps, for a future book. These chararacters were fully drawn- so real they almost seemed to step out of the book, both hero and heroine, strong, vital people reacting positively in a twisted society. It amazes me that there were several reviewers on here that seemed miss the point that this book was blatent satire-along with its other elements. I shook my head when I read that one person was annoyed at the way women ere portrayed as she thought, in her words, we could do it better. That WAS the entire point. How can fiction illustrate anything to us if all we get is what we want or expect to see? Disregard the few nay-sayers. Everyone I have reccommended this work to-including my students-has liked this book; it is a story that can be discussed in depth by those tryiing to ferret out Ms. Joy's angles. Brava, Ms. Joy!
Rating:
Summary: What can I say that has not been written.
Review: Except, that I want to see Jorlan and Green's child has in store for him. Arkeus has a bright and interesting future for him. The story is one that needs to be read to fully understand the meaning behind it
Rating:
Summary: Weakness, I think not!!
Review: I have read a few reviews that commented about this book having a week male figure. I think not. Jorlan is the pinnacle of male strength of a repressed female driven world. I do not see how anybody that have read the book can say that he is weak. Perhaps it is not the ability for some to comprehend, who knows. But when I read this book, I got a intense feel of how strong Jorlan really is. I recommend this book over most of the ones I have read out there. I have read over a few hundred in the last few months. This is the book that stands out to me as being a book remembered in years to come
Rating:
Summary: The only Role Reversal of its kind.
Review: Sure some may say the role reversal has been done before, but nothing of this magnitude. This is a true and only role reversal of its kind with the strength of Science Fiction background that I so love in her books. The reviews that I have read the gave it lesser rating seem to me to not fully understand or comprehend what Dara Joy has done here. I highly recommend this book over any other book that is out on the market to date.
Rating:
Summary: Love this book
Review: All, I have to say is I completely love this book. Feel it is worth every dollar I paid and then some.
Rating:
Summary: Jorlan and Green, such a perfect match.
Review: This book conveys such a strong sense of love between two characters un such a unconventional world, creatively built by Dara Joy. There is no weakness in the characters of this book. Only the perception of those that could not understand the profound impact and unique story this book sends to its readers. I highly recommend this book, if you like any of her previous works, you will definitely love this book. It is something completely different, yet with the little details that distinguish a Dara Joy book. This is a true combination of Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have never read a Dara Joy book, this is one book that you should consider to buy.
Rating: 
Summary: ritual of proof
Review: dara joy is one of my faverite authors.
.
when i saw rof in the bookstore..i imediatly
went to amazon.com..to buy it used.... frankly to me its a mixed bag..
today after all that has happened in the usa
we need an excape.. and it is that
on one hand its great..has a lot of potential on the other hand she does not deliver the
promise that could be..the book has the
potental.. to be her best..she needs to
enlarge the people.. give us more.in discription
not..in the same old ..which she does..
i feel she has used a reverse ditty wheel.
(was it barbara cartlands...) all in all i was disapointed..
its not her best..i do recomand rejar..and knight
of a trillion stars..they are 5 stars
i feel a major rewrite is in order
Rating: 
Summary: I was really disappointed.
Review: When I saw this book I couldn't wait to read it. Dara Joy did such a good job on "Night of a Trillion Stars" and "Rejar" I really thought I would enjoy this one too. But I really don't like week men, and that is how Jorlan came off to me. I guess I am old fashion when it comes to reading romances. I will definitely read more of Dara Joys books. I just didn't like this story. I still hope she will be coming out with a story for Traed from "Night of a Trillion Stars".
Rating:
Summary: Fun But Incomplete
Review: Dara Joy's "Ritual of Proof" read like a terrific synopsis. I became so absorbed and couldn't believe I'd finished it so quickly, yet I was left with many unanswered questions and expected further explanation and detail that never came. It is a full story, to say the least, but that can't keep it from being thin.
The theme of female superiority is pro-woman but not exactly original, and in the case of this story, hardly elevating. Especially harsh was the violent 'fastening' scene that we are sadly expected to interpret as loving. The one-sided 'girls-on-top' emphasis at every possible turn limited the extent of the story line. I wanted to know more about the cloistered male world, where mischevious boys were protected and molded into demure, servile young men. Little was written of the dreaded but real alternative of the 'monkery' and the religious body it supported, and nothing of spinsterhood. I loved the imperious and bitchy dialogue, reinforcing the women's noble status and primal drives, but I thought the vague descriptions of most of the characters and insufficient historical, social, and familial background information painted entertaining but two-dimensional pictures. Consequently the supposed driving force of events, the heroine's rivalry with her archenemy, seemed little more than an aside.
The predominant writing flaw was the tedious repetition of certain words and phrases, which I thought made the author appear uninspired and inattentive. The florid, wandering prose could have been so much more taut (often mistaken for 'dense') leaving room to fill out the impressions of the world to which I'd been introduced. The nearly utter lack of something as basic as the description of the cut and color of clothing and how it moved in relationship to the wearer was an unfortunate omission in a story of ostentation, action and sensuality. I was also bothered by the inconsistency in habits of speech. The formal tone lost its ability to define an individual, their class or the setting of the scene when combined at the same time with less formal speech and outright slang from the same character. I liked the original vocabulary but I thought the glossary an affront and redundant.
Any speculative story should provide clues into its singularity, whether or not it is categorized as romance, adventure or with any other additional label. Ms. Joy began to describe the culture and landscape of the intriguing off-Earth setting, but apart from teasing, indistinct references to the hero's 'sensitive' relationship to the environment, it was not enough to give me the feeling this story could have only been told on a moon called Forus. What makes the nature of this place different and unique? Was its discovery and settlement a hardship or a blessing compared to the colonists' place of origin? Allusions to so many aspects of their society (government, class and rank, mores, religion, etc.) were never fully realized and made part of the story and its characters. Readers shouldn't need to hope or wait for additional books to define and clarify characters that exist and events that occur as the prevailing story is being told.
"Ritual of Proof" is a decent read nonetheless: a quick, imaginative, textured Beginning, Middle and End. Ms. Joy 'opened the door' and invited me in with a tantalizing if incomplete picture of the world she created. I recommend this book (borrowed not bought) as a romance or a speculative novel, emphasizing its colorful voice and the potential of the writer, but add that I feel it falls short of being a really terrific book in either category.
Rating: 
Summary: Really disappointed...
Review: I have never read a Dara Joy book before but I saw this one in the bookstore and picked it up because the cover was very pretty (c'mon, you know you've done that too...) I also liked the cover blurb. It seemed different and interesting. So I was very excited to read it. I am very disappointed to say that this book wasn't as original or interesting as I thought it would be. As I was reading it, I kept thinking to myself, hmmm " Ms. Joy has written a regency romance, reversed the gender roles so that women are the powerful ones and men are subservient, and then added some funky made-up words so that it seems sciency-fictiony." I found myself skipping whole passages because I expected to drawn into a whole new place and was instead revisiting a familiar place that was simply wearing a mask. I can't recommend this book. If you are truly interested in a science-fiction/fantasy/romance book that flips gender roles, I suggest Guy Gavriel Kay's "A Song for Arbonne" or Sharon Shinn's "Heart of Gold."
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