Transformation

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: Its refreshing to come across a new type of book in the fantasy genre. Here we have a magical being Seyonne who is a slave to a wicked ruler who is trying to exterminate his people. However, a demon begins to wreak havoc and threaten the master. Seyonne uses his unique magic to protect his master. The result is two-fold. He beings to become friends with his master, and the demons become concerned that they cannot control the king. then the real battle begins. This is an amazingly well written story and the characters are exotic and wonderful. I can't wait to read the sequel, but this book is well worth it as a stand alone novel.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This is Book One in a three book series. I took it to Hawaii on vacation, and just for the heck of it threw books Two and Three in my suitcase, never believing I'd get past Book One. Wrong! I couldn't put it down! I was glancing at volcanoes, then sticking my nose back in my novel! I don't usually like such moody, melodramatic writing (tortured souls), but Carol Berg does it extremely well and I totally bought into it, rather than rolling my eyes. The main characters are believable, flawed, and very likeable. I was routing for them from page one. The story starts with a bang and doesn't let up. I was completely caught up in the tale and couldn't stop turning pages to see what would happen. The "world" and magic are intriguing and unique. Book Two bogs down a little (as second books in a trilogy often do), but Book Three pulls it all back together with a bang. I closed the last page of Book Three with a deep sigh and half a tear. I strongly recommend this unique and powerful series.

Rating:
Summary: Deft and Intelligent
Review: This is the first book I've read by Carol Berg. Others have written excellent plot synopses, and so instead I will explain why I rated this book so highly.

First of all, I was impressed by the rich and realistic characterization. Both male and female chracters, no matter how minor, possessed fully drawn personalities. Neither catered to any extreme of gender stereotypes, and the females were allowed to be as strong, capable, and resourceful as the males. I only found one 'twist' irritating, and that was in the character of Ysanne - it wrapped things up way too neatly!

The plot itself is fairly simple and fast-paced, without too many characters to keep track of. There is some political intrigue without the books becoming bogged down in politics like the "Kushiel" series. Carol Berg does a marvellous job setting up Prince Aleksander as a deft, if rash player on the political field.

This book shied away from cultures based on major cultures of the earth. While Aleksander's people had names that were somewhat Russian in nature, nothing leaped out and screamed, "Russia on another plane!" (There's nothing more annoying than another book based painfully loosely on the Celts/Samurai/Norse, etc. - write a history about the people already, if that's what does it for you!)

The author was not afraid to show that -gasp- two men actually cared for and loved one another! Good for her. There wasn't even any manly shoulder slapping, but genuine affection. (Of course, the fact that it was only friendly affection was the one thing that disappointed me about the book - but we all know that there are no gay good men in fantasyland.)

The slave Seyonne has been (and is) tortured both mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually, but the author doesn't linger on the scenes with such raptor-like delight as does Goodkind and others of his ilk. She mentions it and gets on with the story.

I also like the fact that the story has no overt dogma to pass on, such as 'communism is bad' (Goodkind) or 'womyn rule' (Bradley and too many tiring others to mention). This is just a simple story of good vs. evil.

All in all a stellar work, and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, disturbing, melancholy, brooding -- great adjectives!
Review: They apply here. Not a pretty story -- a slave of sixteen years begins the painful, slow emergence from his years of agony, finally rediscovering himself under the hand of his new master, the Emperor's heir. Breaking the book in halves, the first is about the breaking of the chains of slavery, the second about liberating his soul from its shadow. Like I said, not light stuff. That said, it's really well done. The magic (demons everywhere) and scope (end of the world) are typical fantasy stuff -- but moderated, controlled, and integrated into the story's epic progress, and aren't allowed to swallow the plot, the characters, or the central themes. Epic fantasy is hard, but Berg draws you in. By the end, you'll be cheering too. This is some of the best fantasy out there. Don't forget the sequels, they won't disapoint.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent angst-driven fantasy
Review: In the tradition of Mercedes Lackey, Robin Hobb, etc. this is fantasy driven by the angst of the protagonist rather than the action sequences. Basically, this is a book about the hero's relationship with others and how those relationships change his perspective of himself. All the book's action sequences drive this narrative and not the other way around. This is a really good example of the genre; I deeply identified with the protagonist and was enraptured by his spiritual journey.