The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2)

Rating:
Summary: Why Stop Now? It's getting better . . Rawn is a genius!
Review: Just when you thought Melanie was out of ideas, she strikes again. Although not fit for your average quickly bored reader, the patience you must aqquire is so very worth it. Not only is the plot once again awesome and unpredictable, but Rawn's choice of words and construction of sentences is literally satisfying. I give this five stars because anyone who loves fantasy and magic has to read this book and its prequel to have read anything worth reading! WARNING . . huge suprises ahead!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as great as Ruins of Ambrai.
Review: Ms. Rawn did a great job in writing this novel--she truly has a great style of writing. The subtle hints that are imbedded throughout Mageborn Traitor and Ruins of Ambrai are entertaining and attention grabbing. I personally liked the fact that women are dominant over men on Lenfell, and it shows a lot of creative ingenuity. The only thing that I found a slight problem with is that one of the three most popular characters, Collan, was killed off. I sincerely hope that in the Captal's Tower his story will be revealed. By the way, when is the Captal's Tower due to come out?? I know that I will look forward to it's release!!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but not without flaws
Review: I'd like to start off saying that I did enjoy this book. The change of pace from Ruins of Ambrai to the Mageborn Traitor was somewhat disconcerting, but the world-building that took place in the sequel was excellent. Rawn weaved a tapestry of great complexity and color, consolidating on her previous novel. I, for one, relished exploring the world of Lenfell. I also felt the foreshadowing and character development was first-rate. Unfortunately, Rawn has also created a society where everyone is homogenous - they're all beautiful, smart, witty, built, whatever. Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, "When beauty is universal, it loses its power to move the heart, and only its absence can produce any emotional effect." This is true with this work - after a while the reader doesn't care that Blooded Lady So-and-So is gorgeous. Also, the buildup is too long, leaving the reader waiting for some action, but the work is saved by a dramatic climax. An incredible and highly enjoyable work by Melanie Rawn.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I bought The Exiles for my kid, and it just sat on the shelf for forever. I picked up and started reading it, and was immediately caught up in the whole story. I ran right out and bought the Mageborn Traitor. I actually cried when I read about Collan dying. Now I have to go back and reread Exiles again, to see if I can figure out who Collan's parents were. I hope that Melanie Rawn tells us his story in the next book. When is "The Captal's Tower" coming out?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Tolkien class or better...
Review: Once again Melanie Rawn has written an absolutely beautiful work. I have read through it once now, and don't think I have managed to get even an inkling of the subtleties woven within. I couldn't wait for this second book, and I can't wait for the third. As far as I'm concerned this is much more than an excellent fantasy novel... it's a work of art.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous.
Review: I read this book before Exiles, and not only did I love reading it, I actually got something of value. I have never been a feminist, but ladies, read this book! Make yourself notice how often you think of men first. Thanks to you Melanie.

Rating:
Summary: A killer story!!!
Review: This book is one of the best sequels I have ever read. I felt a real bond with the charactes and there is no repition of the first book in the second It was a very emotional story and I have read it over and over and I still want to read it.

Rating:
Summary: I can't wait for the next one!
Review: Having finished the first of Rawn's Exiles volumes, I naturally ran to a bookstore to get the next one, and was not disappointed. Rawn's fantasy world where the women are the dominant ones is very intriguing, and her characters are rich and fascinating. The only thing I don't like is the way she kills off far too many of the characters I grow fond of, like Alin and Val in Ruins of Ambrai, and Col in this one. And Who Is Collan? I just hate the fact that I won't know until at least this autumn. And Caisha and Joss? I'm not sure. It's a hell of an age differance, but she does have long conversations with his great-grandfather in her head, so maybe... Anyway, I'm eager to read the next installment in this series and can't wait to get a hold of The Captal's Tower.

Rating:
Summary: Half-half
Review: I was really looking forward to this book, and while I'm not absoulutley crushed, I'm not thrilled either. Glenin's frequent attempts to kill her sisters starts seeming kind of silly, especially compared to the first book. There was, I felt, a lot more subltey to the first one. The way Joss falls in love with Cai seems slightly awkward. The plot does move along nicely, and I'm still going to buy the last one, but overall, I was left with a vauge feeling of dissaticfaction.

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL and engrossing, an absalute must!
Review: I'VE NEVER REVIEWED ANYTHING BEFORE, SO I'LL TRY NOT TO BE REDUNDANT, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPRESS HOW WONDERFUL THESE BOOKS REALLY ARE. The first one took a while to get into, but by the time I had realized who I was fighting for, I couldn't put it down, what I mean is, that M.Rawn didn't just tell you who was good and who was evil, she let you figure it out for yourself, and for a while you felt torn, but that just made your feelings about the characters in the end so much stronger. Rawn's characters are amazing, they are so real to you, you imagine yourself being them, living on Lenfell, having their experiences. Both of the books in the serries were complete page turners, my friends thought i was going insane I was sooo into these books. But you just can't help yourself, you become so involved with what will happen. I think that "The Mageborn Traitor" isn't quite as good as "The Ruins of Ambrai", but I also think that most trilogies are like that, the first book is great, the second one is good, and then the third is suberb. I can't wait for "The Captal's Tower". I think Collan will come back and see Sarah as a wraith, so he can explain what happened and who he really is. Gorsha might tell Cailet I suppose, but how could she tell Sarah? "oh yes, Gorsha, who speaks to me in my head, told me that . . ." For the person who is just flipping around trying to buy something of interest, you must be totally confused, but I hope you are also intrigued, and I hope you will buy this book as well as "Ruins", because you will never regret it. I was never into fantasy myself, and I supppose I'm still not, but these books go beyond fantasy or anything else, they are simply wonderful. (Actually, I think women would prefer these over men, you'll find out why).