Rating: 
Summary: Unusual and Engaging Fantasy
Review: This book is different than a lot of fantasy I've read. Some of the stories read like folk tales with the author's grand, old world style. I loved the imagery and vastness of the world of the Compass Rose. I was a little overwhelmed at times, but the author's choice to tell the story through separate yet intertwined tales made the book very accessible for me. Like buying a very rich, giant-size chocolate bar and being able to breaking off tiny scored bites or a huge section. Very enjoyable book! I'm glad I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard fantasy, exotic, mysterious and compelling
Review: This fantasy novel is a story cycle with a mystery. The action takes place in a world that resembles our own in many ways. Nazarian titles each of her chapters "Dreams" and like dreams, the narrative changes point of view. The narrative involving the central characters changes from first person to third person providing insights into various characters from the various points of view. I was reminded of another recent book, David Brin's "Kiln People" in which Brin's characters can make copies of themselves, so that the reader is provided with different perspectives of the same scene, and, at the same time perspectives of the same time from different places, by the same character. Nazarian's rich imagery created for me a world of vast beauty, and the disappearance of the beauty of the world; and characters? longing for what was lost. There is a society based on justice, mercy, and compassion, that has become corrupted. I was reminded a bit of Stephan R. Donaldson Thomas Covenant series in which The Land is described as something that once so beautiful, but has been despoiled by Lord Foul, in his first novel of the series Lord Foul's Bane. There are people possessed with magical abilities, but magic in Nazarian's world is subtle, and unlike in Rowling's world of Harry Potter, tends to be internalized. Nazarian's has a gift for page-turning dialog, and realizes her characters in a way that lets us know these are real people, torn by internal struggle and extraordinary external forces. These are people who react to circumstances in ways we know and ways that are surprising, like we know in life. For example, we get to know Nadir first as a young child who survived the desert. From a peripheral character, we see him again as a young man, touched by magic, and then, grown up intensely loyal, honest, and strong. Can he save the woman he thinks hates him? Should he? So why does he protect her? And yet, this book is not about Nadir. Nazarian created a world I hope to read more stories from. It is a place of mythology and wonder, struggle and passion. It is a world of lands beyond the oceans, searing deserts, mist-filled mountains to the east, and a 1000-moon night. There are more stories waiting to be told. By the last chapter, I felt that pang of regret knowing I was at the end. I didn't want it to end already. I look forward to reading more of Nazarian's work.
Rating:
Summary: Dreams of the Compass Rose
Review: While all of the chapters can stand as stories on their own, together they build a complete, unique, and fascinating world with an unusually rich mythology and civilization. This is a fascinating read.
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