The Oracle Betrayed

Rating:
Summary: Great book about growing up and finding one's unique path
Review: Mirany is chosen to be a Bearer of the God in the society where 9 priestesses serve to the God's different needs. It's a great honor to become one of the priestesses. With the respect and adoration of average people, the title gives each of the 9 the status and the power to control the life of the society they live in. The only reason for Mirany being chosen is that she seems to be easily controllable. Imagine the surprise, when under the timid and shy appearance, a very resourceful and thoughtful individual emerge as the story progresses.
Mirany's character grows as the story goes on; she starts out questioning God's existence (quietly in her own thoughts, terrified that someone could find out) then confronted with the fact that God might be real after all (reincarnated in the young boy Alexos), she still doesn't stop questioning God's work - the society she lives in, its inequality and cruelty. On one hand she believes that Alexos is the new Archon, but on the other she still sees everything that is wrong with people and society around her and doesn't understand how and why the God would allow things to be that way. Seth, the practical and ambitious scribe (another character from the book) seems to shear Mirany's dual attitude towards the God, but with somewhat more practical attitude - ok, God's great, but we mortals here have to fend for ourselves and help ourselves, because no one else will. Oblek, the old bad tempered musician, loves the "Old Man" (the Archon), but more like an old friend than someone to worship. These three very different people with different motivations have the common purpose - to make sure that Alexos will be chosen as the new Archon. And all three of them discover different parts of themselves during their quest.
I definitely recommend the book to anyone 10 and up. It has the adventure, intrigue and "edge of the seat" suspense for the younger audience, while bringing up questions that people can spend their whole life trying to answer.


Rating:
Summary: Flawed but promising
Review: Catherine Fisher doesn't use all the promise that "The Oracle Betrayed" has, although the book improves as it goes on. Her writing is lackluster and the setting is sketchy, but the intricate plotline has promise, if she can learn to use it sufficiently.

The Archon, a vessel for an unnamed god, is sacrificed so that the drought will end and it will finally rain. But young priestess Mirany finds out something far more sinister when she goes to clean out the Archon's quarters -- he has left a note for her, warning her that the Speaker is not speaking for the god. Instead, she and her power-hungry lover are planning to set up a new, fake Archon to be their puppet.

Mirany ends up befriending Oblek, a sozzled old musician, and Seth, a boy who has a deep, dark secret that he can never tell Mirany. When the god speaks directly to Mirany, she sends Seth and Oblek to find the new Archon in an impoverished village. But Mirany may have gone too far in her investigations -- and she may be the next one murdered.

"The Oracle Betrayed" starts off on a shaky note. The setting is a random mishmash of ancient Greece and Egypt, and Fisher doesn't really explain the civilization or religious system at the beginning of the book. What are the Nine? What's up with that scorpion? Why's the old man dying? You'll find out eventually, but it's rather frustrating to have to take such things on faith.

Fortunately, Fisher's plot steadies itself as she progresses through the book. By the time we meet Oblek, things are going at a pretty good pace. Her writing also starts off very start and dull, but blossoms by the middle of the book. Fisher seems to become more eloquent once she gets into the flow of the plotline.

Mirany is the weakest character in the book; she seems rather petulant and meek. But Seth and Oblek are excellent characters. One is a boy who has made a Faustian pact with a tomb-robber, so that his little sister can have some valuable water. And the other is a drunken musician who is a lot sharper than he seems.

Catherine Fisher's "The Oracle Betrayed" starts off on shaky ground, but gets better footing as the plot proceeds. A promising and enticing fantasy book, if somewhat flawed.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but promising
Review: Catherine Fisher doesn't use all the promise that "The Oracle Betrayed" has, although the book improves as it goes on. Her writing is lackluster and the setting is sketchy, but the intricate plotline has promise, if she can learn to use it sufficiently.

The Archon, a vessel for an unnamed god, is sacrificed so that the drought will end and it will finally rain. But young priestess Mirany finds out something far more sinister when she goes to clean out the Archon's quarters -- he has left a note for her, warning her that the Speaker is not speaking for the god. Instead, she and her power-hungry lover are planning to set up a new, fake Archon to be their puppet.

Mirany ends up befriending Oblek, a sozzled old musician, and Seth, a boy who has a deep, dark secret that he can never tell Mirany. When the god speaks directly to Mirany, she sends Seth and Oblek to find the new Archon in an impoverished village. But Mirany may have gone too far in her investigations -- and she may be the next one murdered.

"The Oracle Betrayed" starts off on a shaky note. The setting is a random mishmash of ancient Greece and Egypt, and Fisher doesn't really explain the civilization or religious system at the beginning of the book. What are the Nine? What's up with that scorpion? Why's the old man dying? You'll find out eventually, but it's rather frustrating to have to take such things on faith.

Fortunately, Fisher's plot steadies itself as she progresses through the book. By the time we meet Oblek, things are going at a pretty good pace. Her writing also starts off very start and dull, but blossoms by the middle of the book. Fisher seems to become more eloquent once she gets into the flow of the plotline.

Mirany is the weakest character in the book; she seems rather petulant and meek. But Seth and Oblek are excellent characters. One is a boy who has made a Faustian pact with a tomb-robber, so that his little sister can have some valuable water. And the other is a drunken musician who is a lot sharper than he seems.

Catherine Fisher's "The Oracle Betrayed" starts off on shaky ground, but gets better footing as the plot proceeds. A promising and enticing fantasy book, if somewhat flawed.

Rating:
Summary: The Oracle Betrayed Review
Review: Mirany is a girl who had a simple life in the arid desert tundra, until she got chosen that is. She was chosen to be the bearer of the God, their idol who decides when to bring the priceless rain and normally comes to them in the form of snakes, scorpions, and other scuttling creatures. This is a huge honor for someone as young and inexperienced as Mirany, although soon it is apparent that she is much more powerful than she thinks. Nine other girls serve the god. Just after receiving her new post, her life is constantly in danger.
The Archon is dead, the speaker is false, and the oracle is being betrayed. The speaker of the god Hermia tells the people what the god says through the oracle and delivers it to the people to appease the god so the rains come. The people don't know however that they are being deceived. Hermia is in league with general Argelin who has intense power over the land and its inhabitants. They are planning to betray the oracle by giving false information to the people and intend to dictate the choosing of the new ruler, who is supposed to have the presence of the god within him and is known as the Archon. This plot between the two most powerful people in the land has unearthed a disturbance and the god is not happy: there is no rain.
Mirany goes through an epic adventure trying desperately to bring the rightful candidate of the new Archon (named Alexos) to the temple to bring the life sustaining rains, and ensure the happiness of the people. She teams up with Seth, an ambitious scribe who really wants nothing to do with the whole affair, and has some dark secrets of his own; and Oblek, a drunken, pugnacious, middle aged man who used to be the best musician in the land, and was the old Archon's best friend, and may be the only man who can keep Alexos alive and deliver him safely to the temple to fulfill his duties. Will Mirany, Oblek, and Seth stop the malicious plot between Hermia and Argelin? What new powers will Mirany discover during her quest?
This book is an amazing science fiction novel for all ages. The Oracle Betrayed is extremely descriptive, and stirs your thoughts and imagination in the most unlikely ways. The characters are intense and convincing, you feel as though you are really there. Riveting to the last page. I recommend this book to all readers and hope you find it as enjoyable as I have.

Rating:
Summary: loved it!!!! :)
Review: Mirany, a young women, is elected to be the bearer of the Gods. She has to tell the Speaker (who tells the people what the God wants) if the God is in the people's presence. Mirany lives with the nine, who are some of the most respected people in her country. There are people in the nine like the taster-of-the-Gods who do important things for the Gods and the people. When Archon, the ruler of the land, dies he gives Mirany a note saying that the Oracle is betrayed, the Speaker can not hear the Gods, and the Speaker is making ideas up in her head and in the people's favor. Mirany has to find the new Archon, but the new Archon lives in a very poor place far away. The Speaker wants a weak boy to be the Archon so that she can control the Archon and maintain power. The rest of the book is about Mirany's attempt to find the new Archon and end the drought that has plagued the land for the past 6 months.
Opinion: I thought this book was very exciting, especially at the end. It also has a lot of myth in it and is a great book for those who love places like Egypt. The book was well detailed and the author had a lot of descriptions so you understood what things look like. The only problem with this book is that it is confusing. It gives you so much to read that you forget some important ideas and sometimes things just pop up out of nowhere and the author hasn't explained that part too well. Also the book got me questioning some things which were later answered but I also had some questions left. Nevertheless it all didn't matter because it was such an exciting story with amazing things happening. Please visit www.flamingnet.com for more reviews.