Rating: 
Summary: Equivalent to a ....
Review: Summer fun-flick.
I love fantasy. I love science fiction. And I willingly admit I don't have very high requirements of the fiction I read. All I ask is that it entertain me enough that I keep turning the pages. This book certainly did that. But it doesn't have the "WOW" factor of very early Robert Jordan (books 1-4 of Wheel of Time before it became the Wheel of Boredom), George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Frank Herbert's Dune. I think this aspect is what some people were hoping for when they bought this book based on the 5 star ratings of some reviewers here. While the author sketches out the 3 main species inhabiting the planet there is not enough of a sense of a character's actions as also representative of their culture. The Avar, while able to display some interesting powers, still ultimately come across as people who happen to live in the forest and have a forest god. There is not enough rounded out sense that the Avar people are really an alien or exotic culture. The same is true of the Icarii. They have interesting powers thrown into the mix yet they and the Avar ultimately come across as yet-another story of Wrongly-Persecuted Indigenous Peoples. There is also one other criticism which I think is valid for this series - it is, in fact, the main reason my boyfriend generally dislikes fantasy and science fiction as a whole for this series shares this flaw with many other books in these 2 genres. The heroes are presented as overwhelmingly GOOD (with only minute flaws - i.e. Axis) and the enemies are overwhelmingly BAD (Borneheld) or just plain EVIL (Gorgrael). In fact, one of the few characters in the book I felt some real sympathy for is Borneheld because he was abandoned by his mother when he was not much more than 3 or 4. She rejected the son because she couldn't stand the father. The author gives hints that Borneheld feels real emotional pain at her loss yet she feels no shame for abandoning him. This is only one example of how the characters lean more toward black and white portrayals than the conflicting real-world struggles and less than perfect lives people lead. This aspect could turn off a lot of readers leading to complaints of wooden characters or unrealistic dialogue or actions. Similar things could be said of a few other characters in the book. Gorgrael is given no excuse for being evil - apparently he was just born that way...go figure. And yet, despite all of that...I was still entertained. I was hooked enough that I turned the page all the way to the end. And I went ahead and bought the second book in this series and I finished that one as well (in my opinion book 2 is far better than book 1). And when book 3 comes out in mass market paperback I'll be getting that one. So I don't want to give the impression that this series can't be enjoyable or that it is utter trash (although there will be plenty of reviewers here later who may wonder how anyone could think otherwise). Just realize - it is the equivalent of a summer throw-away flick. It is not heavy, philosophical, does not try to World-Build ala Tolkien, Jordan or Herbert. And don't expect it to be on par with Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. It's a standard fantasy, well-written but many may find portions unoriginal enough they're unable to enjoy it. Thus my final score is 3. Solid, Enjoyable - FOR ME. *I* found it entertaining - enough so I plan to get book 3, but some aspects are questionable enough that people will fall either way and there can be no surety in advance of which group you'll be in. If you're insisting on a Tolkien, Martin or Herbert - look elsewhere. For everyone else it may be worth a shot.
Rating: 
Summary: LOVED IT!!
Review: This book has everything! A disgruntled jealouse older brother....romance...war...mystery....and non-stop adventure. With enchanting characters and a chilling prophesy of ruin and despair this will be a book you cant put down.
Axis had it all. He was the leader of the axe weilders: the battle axe. Growing up with The Way of The Plow, he believd like all others that trees were evil and the exiled forbidden who lost the War of the Axe were evil magic weilding monsters. But when he is charged to visit the Silent Woman's Wood, he meets two people who will turn his way of life upside down and against the Senechal.
I loved this book. I've always been an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction and this is the BEST SERIES I HAVE EVER READ!!! While some parts move slowly they are essential in the development of the characters. Sycik with it and i gaurantee Sarah douglas won't leave you wanting.
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying series start
Review: Well, again with the "humans suck" theme, but this time it's in a fantasy world where long ago, humans chased out the other sentient races that used to share a kingdom with them. Now the Acharites (members of the human kingdom of Achar) are terrified of trees and tell their children horror stories of the "Forbidden". So at first, when rumors of monsters attacking in the north hit the capital, it's assumed to be these Forbidden. But when Axis, the leader of the Acharite religion's military order, finds two old monks who have spent years studying the literature of the Forbidden, they tell him about a strange Prophecy that foretold this whole mess. Turns out, these monsters aren't the Forbidden at all, they're the minions of a Very Bad Guy, Gorgrael. And the only way to defeat him is to unite with the Forbidden, under the rule of a certain StarMan. Axis and his men gradually come to believe this Prophecy, aided along by plenty of mystical occurrences and startling revelations, naturally. There's a side story involving Faraday, the girl Axis falls in love with who ends up marrying his brother, and has her own part to play in the Prophecy, and plenty of well-drawn secondary characters. The climactic battle really isn't, being more of a series of rather disheartening skirmishes, but since this is the first in a series, you can't really expect the good guys to trounce the bad guys triumphantly right at first. The plot twists are more like discoveries, as the characters come together and their relationships are formed and reformed. The writing is above average; not superb, but very readable. Oh, and while by the second book this changes, for the first 3/4 of this book, women are relegated to the "wait and pine and wring their hands" role, so if you're a "sword and sorceress" type like me, just hang in there. (Don't be fooled by the cover drawing of requisite Hot Female Warrior with Very Few Clothes on - I have no idea who she is or where she comes in. Hey, who cares?)
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