Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Hades' Daughter

Sara Douglass
0765344424
2003

The first of a trilogy.  Brutus, the last of the Trojan kings, rounds up his people and takes them to the island of Albion to rebuild Troy.  As the original was, his new city was to be founded on the Game, the labyrinth that traps evil and protects the city above.  He would build it with the help of Genvissa, a powerful priestess with her own agenda.

I found this a little hard to read; it's an enthralling story, but the nature of the characters and the storyline itself just weren't that easy to like.  Still, the whole ultimate showdown between good and evil kept me going, and it paid off.  The story draws you in, and you spend the entire length of the story trying to figure out who is on which side, or even how many sides there are.

Date finished: 16/12/08
Year Total: 38

The Margarets

Sherri I Tepper
978-0-57508-0-478
2007

Margaret, the only child on a station orbiting Mars, invents other selves to pay with - a queen, a healer, a warrior... a whole collection of roles to lose herself in.  And without her knowing it, each of her selves find themselves living their own lives, while strings are pulled from much, much further away.

This is a big book, in size and scope.  Each Margaret has her own story and own cast of supporting characters, so I found I really had to concentrate to keep track of what was going on, even more so as things fell into place.

The story was well-told and not rushed, and was hard to put down.  I thought the end, with the final Margaret, was a little saccharine, but maybe she deserved that; I personally preferred the quieter fate of Sophia, but it was nice to see the promise of real progress.

Date finished: 10-12-08
Year total: 37