The Thirteenth House

8. The Thirteenth House (The Twelve Houses) by Sharon Shinn. 484 p. Published Spring 2006.

This is the second book in Shinn’s Twelve Houses series, and focuses on our royal shape-shifter Kirra Danalustrous. The Thirteenth House storyline takes off right where Mystic and Rider left us.

Kirra and her tight-knit group of friends rescue Romar, the man the King intends to charge with the Kingdom and heiring princess in case anything should happen. Romar’s capturers appear to be members of The Thirteenth House – merchants with riches to rival the royal families, but who lack official political power. The stirring of the Thirteenth House against the king worries Kirra and Senneth, already troubled by the rising rebellion of Halchon Giltress and his allies in the south.

After safely delivering Romar to his own gaurd, Kirra and Donnal, her friend and mystic companion, return home. There she finds that, not only will her father not contribute forces to the King’s army, but she has been usurped as eldest and heiress. Instead, her father chooses Casserrah, her younger sister. Despite what you may think, this does not trouble Kirra, who has found that her loyalties lie with the kingdom as a whole, not simply her own house.

Already itching to be on the road again, Kirra agrees to her father’s scheme – to take Casserrah’s place in the annual summer circuit of royal parties. Kirra, assuming her sisters shape, begins to travel the land, collecting information and determining where exactly everyone’s loyalties lie. She is joined by Senneth, also of noble birth, who is escorting the Queen and Princess. And of course, Tasye, King’s Rider and Senneth’s lover, Justin, Donnal and Cammon are along as well.

As the party heads southward, Kirra finds herself not only dealing with the political maneuverings of representing her sister and the King, but with a mysterious disease that is sweeping much of the land. And to complicate things further, Romar is also traveling the circuit, and it appears he may return her feeling of attraction. With sudden attacks on the Princess and Romar, and the unexpected interference of certain parties, Kirra must make some very tough decisions about her life, love, and magic that will change Kirra more deeply than her abilities ever had.

Shinn’s continuation of The Twelve Houses series is inspired. While Senneth retains much of the focus, each novel uses a different member of the group as protagonist. Of the four books, The Thirteenth House is my favorite. Conflict assails Kirra on every conceivable level, and I couldn’t help but empathize with her plight. Shinn’s astounding ability for complex characters truly has the reader ensnared. The Thirteenth House is a marvelous continuation of a great story. Look forward to my reviews on the final two parts.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews of The Thirteenth House: Sff_Sandcastle, Read for Joy

Weekly Geek #2 Wrap-up Post

This is the wrap-up post for The Weekly Geeks #2 Challenge, which I mention here.

Admittedly, my “week” was more like two days, but I’d like to think I did relatively well. Luckily I have a lot fewer reviews than most people, so it was easier to find others and edit the posts.

I really enjoyed this challenge. It gave me the opportunity to see what others thought of the same books and read how they reviewed them. The hardest part was going through all the other participants. Not all of them are book blogs, which means organization is not a high priority. And Google Blogsearch was a really great asset for the few books I’ve read that are a tad less main-stream.

All in all, had a great time. Many thanks to The Hidden Side of the Leaf for organizing this challenge despite his busy week.

I plan on sticking with this policy (and my daily hits have nearly tripled), so if you have any reviews that match mine, please let me know.

Fray

GN 2. Fray by Joss Whedon. Illustrated by Karl Moline and Andy Owens. Published November 2003.

“There was once a thing on this earth called magic. There were demons, monsters beyond imagination, most of them pure evil. They ruled this dimension as they did so many others. Eventually, as mortal animals evolved, under the protection of certain mages and loranites… they left! The demons, most of them, found more hospitable places, and left the earth to the mortals. For the most part. Some remained, hidden away. Some bred within the human community, their power weakened throughout generations. Some assimilated and some… infected.

It is not known when they first appeared, but the vampires were a plague. The elders of several villages met, calling for action. They invoked the strongest and most dangerous magicks they could summon, to create a power. A power that could fight the vampires. A power that lived… in the body of a girl. The Slayer.

She fought, and died, and was succeeded by another. And another, throughout time. Always one. Always a woman. A warrior. They were trained. Sought out and guided by watchers, descendants of the shamans who created the first slayer.

What we know is this – there was a battle. A slayer, possibly with some mystical allies, faced an apocalyptic army of demons. And when it was done… They were gone. All demons, all magicks, banished from this earthly dimension.” – Excerpt

This is the world of Fray. A world where magic has been replaced by science, demons by irradiated mutant ‘radies’. Melaka Fray is a thief. But according to a goat-faced man named Urkonn, that isn’t quite the case. Because Melaka is a Slayer and the growing population of the radies known as ‘Lurks’ are actually vampires. Now Melaka must juggle the responsibilities of her newly found destiny with those of her old thieving, orphan-loving ways. But this may be simpler – and horrifyingly more challenging – that Melaka may believe. Because the Lurks are working on a plan to devour all mankind, and Melaka’s been unwittingly helping them do it.

In Fray, Whedon shares with us his vision for the future world of Buffy. One of tough chicks, evil monsters, and flying cars. Oh, and did I mention trees (i.e. wood i.e. stakes) have gone extinct? Melaka, the newest iteration of the Slayer, excites the reader with her outlandish personality while drawing empathy for her tragic vulnerabilities. Admittedly, for any Buffy fan, the story of Fray isn’t a new one – chosen girl fights to save world from imminent threat of being overrun by demons. But Melaka isn’t the nicey nice girl Buffy was and this world ain’t no Sunnydale. Hold on to your pants people – this is one amazing read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews of Fray: Book Dweeb, Kidginger on Read/Rant