Friday, February 15, 2013

Review: The Seven Realms Quartet

Quartet: The Seven Realms
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genre: High/Epic Fantasy

Why I Read It: I was in need of a fantasy story, preferably a long one, so this fit the bill quite well.

A Quick Intro: The Fells have been ruled by the Grey Wolf queens since wizard magic almost destroyed the world. Raisa ana' Marianna is next in line for the throne and she's becoming more and more certain that she inheriting a kingdom which is falling apart. Han Alister is on the outside, living in the world Raisa is worried about. Though they haven't met yet, they both have a part to play in the events that are to unfold.

What I Thought: I am really bad at summaries. I'm really into fantasy this year. I read this four slightly frantic days (well, everything except the first hundred pages of the first book). I like to do that to myself sometimes. I enjoyed this quartet.The world is well formed, as are the characters that live in it. There's action, some romance, and, especially later, political turmoil (I may be the only person who enjoyed the last one, though). While sometimes the characters were frustrating, their flaws made them more human in a way that didn't seem forced. It was a long read, and sometimes I found my focus straying, but all things considered it wasn't all that often. And there were quests, which as I've mentioned, I adore.

Fun Fact: Without spoiling... hmm... in spite of her view that she will not be able to marry for love, Raisa actually is given a lot of choice in the matter. Historically, women were often married to form political alliances, without ever being asked to meet the person, let alone giving their consent. Though, in Raisa's case, her parents might be concerned that she will flee into the mountains and never be heard from again (rightly so, actually... see end of book 1). I'll try to come up with a better fun fact, but this will have to do for now.

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