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Plagued by guilt for failing to protect her king, Rider Wren has fled the city of Gilengaria and given herself the penance of a life of wandering, helping strangers in need. But when chance brings her to the great estate known as Fortune, Wren will find her fate, and finally confront the ghosts of her past.
Following 2007's Reader and Raelynx, which wrapped up the original Twelve Houses fantasy quartet, this rousing sword-and-sorcery romance introduces Wen, a former elite warrior Rider haunted by her failure to protect King Baryn during a rebellion and heartbroken by her lover's marriage to another. After Wen saves teen heiress Karryn, daughter of one of the rebels, from kidnapping and ravishment, Karryn's uncle and guardian, Jasper Paladar, rewards Wen with an offer to train a cadre of bodyguards. Reluctant at first, Wen gradually faces her fears and falls in love with Jasper, the soul of sexy scholarly gallantry. Despite the tweeny dialogue and predictable derring-do, Shinn combines a substantial range of appealing characters with a solid reinforcement of women's capabilities in peace and war, making the story comfortable, if not profound. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. More Reviews and RecommendationsSharon Shinn's first novel, The Shapechanger's Wife,/I>, was selected by Locus as the best first fantasy novel of 1995. She has won the William C. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
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July 22, 2009: After King Bayrn was killed during the uprisings led by houses Fortunalt and Gisseltess two years previous, Kings Rider Wen has felt nothing but regret and guilt for letting the king be killed while under her protection. Unable to face her fellow Riders, she refrained from swearing allegiance to Queen Amalie and instead set off in search of redemption - by aiding anyone in need of help. In her travels Wen rescues young Kayrrn Fortunalt - serramarra and future marlady of Fortunalt - from a young man trying to force her into marriage. Finding Wen to be particularly handy with a sword, Kayrrn and her bookish guardian Jasper Palladar ask Wen to stay on at the underprotected Fortune to train a house guard for the serramarra. Feeling a need to keep moving, Wen only agrees to stay at Fortune for a short time, all the while becoming more and more attached to the people of Fortune - especially the serramarra and Jasper.
Back in Gosenhall, Cammon - the Queen's consort - has decided to take a tour of the southern houses and has asked Senneth(!), Tayse, and numerous other soldiers and Riders to accompany him on his journey. I was thrilled to see a new Cammon - one who could easily navigate court politics while simultaneously glad-handing every man, woman, and child they passed on the road. Gone are the days of his complete cluelessness (which I sort of missed), but Cammon can always be counted on to watch out for even the most seemingly insignificant person.This fifth installment in Sharon Shinn's much loved Twelve Houses series was full of adventure and the loyalty and love that I've come to expect from her characters. This book does depart from the others in that it was much slower moving with more inner character development and less constant and often explosive action. Which was not a bad thing. I quickly grew to love Wen in all her guilt-ridden but selfless heroism. Fantastic writing with nary a hitch.seemichelleread.blogspot.comReader Rating:
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December 02, 2008: I probably should have brushed up on the Twelve Houses by re-reading the previous book, but it came back to me. Every book Shinn writes has a character involved in self-discovery and it makes you love them all the more as you grow with them. The focus of this book is a minor character from the King's Riders, Wen. I wasn't sure I'd really get interested, but I should have known better. Two years have passed in Gillengaria since the events in "Reader and Raelynx" and the familiar characters have grown and lived their lives but they are as enjoyable as before. Wen is the focus, but we get to touch base with the original six which lends such a sense of familiarity to her books and makes them thoroughly enjoyable.