A better idea than execution. The characters weren't very believable, for the most part, and at times there were too many cliches and things were either too pat or too chaotic. It's a first novel. I might check out what she produces in a few years to see if practice adds depth and polish.

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I liked the idea of the story. My problem with this was that it seemed so scattered and had too may subplots. It got confusing, and did not allow for good development of any of the characters. I gave it a 3 out of 5.

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On the plus side: I liked the writing style, the story, the imagery, and the main character. I liked the lack of foul language (in a culture that cremates the dead, Bury it! is their worst cussing), lack of descriptive sex (although we know it still takes place), and (and this is a little backhanded) the way that when truly terrible things happen, we don't get a blow by blow description.

On the negative side: some truly terrible things happen, including the torture of men, children, and animals. We know it's done, and for the sensitive it might be disturbing, but the action is not described. The evil characters are a little overdrawn and truly evil. There was also some angst in places and I couldn't understand why. I would go back and reread a paragraph, and still not know what prompted the running & weeping & misery. 12-year-olds sometimes act this way, but we were dealing with grown-ups.

One last note, religion features heavily in the plotline all the way through the book. A goddess is worshiped, prayed to, sung to, implored for help, and shows up here and there. Much action takes place in temples & shrines. The bad guys have their own deities they occasionally invoke.

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