Marley G. reviewed on 4/1/2010 + 40 more book reviews

The first in a series of three books following the story of a backcountry girl enslaved to serve a king's army on the march. This is a well-plotted fantasy saga, but ultimately the unconvincing characters make this book and its sequel (I couldn't make it through the third one) unsatisfying reads. I really wanted to like this trilogy because it's such a great concept - orcs not as monstrous creatures but as powerful mercenaries from an old civilization. Supporting a corrupt human king only because he holds their queen hostage. Lots of opportunity to show the monsters acting with humanity while the men act as a savages. The storyline is somewhat compelling, but there's something off about the heroine. In fact, all the female characters. They think/act the way a man (at least, a man of a certain age) might think they would. The male characters are more or less stock heroes and villains.

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