Inda
by Sherwood Smith
Inda is a sprawling coming-of-age fantasy set in a society modeled on medieval feudalism. But this military
service social structure has an extra twist. While the first son inherits, the second son also has a title - Shield
Arm. The one who will protect the lands while the first son is off in service to the king. To guarantee his Shield
Arm acts according to his will, the older brother trains him himself, usually thrashing him into toughness allied
with unthinking obedience.
Inda is a well-thrashed second son, but also a natural leader with a mind of his own, which comes to broader
notice when impending war calls him from childhood war games into training with the king's armies in the royal city.
Training which turns out to be more complicated than the straightforward Inda expected. His brother's thrashings
prepared him for the drills and hazing, factions, politics and betrayals that seem to entangle everything around
him and will change his life several times over...
This is a thick, adult-length, lose-yourself-in-it-for-days book that reflects the author's experience writing
for young adults. The story is experienced through a group of adolescents, which helps add freshness to some of
the usual politics and plotting, while also giving a built-in guarantee of growth and change by the characters.
Reading was a bit frustrating at the start for me because of too many unfamiliar names and word usages insufficiently
pinned into my memory by the author. I suspect this is a matter of the author being so much more familiar with her
world than the reader, since the blurb says she's been writing about it since age 8. But once I became familiar
with her world too, I really enjoyed it. The story is interesting and multi-threaded, with a vivid setting and
characters you believe in and care about. I'll be interested to see how Inda gets off his cliffhanger in the next
book. |
The Book |
Daw |
August 2006 |
Hardcover |
0-7564-0264-6 |
Fantasy |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: First in a trilogy per the author's site, although that's not mentioned on the book itself |
The Reviewer |
Kim Malo |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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