Path of Blood
Path series #3
by Diana Pharaoh Francis
If you have read Path of Fate and Path of Honor, you will be on tenterhooks waiting to hear what
happens to Reisil, her goshawk, Saljane, and all the others. Kodu Riik is a realm on the verge of collapse, and a
rift has opened threatening to destroy the Aztec-style land of Cemanahuatl. Reisil and her new lover, Yohuac, must
journey to his land to heal the rift, but first they have to cross a war and plague torn land, running the gauntlet
between wizards, magical creatures and the minions of an evil regent.
Just about everything happens in this admirably paced and remarkably short (for fantasy) novel. When I started
reading the first book in the series I thought it might be quite a cozy tale, but boy was I wrong! There is plenty
of blood in here as the title suggests, and Francis is certainly not afraid to tell it how it is, delivering a robust,
action-packed story. At times the pace almost seems too frenetic, and at the end I was left wondering what would
happen next - is there to be a fourth book? The characters mature in here, and Francis seems to have decided that
this type of fantasy is what she wants to write, rather than what was suggested by the earliest book. It is a style
that suits her well, and although this is a sword and sorcery yarn with plenty of both, I didn’t keep thinking of
Tolkein while I was reading it. Whatever she writes next, I will be reading. |
The Book |
Roc Fantasy (Penguin Group) |
May 2006 |
Paperback |
0451460820 |
Fantasy |
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Excerpt |
NOTE: Some Violence |
The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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