Wind From A Foreign Sky by Katya Reimann
Gaultry is a young sorceress who lives in the country with her great-aunt. Her twin sister, Mervion, is living with their half-brother on their father’s estate, keeping his new wife company. Due to a prophecy regarding the twins, which says that they will either save the country or destroy it, the prince’s advisor, who wants the country to be reassimilated into the larger nation it broke away from three hundred years ago, has Mervion arrested. Gaultry is rescued from this fate by Martin, a nobleman who had a geas laid on him by their father to protect the twins. However, since Martin didn’t realize they were twins, the geas that was meant to be divided between two subjects is instead focused on the one. Not knowing whether or not to trust Martin, Gaultry nevertheless sets off with him to rescue Mervion.
I grabbed the book at the used bookstore because stories and prophecies focused on family-especially siblings-interest me. Unfortunately for my storytelling kinks, that aspect actually plays a relatively minor part. The actual story is interesting, though, as is the worldbuilding, and the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, it’s also very much a first book. The prose alternates between straightforward and a bit purply and convoluted. We start with the action well underway, resulting in multiple flashbacks and clunky infodumps. Important plot points and characters appear and disappear without warning. Martin is given an estranged wife to complicate the romance, and then the matter is completely forgotten. The twins’ brother is brainwashed, but his fate never revealed. His wife is in the prologue and mentioned as being with Mervion, but is never heard from again. A minor character introduced in an interlude becomes a major player at the end, but with no warning. Etc.
Then there’s the romance. Early in the book, it’s established that the geas causes Martin to be sensitive to anything he perceives as an alteration in Gaultry’s emotional state, and the geas also seems to be the main source of his attraction to Gaultry. (I’d actually guess that it changed a natural but controllable attraction into an overwhelming one.) There’s never any real indication that his love for Gaultry would be there-or at least as strong-without the geas. For her part, Gaultry seems to alternate between “ok, no geas influenced lovers now, thank you, call me when you’re over this” and not seeming to have any problem with the situation. When Gaultry is in “oh *bleep* no even if you are hot” mode, it can be interesting, but when Reimann forgets that part, it got a bit creepy for me. But then, my favorite scene was when a very geased influenced Martin got taken out by magic and left to rot when “no” didn’t get through his skull.
But, like I said, it’s a first book. I’ve read much worse first books, and books from more established authors with less promise, and this does have interesting worldbuilding and potential, and I do like that Gaultry is always trying to be proactive, even when she’s messing up, and never really relies on Martin to save her. It’s apparently the start of a trilogy, though the main story wraps up in this book. Has anyone read the rest of the trilogy? Does the writing get more even?
I grabbed the book at the used bookstore because stories and prophecies focused on family-especially siblings-interest me. Unfortunately for my storytelling kinks, that aspect actually plays a relatively minor part. The actual story is interesting, though, as is the worldbuilding, and the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, it’s also very much a first book. The prose alternates between straightforward and a bit purply and convoluted. We start with the action well underway, resulting in multiple flashbacks and clunky infodumps. Important plot points and characters appear and disappear without warning. Martin is given an estranged wife to complicate the romance, and then the matter is completely forgotten. The twins’ brother is brainwashed, but his fate never revealed. His wife is in the prologue and mentioned as being with Mervion, but is never heard from again. A minor character introduced in an interlude becomes a major player at the end, but with no warning. Etc.
Then there’s the romance. Early in the book, it’s established that the geas causes Martin to be sensitive to anything he perceives as an alteration in Gaultry’s emotional state, and the geas also seems to be the main source of his attraction to Gaultry. (I’d actually guess that it changed a natural but controllable attraction into an overwhelming one.) There’s never any real indication that his love for Gaultry would be there-or at least as strong-without the geas. For her part, Gaultry seems to alternate between “ok, no geas influenced lovers now, thank you, call me when you’re over this” and not seeming to have any problem with the situation. When Gaultry is in “oh *bleep* no even if you are hot” mode, it can be interesting, but when Reimann forgets that part, it got a bit creepy for me. But then, my favorite scene was when a very geased influenced Martin got taken out by magic and left to rot when “no” didn’t get through his skull.
But, like I said, it’s a first book. I’ve read much worse first books, and books from more established authors with less promise, and this does have interesting worldbuilding and potential, and I do like that Gaultry is always trying to be proactive, even when she’s messing up, and never really relies on Martin to save her. It’s apparently the start of a trilogy, though the main story wraps up in this book. Has anyone read the rest of the trilogy? Does the writing get more even?