Lynn Flewelling - Bone Doll's Twin and Hidden Warrior
I just finished the first two books of the Tamir Trilogy, and take the fact that i haven't stopped reading since i picked it up yesterday as my glowing recommendation. Basically, heroine is the rightful heir to the throne under a matrilineal succession, but the current king has been murdering females to secure his own position. She is magically bound to take the form of her dead fraternal twin, so she grows up a boy. A delightful twist (abeit a rather dark one) is the demonic ghost of her brother who haunts her, yet even this is handled in a very deft way, never falling into cliche.
The first book was great, but reaching the end of the second i found myself wishing for... more epic-ness, honestly. The build-up was great, but i just needed a more climatic finish to what the first two books have basically been leading to. I kind of wanted something pompous and grand, almost like the way robert jordan used to write his gigantic reveals. There were a number of feminist overtones, which i appreciated, the characters were interesting but i didn't think the world building was fantastic. All that aside, i really did enjoy the books as I was reading them, especially the bone doll's twin. The minute i finished it i put it down and picked up the next one. Unfortunately, the third book is only available at places like ang mo kio and woodlands library... I am going to have to wait to get my hands on it. Hrmm.
The first book was great, but reaching the end of the second i found myself wishing for... more epic-ness, honestly. The build-up was great, but i just needed a more climatic finish to what the first two books have basically been leading to. I kind of wanted something pompous and grand, almost like the way robert jordan used to write his gigantic reveals. There were a number of feminist overtones, which i appreciated, the characters were interesting but i didn't think the world building was fantastic. All that aside, i really did enjoy the books as I was reading them, especially the bone doll's twin. The minute i finished it i put it down and picked up the next one. Unfortunately, the third book is only available at places like ang mo kio and woodlands library... I am going to have to wait to get my hands on it. Hrmm.