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The Dead Rivers Trilogy #1
Freedom's Gate
From the acclaimed author of Fires of the Faithful comes the tale of an impetuous young woman, freeborn in a world of slavery and magic.
Twenty-year-old Lauria is the favorite aide to Kyros, a powerful military officer. On his authority, she is messenger, observer, and spy. But now she is entrusted with a mission more dangerous than any that have come before. . . .
After years of relative peace, word has come to Kyros’s compound that the bandit tribe known as the Alashi is planning an offensive. It is up to Lauria to infiltrate the Alashi by posing as an escaped slave—a charge that requires she serve in the household of a neighboring officer. From there, she will stage an escape and continue on in her guise as a runaway.
But posing as a slave—a virgin concubine, no less—may prove the least of her troubles. For even if she does escape and the Alashi do accept her, how can this freeborn woman convince them she is slave, not spy? And, worse, what if her own views are gradually changing, calling everything she believes about her world into question?
Twenty-year-old Lauria is the favorite aide to Kyros, a powerful military officer. On his authority, she is messenger, observer, and spy. But now she is entrusted with a mission more dangerous than any that have come before. . . .
After years of relative peace, word has come to Kyros’s compound that the bandit tribe known as the Alashi is planning an offensive. It is up to Lauria to infiltrate the Alashi by posing as an escaped slave—a charge that requires she serve in the household of a neighboring officer. From there, she will stage an escape and continue on in her guise as a runaway.
But posing as a slave—a virgin concubine, no less—may prove the least of her troubles. For even if she does escape and the Alashi do accept her, how can this freeborn woman convince them she is slave, not spy? And, worse, what if her own views are gradually changing, calling everything she believes about her world into question?
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 19, 2015
So I have been on this massive fantasy kick lately. I realized that there are good books out there that for reasons I cannot fathom I haven't read so in an attempt to rectify this, I've been reading fantasy and mostly enjoying it.
This book took me entirely by surprise. I don't know what I expected when I started reading it but it was a lot less than I got. I usually find books that don't even contain a hint of romance to be boring but in this instance, the focus is on female friendship, a sisterhood between the twenty year old protagonist who is an undercover spy and a 14 year old slave girl she allows to accompany her when she 'escapes' from the slave master. The sisterhood between these two girls and the sister soldiers with whom they find asylum (or the ones whom the protagonist is trying to infiltrate) is central to the story. I love how the relationships between the females are varied, catty and yet, dynamic. There is no immediate hate or judgement just because one woman looks better than the other. In fact, the two ex-slaves are taught slowly how to unlearn being slaves and learn how to be people with their own minds, thoughts, opinions and desires. I love how the women are shown to have agency but not the improbable strength that usually accompanies 'strong heroines.' They are flawed as hell and often bite off more than they can chew but the friendship is strong between them. And it's a gradual friendship that solidifies slowly with time and events marking it.
The pace is swift, the action is well written and the logic is strong. The book manages to be a feminist text without compromising on the story or having didactic undertones. I sincerely recommend this book to everyone out there. I mean, I wrote a review and everything. Come on now.
This book took me entirely by surprise. I don't know what I expected when I started reading it but it was a lot less than I got. I usually find books that don't even contain a hint of romance to be boring but in this instance, the focus is on female friendship, a sisterhood between the twenty year old protagonist who is an undercover spy and a 14 year old slave girl she allows to accompany her when she 'escapes' from the slave master. The sisterhood between these two girls and the sister soldiers with whom they find asylum (or the ones whom the protagonist is trying to infiltrate) is central to the story. I love how the relationships between the females are varied, catty and yet, dynamic. There is no immediate hate or judgement just because one woman looks better than the other. In fact, the two ex-slaves are taught slowly how to unlearn being slaves and learn how to be people with their own minds, thoughts, opinions and desires. I love how the women are shown to have agency but not the improbable strength that usually accompanies 'strong heroines.' They are flawed as hell and often bite off more than they can chew but the friendship is strong between them. And it's a gradual friendship that solidifies slowly with time and events marking it.
The pace is swift, the action is well written and the logic is strong. The book manages to be a feminist text without compromising on the story or having didactic undertones. I sincerely recommend this book to everyone out there. I mean, I wrote a review and everything. Come on now.
December 8, 2016
Lauria works hard and cleverly for her sworn lord, Kyros. She checks garrisons' account books, investigates his soldiers' loyalties, and hunts and brings back any slaves that escape him. But then Kyros asks her to carry out her most perilous mission yet: pretend to be a slave and then escape in order to infiltrate the Alashi. The Alashi are the last remaining free indigenous people, and their war parties have troubled Kyros and his sorceress allies for too long.
The personalities of Lauria and the other characters come through clear and unique--I never had any trouble remembering who anyone was, and felt it strongly when characters died. And like Lauria, I learned to appreciate and really treasure the Alashi. The band she travels with felt totally real to me, from what they ate to what they found funny. I am so excited about what happens next;
Just a note: this book contains systematic ethnicity-related slavery and both references to and a detailed scene of rape. I thought everything was handled in a sensitive and thoughtful manner, but if these things bother you, consider reading something else.
The personalities of Lauria and the other characters come through clear and unique--I never had any trouble remembering who anyone was, and felt it strongly when characters died. And like Lauria, I learned to appreciate and really treasure the Alashi. The band she travels with felt totally real to me, from what they ate to what they found funny. I am so excited about what happens next;
Just a note: this book contains systematic ethnicity-related slavery and both references to and a detailed scene of rape. I thought everything was handled in a sensitive and thoughtful manner, but if these things bother you, consider reading something else.
December 11, 2018
I’m simultaneously disappointed and relieved that there’s no lesbian romance subplot (contrary to some of the tags other reviewers have given the novel), disappointed because of course I want badass, lady-loving heroines in my books, and relieved because in this particular case I would fear it looking like a trauma or man-hating response rather than a natural preference. This was one of my main interests/concerns going in, so with that out of the way I just want to say that this is a pretty damn solid little fantasy! World building, interesting and multidimensional characters, some great character progression, religion, magic, and of course - the djinn. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the Alashi people modeled after mongolians, a personal interest of mine. I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel.
April 2, 2018
A good start to a fantasy trilogy, and one that does not pull punches about the horrors and effects of slavery. It features well-drawn characters in a well thought out world. I'll be looking forward to the next books in the series.
June 28, 2021
Popsugar 2021: a book you think your best friend would like
This book reminds me a lot of the second-wave feminist fantasy books like those of Suzy McKee Charnas, Joanna Russ, or Sherri Tepper. The main character, Lauria, is a young woman living in a Greek outpost somewhere in the eastern desert/steppe. She's a rather privileged person- the commander of the garrison has given her a job as a messenger and information gatherer and values her perspective. One of the big themes of this book is freedom vs. slavery and exactly what these terms mean. Lauria doesn't think much about the slaves in her town until she is told that she must impersonate an escaped slave in order to infiltrate a nomadic tribe of raiders who have been harrying the Greeks.
In this world, there are also djinn-like spirits who have been bound by certain Greek sorceresses and who give the Greeks a great advantage. Lauria understands a bit about how to deal with these spirits, who, if free, will sometimes possess people and then must be cast out by shamans. The idea of bound vs. free spirits also plays into the theme of the book.
Lauria can fight decently, ride pretty well, and doesn't act like just about any young woman of her people. She must learn to subvert her usual mannerisms in order to act like a slave- she's embedded with one of her commander's friends to give her time to get used to her persona.
After Lauria makes her escape, she finds that the nomads she's been sent to find divide up in the summer. Family groups go deep into the steppe with the sheep and goat herds. Bands of warriors patrol closer to the Greek empire and these bands are divided by gender. Lauria ends up with an all-female group of warriors and must learn their ways and pass their tests if she is to be trusted by them.
The idea of an all-female group of warriors who ride the steppe and take care of themselves is what reminded me most of the authors I mentioned earlier. Lauria begins to feel closer than she'd like to these women, who have the sort of lives that she's wanted for herself and who are brave, strong and close-knit.
It wasn't hard to see most of the plot coming, but I still enjoy a good story about a young woman learning how to rely on herself and others in a physically challenging environment. I'm also a sucker for getting immersed in an ancient world sort of life. I enjoyed the book and I'm interested in reading the sequels.
This book reminds me a lot of the second-wave feminist fantasy books like those of Suzy McKee Charnas, Joanna Russ, or Sherri Tepper. The main character, Lauria, is a young woman living in a Greek outpost somewhere in the eastern desert/steppe. She's a rather privileged person- the commander of the garrison has given her a job as a messenger and information gatherer and values her perspective. One of the big themes of this book is freedom vs. slavery and exactly what these terms mean. Lauria doesn't think much about the slaves in her town until she is told that she must impersonate an escaped slave in order to infiltrate a nomadic tribe of raiders who have been harrying the Greeks.
In this world, there are also djinn-like spirits who have been bound by certain Greek sorceresses and who give the Greeks a great advantage. Lauria understands a bit about how to deal with these spirits, who, if free, will sometimes possess people and then must be cast out by shamans. The idea of bound vs. free spirits also plays into the theme of the book.
Lauria can fight decently, ride pretty well, and doesn't act like just about any young woman of her people. She must learn to subvert her usual mannerisms in order to act like a slave- she's embedded with one of her commander's friends to give her time to get used to her persona.
After Lauria makes her escape, she finds that the nomads she's been sent to find divide up in the summer. Family groups go deep into the steppe with the sheep and goat herds. Bands of warriors patrol closer to the Greek empire and these bands are divided by gender. Lauria ends up with an all-female group of warriors and must learn their ways and pass their tests if she is to be trusted by them.
The idea of an all-female group of warriors who ride the steppe and take care of themselves is what reminded me most of the authors I mentioned earlier. Lauria begins to feel closer than she'd like to these women, who have the sort of lives that she's wanted for herself and who are brave, strong and close-knit.
It wasn't hard to see most of the plot coming, but I still enjoy a good story about a young woman learning how to rely on herself and others in a physically challenging environment. I'm also a sucker for getting immersed in an ancient world sort of life. I enjoyed the book and I'm interested in reading the sequels.
September 3, 2008
Semi-historical fantasy that takes the perspective of an underdog of history. The Greek economy depends on slaves, both human and Djinn; the humans have a small chance of taking their lives in their hands and escaping, but barring a major mis-step on the part of their masters, the Djinn are trapped.
Lauria is free-born, but most of her people are slaves. She's proud of her status, and the fact that she's employed, not kept. While Lauria is decent enough by the standards of her society, she's uncritical of and collaborates in the economy of slavery.
This book was a difficult read. Slavery is not white-washed, it's presented as an institution founded on terror and rape, and Lauria's complicity in it made even her awakening to the reality of slavery difficult for me to read. Warning for rape and associated triggers.
Lauria is free-born, but most of her people are slaves. She's proud of her status, and the fact that she's employed, not kept. While Lauria is decent enough by the standards of her society, she's uncritical of and collaborates in the economy of slavery.
This book was a difficult read. Slavery is not white-washed, it's presented as an institution founded on terror and rape, and Lauria's complicity in it made even her awakening to the reality of slavery difficult for me to read. Warning for rape and associated triggers.
April 24, 2020
A freeborn female military officer is asked to spy on a rebellious tribe by posing as an escaped slave.
July 1, 2023
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2023/0...
I have really enjoyed Kritzer's recent works, so decided to try one of her older series—this book came out almost twenty years ago. So as expected, great writing, I was drawn in immediately, and I loved the focus on adopted sisterhood. But it was not always a pleasant read. So this takes place in a fantasy version of a country colonized by the Greeks, and the protagonist is a half-Greek daughter of a former slave (but she’s free) who works for the local important Greek guy. And she’s assigned a job to go undercover as a slave in a harem so she can pose as an escaped slave and run away and join/spy on some bandits. But of course she’s raped, and her friend there is a fourteen year old who’s been a sex slave since she was ten. So like, major content warnings for all of that and I had a hard time with it. I was also a bit annoyed at how the protagonist stays loyal for so long when her boss is clearly nefarious (to the reader) but that made sense in context. And I loved how this ended and am looking forward to book two! But yeah, content warnings galore, B+.
I have really enjoyed Kritzer's recent works, so decided to try one of her older series—this book came out almost twenty years ago. So as expected, great writing, I was drawn in immediately, and I loved the focus on adopted sisterhood. But it was not always a pleasant read. So this takes place in a fantasy version of a country colonized by the Greeks, and the protagonist is a half-Greek daughter of a former slave (but she’s free) who works for the local important Greek guy. And she’s assigned a job to go undercover as a slave in a harem so she can pose as an escaped slave and run away and join/spy on some bandits. But of course she’s raped, and her friend there is a fourteen year old who’s been a sex slave since she was ten. So like, major content warnings for all of that and I had a hard time with it. I was also a bit annoyed at how the protagonist stays loyal for so long when her boss is clearly nefarious (to the reader) but that made sense in context. And I loved how this ended and am looking forward to book two! But yeah, content warnings galore, B+.
April 25, 2019
The women sold me on this book
I really appreciated this book was populated by strong female characters. While the book is a fairly run-of-the-mill fantasy, the women gave it a different vibe and I liked that about it a lot. It did take me a while to get into it though as the author took a long time to develop the characteristics of her world. All in all, it was a pretty good read and I will be getting the next book in the trilogy.
I really appreciated this book was populated by strong female characters. While the book is a fairly run-of-the-mill fantasy, the women gave it a different vibe and I liked that about it a lot. It did take me a while to get into it though as the author took a long time to develop the characteristics of her world. All in all, it was a pretty good read and I will be getting the next book in the trilogy.
August 19, 2019
Good book. Wish I had bought the next one.....
April 15, 2020
This is a good start to a feminist fantasy series. It's pretty standard adventure fantasy, not like her "Catfishing on Catnet." But I liked it and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.
April 27, 2020
When your faith in people can make you blind until you are betrayed. And still, change is possible.
Read
September 11, 2020Um, did I read this?
November 28, 2016
I was more than a little pleasantly surprised by this book. It is straight up fantasy despite its alternate history aspects - it's girls with swords, and horses, and there is magic and battle and more. It's not the light-hearted delightful fantasy of, say, Dianna Wynne Jones, but it is also not the endless saga (and often endless depression) of epic fantasy. It maybe most closely resembles the sort of new-life fantasies I loved as a teenager - The Blue Sword style maybe.
The writing is clear and effortless to read, and the story was cohesive and interesting. There IS a plot - but it is much more about self-exploration than advancing the plot. The most interesting aspect of the books is the juxtaposition of slaves and those who think they are free but still have no choices. When I hit 60% through about 75% I started feeling frustrated that self-knowledge and growth was so slow-moving... and then I decided it was downright brilliant because it turns out self-knowledge and change IS incredibly slow and hard. Most of the story is not exactly a surprise by the time each part unfolds - but it's still a pleasure to experience and there were some nice turns and surprises!
I look forward to the next book - I am hoping that the rest of the series is a little more plot-oriented!
The writing is clear and effortless to read, and the story was cohesive and interesting. There IS a plot - but it is much more about self-exploration than advancing the plot. The most interesting aspect of the books is the juxtaposition of slaves and those who think they are free but still have no choices. When I hit 60% through about 75% I started feeling frustrated that self-knowledge and growth was so slow-moving... and then I decided it was downright brilliant because it turns out self-knowledge and change IS incredibly slow and hard. Most of the story is not exactly a surprise by the time each part unfolds - but it's still a pleasure to experience and there were some nice turns and surprises!
I look forward to the next book - I am hoping that the rest of the series is a little more plot-oriented!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2012
I'm not sure how this got on my recommmendation shelf or when, but since my regular genre is smut and more smut I thought for sure that after 100 pages and not a naked scene I would have been done. Instead I hadn't realized I was almost 250 pages in and didn't have sex on my mind at all I was too caught up in trying to figure out the puzzle of Kyros and Lauria.. I mean.. c'mon .. go undercover as a harem slave.. we all know how those stories end.. but instead of a an obvious cliche I got a more than decent plot nice twist and turns and I'm feeling the heroine.. I'm already on the 3rd book but now that I can't put the series down I figured I should at least review one of the books. .. smh.. wouldn't be mad if before the series end somebody gets laid..consensually... to somebody of the opposite sex.. without a pregnancy ploy.. and yes.. all that was necessary..
June 7, 2010
Lauria is an aide to Kyros, a military officer of the Greeks; among other duties, she tracks down escaped slaves and brings them back. When Kyros asks Lauria to infiltrate the Alashi, a bandit tribe who take in runaways and train them in war and who are apparently planning a war against the Greeks, she does as he asks, posing as a slave in another household. Soon, though, everything she has ever believed comes into question as she learns more about the life of a slave and the ways of the Alashi.
The worldbuilding is good, and the ethical questions intriguing. I did think the last book felt a little rushed in its resolution, but overall, I quite liked this trilogy.
The worldbuilding is good, and the ethical questions intriguing. I did think the last book felt a little rushed in its resolution, but overall, I quite liked this trilogy.
June 2, 2010
Better than I expected (okay, I had no expectations, just pulled this off the library shelf), but nowhere near as good as the author's "Turning The Storm".
A fairly predictable heroine fantasy in which the societies involved seem to owe something to Middle Eastern and Native American cultures.
A fairly predictable heroine fantasy in which the societies involved seem to owe something to Middle Eastern and Native American cultures.
August 12, 2010
Thought this book was just okay. I had a hard time getting into it. I enjoyed the first 2 books this author wrote and was hoping I'd enjoy this one too. It's not bad, but not great. Based on the size of my TBR pile, I probably won't read books 2 and 3 in this trilogy.
August 8, 2007
Again, pretty run-of-the-mill fantasy, this time the escaping-from-oppression sort. A little victim-y for me--there's a pretty disturbing rape scene.
June 4, 2012
Good sci-fi adventure with a strong female lead.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews