Book one in the Second Sons Trilogy The Notion that the two suns did not orbit Ranadon, but appeared and disappeared in their skies at the whim of the Goddess, was a fundamental belief among the people of this world and had been for as long as anyone could remember. The Lion of Senate – By Jennifer Fallon
And then the Age of Shadows came.
To experience true night; to wake to a world where the second sun no longer shone during the day, to a world gripped by cold and darkness, rattled by earthquakes, shrouded in ash from the volcanic eruptions.
The Lord of the suns and an expedition, in a desperate search for answers, went North to the ruined city of
Omaxin
in hopes that they would find the answers to bring the light back into the world. With the answer and a plan formed, Belagren took the matter into her own hands and announced to the Lion of Senet that the Goddess had visited her and revealed what must be done to return Ranadon to the Age of Light.
No one imagined the scope of Belagren’s plans as she changed the world to her liking. Creating the Shadowdancers by claiming that they were specially blessed by the Goddess and sealing the buildings, to prevent anyone from finding the truth, Belagren was second in power only to the Lion of Senate. But she knew that a problem grew each and every day.
If the second sun orbited the first, then eventually it must go away again.
When an Exile returns to the tiny dukedom of Elcast, his arrival rekindles old hatred and secrets. He is none other than one of Ranadon’s kings, cast out a generation ago, at the end of a time of Anarchy when only one sun appeared in the sky. His return not only imperials the present rule, but threatens to expose those who once struggled to protect his life.
Now a new age begins as the Children of unbelievers seek out the truth. As this next generation unearth long-guarded plots within plots, strong alliances are forged among both strangers and friends. No one can predict how a rebellion against the goddess will unfold – No what forces will be unleashed to protect her power. And it seems that only one man, Dirk Provin, has the determination to find out.
Written in many different points of views from around the country of Ranadon, you really get a sense of how clever this book really is. The actions of one effect the reactions of others. With many plots and sub plots this book is sure to keep you entertained with the crafty storyline. And with the voices of all who are involved, as the reader, you truly see the point in which Jennifer Fallon is trying to make.
Taken from the Book “You don’t believe that” The madmen shrugged. It doesn’t realty matter whether I believe it nor not. Millions of people all over the world will climb out of bed this morning and look at this sky and think the Goddess is trying to tell them something”.
”Neris knew she was there. He was mad, but he wasn’t deaf.
”Have you ever noticed,” The madmen remarked as she came up behind him, “That the only time we get truly spectacular sunrises is when there’s been trouble somewhere? There’s a moral in that, I think.”
”What do you mean?” Tia asked cautiously. Although he sounded rational, she knew him too well to be fooled.
”Its life,” He mused. “If nothing bad ever happened, you would have prefect skies every day and you’d be bored witless. But this…” He said, waving his arm to encompass the magnificent fiery skies, “This comes from a disaster. Somewhere out there, the Goddess has spoken”.
Tia Halted in her approach. It was never a good sign when Neris began to speak of the Goddess. “It’s just a volcano, Neris”
”The Goddess has spoken”
He was right, Tia knew, but she didn’t want him dwelling on it. That line of thought was just a step away from Neris calling his own contribution to what people believed about that Goddess and that was an extremely dangerous thing, particularly as he was sitting on the edge of a cliff with a drop of some eight hundred feet below him.”
(Chapter 1 page 4-5) The Eye of the Labyrinth: Sequel to the Lion of Senet
Dirk Provin fled the Prince Antonov's court in Avas with Tia Veran, at the end of the Lion of Senet. Two years later, they are both hiding in the Daenlands with the Pirates of Mil. But Anotonov, the dreaded Lion of Senet, is determined to flush Dirk out into the open, and tries to do so with a series of atrocities Dirk can not ignore.
Meanwhile, Kirsh, Antonov's son, has married Princess Alenor, but he is still obsessed with the beautiful, young, and manipulative acrobat Marquel, who may yet cost him his life. Alenor discovers that married life is not quite what she imagined and tries to concentrate on her new responsibilities as Queen of Dhevyn. Instead, she is inexorably drawn into a web of deceit and intrigue.
I just finished The Lion of Senet and it was quite good. Even without being a personal fan of fantasy I found the character development and sub-plots to be great, and ended up reading the last half in a day.
On to the sequel!
Posted by: Michael | 05/19/2009 at 08:58 AM