Nemesis [Mass Market Paperback]

I read this book for the first time when it was released in 1989. It became one of my favorites and I read my way through the rest of the series. At the time that the book came out I was still in college and I identified very much with the character of Anghara. I understood that she had brought her problems on herself, but I still really sympathized with her anger and her passion and her sense of unfairness.

I recently ran across the book again and decided to give it another read. I still enjoyed it, but it is interesting as an older reader how my perception of the book has changed. I now find Anghara exasperating rather than sympathetic. I am amazed that she seems to get off as easily as she does after bringing doom on her lover and her family. I kept reading, but I was looking for some real repentence on her part and getting frustrated because I did not find it.

Cooper is and was a talented writer. The Indigo series was her third fantasy series outing (the first two were Blood Summer and the more famous Time-Master books). Nemesis is set in a semi-Celtic landscape and draws heavily on a variety of myth-based sources for its plot. Cooper does a good job of synthesizing myth in an original way so that it does not feel stale or like a retread of old ideas.

More modern readers will probably be frustrated by the relatively short book length-- I know that I felt like several episodes could have safely been packed into one book, even at the time that I first read them. This series should be a big hit with teenage readers (particularly teenage girls) and are recommended for any reader who enjoys this particular flavor of fantasy.

Anghara Kalingsdaughter is the princess of the southern isles. She is headstrong and has a great deal of curiosity for things that have an 'aura' of mystery. Although she lives perfectly happy with her family and fiancee, she sometimes roams near the 'tower of regrets' and can't help asking herself what lies within, although there are ancient stories that say that the tower is doomed. Anghara acts recklessly and opens the box whithin the tower, releasing seven demons. But she must pay for her error, and seek and destroy every demon, the very demons that destroyed everything she loved. And until she destroys every demon she will became immortal and loose her name, for she is nothing more but a weapon. It's very interesting to see the development of the character Indigo, from this first book to the others. She really changes her view on life.

Even the world Louise created is the reverse of our own. North-South-West-East. This a story of an old civilazation, built upon the rubble of an even older civilization, and all that remains of the past civilization is it legacy, a solitary tower built by a man whose name is forgotten. The only things that are remembered of that ancient time, is preseved in the stones of the tower, and the words of a song. In the song the people of the new world are warned never to appraoch this tower, because it is forbidden to mankind. And so untouched, shrouded in mystery and the scars of the past, the tower reminds each passing generation of the folly of striving to take to much from the Earth Mother. That is until Anghara Kaligsdaughter Princess of the Southern Isles, unlocks the secrets of mankinds past, and opens the door to the destruction of her world. She then is condemned to repair the ruin she has caused, and until she can do so, she cannot die, and has to renounce her name and all that goes with it.

An original take on the Pandora's Box myth. Through the eight books that chronicle her journeys, we see the evolution of her character and the extent of the burden she carries. As a reader you are as compelled as Indigo to see the quest followed through to its completion, and you task is also very difficult. All eight books have been out of print for years, and copies are scarce. It doesn't help that Louise has many fans look at the same time as you are. It is well worth the effort. This series comes highly recommended.