Taming Forest King [Paperback]

This book is a nice blend of fantasy, supernatural and military elements, with a touch of romance to boot. The main character is Tevra who is a Colonel in the Light Cavalry of the Kingdom and who has been sent by the King as Viceroy to resolve the corruption in the misogynistic Forest Kingdom. She is accompanied by her brilliant second-in-command Hetwith, and is aided, strangely enough, by the deposed Forest King, Dard, who is also a wizard. Tevra is a person of high principles who's always defined herself by her military position. The story follows her attempts to familiarize herself with the ways of the Forest Kingdom and handle people and situations totally alien to her training, while dealing with treachery, corruption, rebels, and assasination attempts.

This isn't a massive book - Ms. Edwards was able to create this world and its inhabitants with deft precision. Tevra is slowly revealed to be a person who has triumphed over her origins by making her military career the be-all and end-all of her existence, somewhat to her detriment. As the book evolves, so does she, with the help of the two people she winds up depending on more than she wants.

This is the second book by Ms. Edwards that I've read, and I've enjoyed both of them. I've only found mention of four books written by her, all in the late 1980's, and biographic information about her is almost non-existent. Here's hoping that someday she resumes writing in this genre.

Tevra, aided by her loyal and able second in command, Captain Hetwith, finds herself under magical and physical attack as she deals with bandits and less mundane threats. She had also not counted on the personal attraction she would feel for Prince Dard, the ci-devant Forest King, or the change in Hetwith's previously impeccable behavior toward her. She had, many years previously, taken Hetwith on as a soldier with a less than stellar reputation and by careful handling created a reliable tactician and her most valuable resource. She feels quite lost when his behavior causes a rift between them. Competent as she might be in military matter, Tevra has little experience in understanding her own emotions.

The character of Tevra as a career military officer who has been a very "by the rules" player, is well worked out. Her insecurities and strengths are both displayed as she copes with situations that threaten both her life and her loyalties. Her relationship with Hetwith, who she trusts implicitly to save her life, but whose inner workings confound her, is interesting. Their relationship as commanding officer and subordinate and the conflicts that arise in it are in keeping with both of their characters.

I can't comment on the military aspects of the book from experience, but from the presence of Jenny, the striker, to the uniform, the feel was very British colonial rather than American.

I have no idea what happened that this author stopped publishing, but that she did was fantasy's loss.