From Amazon.com
Sex and plagues, magic and swordplay, conspiracies and prophecies, even royal fratricide--Tom Deitz knows the ingredients of good fantasy. But despite obvious skill and a dedicated cadre of fans, Deitz continues to be one of the genre's underappreciated, underrated authors. That may end with the first installment of his new Angen Chronicles,
Bloodwinter.
This first book introduces us to rival nations Eron and Ixti. Eron's mountain-dwelling, Nordic society is tightly ordered and places great importance on craftsmanship and ritual. To the deserts of the south, the more chaotic and combative Ixti is grasshopper to Eron's ant, always coveting the resources of its neighbor. Bloodwinter concerns the fate of five young people, four from Eron, one from Ixti: the beautiful Strynn and the reserved Avall are newly married, but Strynn carries the child of Avall's villainous rival, Eddyn. These three master artisans work together through the winter on regalia for their king, but Avall stumbles upon a powerful gem that feeds on blood and allows its users to meld their minds. Meanwhile, Merryn, Avall's sister and Strynn's closest friend, serves out the winter in Eron's War-Hold, after shaming Eddyn in a ritual duel. She ends up in bed with the significant Ixtian in the story, self-exiled Prince Kraxxi, who has accidentally killed his father's favorite son. Bloodwinter is solid, if long in parts, but it ends abruptly. Hopefully the next installment will better address the most consistent complaint about Deitz, leveled by fans and critics alike: pacing. --Paul Hughes
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
The wintry realm of Eron, decimated by plague, is only now beginning to build back to its former strength, so when ambitious and arrogant Eddyn rapes fellow metalsmith Strynn, there's no question that the resulting child will be kept. Custom demands that Strynn name a father for the babe; she chooses her friend (and Eddyn's rival) Avall, another metalsmith. Hoping to calm the bad blood among their families, the King of Eron sends the trioAthe greatest metalworkers in the realm in centuriesAto study at the distant, frigid keep of Gem-Hold-Winter. An uneasy truce is broken there when Eddyn learns that Avall has discovered a mysterious gem with the power to link minds across distances. Avall and Strynn believe that the gem will offer a powerful advantage if Eron's southern neighbor, the desert nation of Ixti, declares war. Meanwhile, Prince Kraxxi of Ixti (who has been living incognito in Eron after causing his brother's death in a hunting accident) learns of the gem from his loverAAvall's sister MerrynAand, driven by guilt and loyalty to his birth nation, complicates matters immensely. Deitz's (Above the Low Sky) unusual setting and strong, magnetic characters bode well for this new series, where loyalty seems to be as dangerous a character flaw as raw ambition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
