Emissary: Book Two of the Percheron Saga

This review isn't a book report covering the novel's plot lines. The publisher's done a good enough job with that already with the section for "Book Description". However if you're looking for an opinion while considering, "Should I buy this book?" Well, I'm offering my opinion. Do you enjoy "Robin Hobb"? Or J.V. Jones? Tad Williams? If you've read and enjoyed any of their Novels you will thoroughly enjoy this new series by Ms. McIntosh. Start with the first one, "Odalisque" but go ahead and spend your money. It won't be wasted. And If you haven't read any of those other authors, give them a try also. They all offer solid top notch genre fantasy that won't disappoint.

EMISSARY marks the second installment of The Percheron Saga, Fiona McIntosh's daring shift from the standard fantasy that the majority of readers tackle, into the shifting sands of a more Middle Eastern-flavored world. Daring in the sense that she had proven tremendously capable with the classic formula and had found success. To take on a world so vastly different is brave, and to her credit it must be said that her abilities are not wasted in the endeavor. Percheron is a marvel to behold. Young Boaz, the Zar of Percheron, is at a crossroads. The one person you'd think he could trust, his mother Herezah, is the one person he mistrusts. And with good reason. Herezah has her own plans for Percheron, and one of the first things she needs to do is eliminate Ana, the virginal odalisque of Boaz's harem. Herezah sees her as a serious threat to her objectives and teams with the eunuch Salmeo to bring about Ana's demise. Yet having caught the eye of Boaz, Ana is protected. All the while, the gods pull the strings on their puppets as they mount their own battles against each other, and Percheron faces a new threat. Lazar, the Spur of Percheron and the friend and protector of Boaz, is secretly recovering from wounds everyone thought had killed him. He is key to the continued existence of Percheron but needs to recover quickly if he is to act in time. The characters who populate EMISSARY are all intriguing. Pez continues to be the most impressive of the bunch, but Ana takes center stage for this one, in all ways. Every man wants her for his own animalistic desires, Herezah wants her humiliated and ultimately dead, others seek to use her to gain power, and the gods manipulate her for their own needs. All the while, Ana grieves for the death of Lazar, weighed down by the guilt of his loss. Boaz also shows signs of blossoming from immaturity to leader and beginning to understand on a more personal level the deceptions and machinations of those around him who seek only to further their own agendas. EMISSARY is not filled with daring feats or blood-pumping action, but to say it is wholly devoid of action would be misleading. In the overall arc of the story, EMISSARY is the chess game; it is the manipulation of the pieces with careful precision that sets up an endgame attack of fury that your opponent never saw coming. With all of the positioning, posturing and planning laid out here, Fiona McIntosh will no doubt have one explosive finale stamped onto the pages of the final volume of this worthwhile and fascinating series. --- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

A year has passed since the warrior city Protector Spur Lazar was killed, Kett was turned into a eunuch, and Ana became an Odalisque although not performing sexual deeds as part of the harem of Boaz, the juvenile Zar of Percheron,. Odalisque Ana blames herself for the misfortune that occurred to her and her protectors. Males have always wanted to cherish Ana so as Kett points out the Lazar needed to become her Protector. In the harem, the virginal Ana tries to behave and fit in although men still desire her even Boaz. However, the Zar's mother Herezah sees the first crush her son has had and fears the influence of this newcomer to her role as the queen mother ruling over the harem. She arranges a scheme to humiliate Ana before assassinating her. The eunuch Grand Master Salmeo, who detests the popularity of this newcomer amongst his emaciated subordinates and the women he oversees, abets Herezah with her plan to include sexual torture as only he knows how to use. However, on one of those isles that Odalisque Ana stares at from her window, Lazar slowly heals from his severe wounds planning to fulfill his vow as Ana's Protector. EMISSARY, Book Two of the Percheron Saga (see ODALISQUE) is a fascinating fantasy that provides a deep look into the realm although that keen glimpse makes for little action for most of the tale. Instead the story line has started several subplots that look like they will be action-packed fun. Odalisque Ana is the focus of everyone's wants. The Zar wants her; his mother wants her dead but not martyred;, the Grand Master wants her humiliated; Lazar wants to rescue her;, the Vizier wants to use her to gain power; and the Gods want to manipulate her. This is an entertaining tale, but lacks the punch of ODALISQUE as it sets the stage for the final tale in which hopefully all the players will clash. Harriet Klausner