Flameweaver

Back Cover Plot Teaser: "The Russians are pushing south into the Hindu Kush, expanding their empire at the expense of the forgotten tribes that surround the British Raj. Little did they expect such resistance as they found in the fabled city of Gandhara. Little did they expect the fables to be real. Just as little did the wisewomen of Gandhara expect their system of protection to begin to fail them after millennia of effective defense. But the Russians' new weapons don't seem to care much about magic, and the Gandharans realize they must fight fire with fire. Tamai, who has never been able to control her magical powers sufficiently to join the wisewomen, is expendable; she is sent on a mission south into the Raj to acquire the fabulous weapons known as Martini-Henry rifles. Little did the wisewomen expect the fables of the Raj to be real..." REVIEW: This journey / quest novel brings an isolated, primitive, fantasy city of women's magic head-to-head with historical colonial India, shocking both sides. Margaret Ball employs her always-skillful characterizations and plot twists. I read it in a single sitting and loved it.