Fortune and Fate (A Twelve Houses Novel)

Fortune and Fate (2008) is the fifth fantasy novel in the Twelve Houses series, following Reader and Raelynx. In the previous volume, the southern coalition was destroyed and many men lost their lives. The whole of Gillengaria was disturbed and economically depressed because of the war. King Baryn was killed by assassins during the war and Princess Amalie was crowned as the Queen. Cammon became her consort and their mystic talents helped weed out hostile and incompetent rulers in the provinces. They restored the Riders to almost full strength, but a slot is left open for the missing Rider. In this novel, Willawendiss is a former King's Rider. Wen left the group after the death of King Baryn. She blamed herself for surviving after the King died. She ran away from the Riders and is afraid to contact any of her fellows. She has been atoning for the king's death by rescuing others from violence. Karryn is a serramarra of Fortunalt and the future Marlady. She has been abducted by Tover Banlish to force a marriage. Jasper Paladar is a scholar and widower. He has been requested by the Queen's consort to be Karryn's guardian until she reaches the age of consent. He likes Karryn, but doesn't want the responsibility and power that the position brings. Orson is the leader of a group of shipping guards. They are escorting a set of gold doors being shipped to Forten City. They were attacked by bandits and have a couple of openings. Cammon is a reader, a mystic who can read minds and sense moods. He is also the Queen's consort. He and Amalie can communicate with each other from anywhere within Gillengaria. In this story, Wen rescues Karryn from her abductors and returns the serramarra to her guardian. She tells Karryn and Jasper that she is named Willa, but refuses an offer of a job as captain of their guard in Forten City. Then she moves on and takes a job with Orson guarding the gold doors. After Wen joins the guards, the shipment is attacked again. Wen becomes suspicious of the wagon driver and he tries to make a run for it. The guards take him along to Forten City and turn him over to the magistrate. Wen leaves Forten City and encounters three ruffians who are using two children -- Ginnie and Bryce -- to lure unsuspecting travelers into their trap. She kills two of the bandits and frees the children. Then she takes them back to Forten City and gets them jobs. Wen learns that Bryce is a mystic with reader talents. She thinks that his best option is to hire on with the serramarra. So she goes out to Fortune -- the Marlord mansion -- and talks to Jasper. She gets jobs for Ginnie and Bryce, but also find herself working as captain of the guard for a limited time. She fires the former guard captain and recruits new guards. She finds that Bryce can provide helpful information about the guard candidates. She also asks Orson to join her group as her second in command. Meanwhile, the royal couple decide to prepare for a grand p

I thought it was fabulous. Geez, when I think of Archangel and The Shape-changer's Wife, it amazes me the growth in writing skills Shinn has accomplished. She just keeps getting better! This novel continues this world she has created with Mystic and Rider. The war is over but there is still alot of rebuilding to do. Wen was the Rider that did not die when the king died in the previous novel and had decided to not swear to the new queen. She has been on the road for two years helping strangers and trying to make up for her lack in saving the king. When she comes across a young girl abducted, she saves her life only to discover she is the daughter of the very man that helped kill the king. Wen is sort of weaseled in by the girl's guardian to create a defense to help protect the girl from future attacts. Wen doesn't want to make a new family with these people, but she can't help the pride and responisbility for these new friends to start showing in her. Wonderful story premise! I loved every bit!

Sharon Shinn does it again. Very well written;but slightly different - more of an exploration of emotions and lloyalties.

You do not need to have read Sharon Shinn's previous 4 books set in her 12 Great Houses universe to enjoy this one. I picked Fortune & Fate up at an airport bookstore and read it on my very long flight and ended up liking it a lot. I wasn't familiar with Shinn so I checked her back list and discovered the series which I ordered and read. Then I re-read Fortune & Fate. Some scenes and comments from the original cast of characters gained a little more nuance on the re-read but I also think that knowing that back story dimenished the power of Jasper & Wen's story a little bit. If you read this one first, you won't be sorry. And if you decide to go back and read the previous four after reading Fortune and Fate, that will work well too.

While the main 6 from the other Twelve Houses books (Senneth, Tayse, Justin, Cammon, Kirra, and Donnal) do make appearances the primary focus of this book is on Wen, a former Rider who felt that she disgraced her king by letting him die. She flees Ghosenhall and spends years wandering the countryside until fate causes her to cross paths with the heir to one of the Houses that had revolted against her king. Over the course of the story she comes to love the House and, while I won't spoil the ending, it is a delightful outcome for her and everyone else. The romance between her and a scholarly (in our modern language, nerdy) noble is a delightful feature. The tough and burly swordswoman and the aristocrat is a very nice role reversal from the traditional pairing of warrior man and damsel-in-distress so common to fantasy stories. It was refreshing and I found it satisfying. I do recommend this book although it definitely isn't a stand-alone novel...while Shinn does explain some of the backstory it would be better for the reader to read all the other Twelve Houses books first. I liked this one a lot and I look forward to reading more in this series.