Lord of the Dark Sun

At long last a new tale in Stobie Piel's wonderful futuristic series. The heroine of this tale is Ariana of Valenwood, daughter of Arnoth (THE WHITE SUN), a great Intersystem leader and healer. There is no question that Ariana is deeply loved, however as young people often do, she chose to spread her wings a bit by persuading her friends to take an unauthorized visit to Lodder Vale, a pleasure outpost in the Border Territory. This celebration of their graduation from the Intersystem Academy was destined to end badly. Ariana awakens to find herself in a strange craft, bound, and lying beside the other women who had accompanied her. The fate of the men was unknown. Soon they find themselves on a barren Dark Sun world far outside the Intersystem territories. The women's heads are shaved, an act which drives home to Ariana how insignificant her identity is here. They are forced down a tube into a dark cavern where they are confronted by barbarians. The majority are male, aged between fourteen and twenty, men before their time. An astute assessment of the situation tells her that these men are slaves to the Automon, no doubt born on this planet, and used to mine the precious malloreum crystals which fuel the Dark Sun ships. The women are merely to become the latest batch of breeders. Though nearly paralyzed by fear, Ariana steps forward. Recognizing her superiority to the other women, the barbarian leader stakes his claim on her. Ariana is determined to fight him to the death, but notices another slightly younger man, assessing her. Something in his eyes bemuses her. Though his language consists of nothing more than grunts and gestures, she detects intelligence and a gentle spirit within them. He detects something special in her as well. When the younger man challenges the leader, she hopes against the poor odds that he will somehow prevail. When brains and agility win out over brawn, Ariana is not the only one who is relieved. The new young leader claims her for his own, and in a very short time Ariana comes to love him with all her heart. Somehow they find a way to communicate, but she learns more about him by his actions. It is human nature to cherish freedom and Ariana's mind turns often to escape. The need becomes urgent when she discovers that, although the miners knew no other life, the Automon definitely anticipated rebellion. Evidence of deliberate lava flows indicate that previous generations had been destroyed before the will to rebel could become effective. Ariana does not intend for her lover to become another statistic, a fact she somehow conveys to him. Soon they find a chink in the Automons' routine and Ariana plans to take those women of her crew that wish to go along with them. That is her mistake. Among them is a false friend who has taken advantage of Ariana's trusting nature for many years. The woman coveted Ariana's status, and now the man that she'd come to love as well. When their plan is unexpectedly thwarted, the barbaria

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were great. I loved how they could laugh at themselves. The autumons were really scare in the fact that they were not real people & could not feal emotions. I loved the sub-characters, and I really with I could have my own bat.

For those who have read THE MIDNIGHT MOON, THE DAWN STAR, and THE WHITE SUN, you will enjoy hearing about some of the characters years later. LORD OF THE DARK SUN involves their children. I love this genre--wish there was more of it. I gave this one 4 stars because the intensity present in the first part of the book fades along the way. Too bad Ms. Piel could not keep it going until the end (the beginning was very promising).I still recommend this one.

To celebrate graduation from the Intersystem Academy, Princess Ariana persuades her friends to journey to the outpost of the Border Territory. However, instead of fun at the infamous Lodder Vale, Automons, using a strange gas, capture Princess Ariana and her shipmates. Ariana knows her father will come after her with every force the Intersystem can muster even as she is transported to Mining Colony Fifteen. At the slave camp, the men seem identically beaten souls except for one colonist who displays dignity and honor. Ariana begins to fall in love with this slave and together they escape, but he is recaptured.A decade later, Ariana knows she loves her former slave mate and returns to find him though she believes the colony was destroyed. The nameless slave now using the moniker Damen escaped and has become a pirate. He captures Ariana, but the passion they shared ten years explodes into a deep love. However, each keeps secrets that if revealed will probably end their relationship before it can flourish.LORD OF THE DARK SUN is a terrific, action-packed romantic science fiction romance that fans of the author will enjoy while turning on new readers to the talent of Stobie Piel. The story line will appeal to both the romance and alien world audience because the non-earthly environs and species seem real and the star-crossed lovers strengthens that authenticity. Though the pirate spin seems unnecessary with all the outer space adventure already packed in the novel, Ms. Piel spins a solar heated tale that shows she is one of the top cross-genre authors under the WHITE SUN.Harriet Klausner