On Fire's Wings

"Because Kevla Bai-sha's fevered dreams - looming threats to their land and visions of dragons that had once watched over her people - held the promise of truth. " And _On Wings Of Fire_ holds the promise of a world so well-built you will lose yourself in this book within the first few pages. We meet Kevla as a girl without a father working the marketplace seeking customers for her mother's wares. When she is found by a great uhlah, you will remember what it was like to be a little girl or boy who had fantastic dreams of far-away places that contained princes and princesses. Only Kevla's come true. Sort of... And it is that sort of that the entire book hinges on. She does go live in the palace, but her life there is not exactly what she thought it might be. Her very existence is based on lies of omission and half truths until one day her dreams bring her into the vivid nightmare of reality. People die. People she loves turn their backs on her. She is betrayed by her own dreams. Rescued from certain death by a power she has only been toying with, Kevla must undertake a journey to reunite her country that has been split into warring clans for decades and more. Without her, her country will fall to the Shadow. But her own fear of her power leads her up a mountain into the waiting jaws of the Great Red Dragon. She sacrifices all that she is to this God of her land. The outcome will surprise you and shock you as well as delight you. Christie Golden is a multi-published author, but this is her first book in the Luna line. Luna promises to deliver a "new face in fantasy" and Christie has certainly held up her end of the bargain. If you love fantasies that wrap you up and pull you in like Mercedes Lacky or Stephen Donaldson or Charles DeLint, then this book is for you. Take a chance and travel to Arukan where you will meet a little girl whose destiny will lead her to love, despair, and triumph but she can't stop there. This is the first novel in a series. The next will be about the Stone Dancer. You can also follow Luna and Christie at eharlequin.com's Luna community "The Lorekeepers' Loft: The Elements and Beyond with Christie Golden. (..)

This was an excellent novel! I devoured it in the span of one day, and I already can't wait for the sequel to come out! It's got a real winner of a concept -- the Dancers and the Lorekeepers are just fascinating to me -- and some really great worldbuilding. Too many fantasy novels use recycled, generic, vaguely European settings -- not Christie Golden! Arukan is a complex society with an original, fresh, vaguely Middle Eastern feel to it. This was not a world I've read about before; Arukan is someplace new. Kevla is a wonderful character, a vivid, likeable human being. We watch her grow from a child to a woman, and we get completely involved in her life. We identify with her and want to see her succeed. All of this is perhaps why some of the psychological places that Golden takes this character (please excuse the vagueness, but I don't want to give anything away to people who haven't read the book for themselves yet) make us, the readers, so uneasy. Golden takes some real risks and isn't afraid of pushing the envelope. And, while it may have been uncomfortable to go there, it makes the book feel so much more real. Nothing is in here just for the shock value; it is all absolutely necessary to further the plot. The way Arkuan society was structured made the particular event I'm referring to (and once you've read the book, you'll know exactly what I mean) inevitable, but nonetheless shocking, horrible, and tragic -- but always, always, emotionally honest and real. All of the actions that Kevla and the other main characters take ring true. There's not one false note. The bottom line: this book is fabulous, original, engrossing, and real. Buy it now!

On Fire's Wings, a fantasy by Christie Golden, is a tale that has everything a devotee of the genre could desire: a magical setting and culture that is unusual enough to catch your eye, yet so believably written you feel as if you know it after only the first three pages; a gutsy heroine that snares your heart the very first moment you meet her and holds it true as she grows into her destiny; not one but two heroes full of human flaws and the ability to rise above themselves in the moment; deadly enemies both open and hidden; and best of all, a mythos and a writing style that takes you away to this world and it's ways, making it impossible to put down.The story centers around the growth of a girl to woman, Kevla, who comes from the lowest of social lows in a culture that has a decided middle eastern flavor and exists in a desert rife with nomads, wealthy lords, oppulance and poverty, warring clans, intrigue within and without households, mythic deity and superstition, and the touch of magic. Kevla has no name and no caste, and yet she rises into a spectacular destiny that ultimately forces her to embrace her true self. She comes of age facing challenge after challenge, and you are with her for every single step in the sand thanks to the marvelous writing ability of this author. Christie Golden balances description with action, dialogue with introspection, and creates realistic characters that leap from the page. The pacing is strong, and her story telling fluid. In addition to all of this, the writer fears not to take risks, and pushes boundaries in a way that will leave you breathless. The author has found that perfect blend of the elements of fiction that create reader nirvana, and she has mixed them up and dished them out for us between the pages of this book.My only warning: Kevla, her land, and its tale will leave you longing for more. Thankfully, Ms. Golden will oblige as there is a sequel in the works.Go ahead, indulge your taste for fantasy, adventure, and the magic of an excellent and engaging read!

Once I picked up this book, I found it hard to put back down. It has easily become my favorite of the Luna books I have read thus far. It's great to see a well-structured tale in a unique setting, one that strays away from the conventional medieval-fantasy. The author definitely takes a few risks, and some may find it hard to get beyond one sticky issue, but it doesn't deter from an engaging tale with well-developed characters. Now I almost wish I waited to read this one until this line of stories is complete -- the next book seems a dreadfully long wait, with still so many questions unanswered.

Arukan is a country made up of clans, some nomadic and others wedded to the land. It is a harsh world made up of castes with the baseborn children belonging nowhere and reduced to begging or prostitution to obtain food and shelter. Kevla Bai-Sha finds men for her mother to have sex with until a lord of the highest caste brings him into her home as a handmaiden to his wife Yeshi. She becomes one of Yeshi's favorites until she learns that Kevla is the daughter of Yeshi's husband.Yeshi banishes her to the kitchens and the only person who makes her life bearable is the Lord's heir Jashemi who knows that she is the other half of his soul. They love in spite of the taboo that prevents it and when they finally give in to their passion Kevla discovers her role as a fire element in saving the world and that Jasheni is her beloved in this life and others. Kevla with the help of the Truekeepers call for a convocation of the clan and begs them to unite against a common enemy or watch the destruction of their world.Christie Golden has written a fabulous fantasy about a world that can only be saved by the five elemental dancers of which Kevla is fire. If she succeeds in her quest, her world and two others will be saved, but if she fails, the Shadow will overtake the land and destroy all life within. This is the opening installment in what reads like a grand saga and if ON FIRE'S WINGS is any example, the other books in this series will be just as fantastic.Harriet Klausner