Storms of Destiny

I had never heard of this author but count me in with everyone else here who rates this book so high. I wish there was a sequel coming.

This is the first book of A.C. Crispin's that I have read. I inhaled this book, and was unable to put it down. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. It's a great fantasy read!

It's been a while since I've read an A.C. Crispin book, so I had forgotten how in your face she writes. Her Star Trek books are one of the few earlier ones to actually use the words "make love" or anything like that (back when Trek books just didn't acknowledge stuff like that openly, though the subtlety was always there), and she's not afraid to write about sensitive topics. Thus, Storms of Destiny hit me hard right at the outset. It's an extremely strong fantasy with vivid characters that don't fit any of the standard stereotypes, except in the broadest sense. Even better, the story is self-contained, though the ending opens up a lot of vistas for the rest of the series to explore. The book is brutal, but it's also quite effective. Thia, a young priestess of the god Boq'urak, has never seen life outside the cloister. She also hasn't been much for the rules, being secretly taught to read and write by a mentor and how to get around secret passages in the complex. Using one of those passages to make it to dinner on time, she encounters a horrible rite that sours her entire belief system, revealing Boq'urak to be almost evil incarnate, and so she runs away. Eventually, she meets up with a warrior priest on the run from his own people for abandoning his fellow soldiers to die, a gender-neuter healer of a race of scholars who is exiled because he investigated the ancient ruins around his home too diligently, an enslaved prince who was captured by pirates as he was reconnoitering a rebellious province and sold into slavery, and a bitter spy for that same rebellion. Together, they must aid the prince's realm as it reels from invasion, as well as fight off Thia's demonic god before he can kill them all. Crispin doesn't shy away from descriptions of battle, though she's no Michael Stackpole. No, it's the sex that's brutal (though thankfully, not "on-screen" much). Talis, the spy, was brutalized by her uncle and now has sworn off men. Thia's on the run from a god who brutalizes some of his "Chosen Ones" much the same way, and the woman who Prince Eregard loves has to marry Eregard's oldest brother, who is nothing but horrible to her. And he's not even the villain of the book! These scenes do not quite reach the level of rape, usually because either something happens to forestall it or because Crispin moves away from it in the telling, but it certainly isn't pleasant to read about. This roughness is a clear contrast with Thia herself, who is the ultimate innocent, as is Princess Ulandra, who is just as clean, and neither understands this sort of thing. The innocent love that develops for both of them (I'm not going to tell you who their partners end up being, because it's not clear until the end of the book) is quite pleasant when compared to all that came before. Crispin has a way with her characters, grasping them and clearly showing us (rather than telling us) what makes them tick. She spends almost forty percent of the book getting

A Winner From A. C. Crispin Seven-time New York Times bestselling author A. C. Crispin begins her three book series 'The Exiles of Boq'urain' with a gripping epic fantasy in the first of the series, STORMS OF DESTINY. She takes a mix of characters from an exotic land: Jezzil, a brave warrior accused of cowardice. a young runaway priestess, Thia, Eregard, unlucky kidnapped prince of a kingdom, Talis, a would-be warrior maiden, and a strange, non-human pyshician Khith, and brings them together in an oddyssey of adventure, sex and mayhem. Famed fantasy writer Andre Norton says of STORMS OF DESTINY: 'One of the nastiest villains to appear in years. Unputdownable!' Readers will find themselves waiting with great anticipation for the next book in the 'Exiles of Boq'urain' series due out next year.

Storms of Destiny, the first installment of best-selling author A.C. Crispin's fantasy epic, The Exiles of Boq'urain, promises to be "unputdownable." It delivers. From the opening pages to the final chapter, this novel and the characters who live and breathe between its covers will enchant and enthrall its readers. Jezzil, a Chonao warrior, Thia, a novice priestess, Talis, a strong, young revolutionary, Eregard, Prince of Pela, and Khith, a Hthras physician, this unlikely yet engaging quintet pulls the reader into their world to face an enemy more horrific than they can imagine. Masterfully written, rich with detail and fast-paced, this tale of friendship, loyalty, courage and adventure grabs the reader and holds on relentlessly until the final battle is fought and the last page is turned and only then, reluctantly and by necessity, lets go. For now. The stage is set, the players are in place and the audience waits with bated breath for the curtain to rise on Act II...