The Lady of the Sorrows

I have always hated the way all reviewers compared fantasy books to Lord of the Rings when they want to convince an audience to give a new title a go; i mean how could anything compare to Tolkiens epic fantasy! Well, this one does! I've read a lot since reading Lord of the Rings and none have come close; until now! I can't wait to read the final chapter in this beautifully written tale of romance, intrigue, action and mythology so intricately woven. A masterpiece that will endure and delight countless generations.

THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK. THE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS ARE STUNNING WITH A COMPLEX VOCABULARY. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST FANTASY SERIES I HAVE READ, THIRD ONLY TO NARNIA AND THE LORD OF THE RINGS. THE DEPTH OF IMAGINATION AND THOUGHT IS ASTOUNDING. THE PLOT IS BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED AND ALWAYS SURPRISING. iT FORMS A NEW STANDARD IN HIGH FANTASY, AND I AM HOPING THAT OTHER WRITERS TAKE AFTER CECELIA'S EXAMPLE.

"The Lady of the Sorrows" is the second volume in Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde trilogy. I was worried when the 'ill-made mute' turned drop-dead gorgeous at the end of volume 1, but luckily it doesn't seem to affect the heroine, Rohain's pluck, or her determination to discover her pre-amnesiac past.There is a mounting tension in this book that was missing in the relatively plotless first volume of the trilogy. The author begins to frame the overarching struggle between good and evil. She begins to drop hints as to why it is so important that Rohain should recover her past.Some of the hints aren't so subtle: The Wild Hunt mounts a full-scale, coordinated assault on the tower where Rohain is visiting; the forces of evil blow up an island, Krakatau-style, where she seeks refuge. (There are a few minor errors regarding lava viscosity and the behavior of tsunamis, but overall this section of the book is a splendid, scary reinterpretation of the eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatau in 1883).As in "The Ill-Made Mute," Cecilia Dart-Thornton specializes in long, static, but beautiful descriptions of scenery, clothing, courtly manners, holiday feasts, the land of Faêran (Faêrie), etc. Even though these descriptions slow down the action, they really bring the reader into the scene:"They found shelter in a mossy stone ruin that had once, in ages long past, conceivably been a byre. Honeysuckle and traveler's joy formed a roof over the few remaining, slug-haunted walls. Against those they piled dry bracken to serve as a bed. Not daring to light a fire, they unwrapped the last slabs of cold porridge from their dock leaves and dined in silence."Beautiful. I'm right there under the honesuckle, eating cold porridge with Rohain and her friends.Read "The Ill-Made Mute" (in which Rohain is called 'Imrhien') before tackling "The Lady of the Sorrows" or you might not understand the story and all of its lovingly crafted accouterments. Then you'll have to wait until April, 2003, when the concluding volume of this unique trilogy, "The Battle of Evernight" is published, to see how it all ends for Imrhien-Rohain.

Well, I have to say that this is the best series that I have had the pleasure of stumbling across in quite a long time. I thought that the first book was slightly better than this, the second title in the series. However, this volume served to flesh out many details in part 1 (which I reread again after this one), and the last 100 or so pages are mesmerizing. This is a lyrical author with beautiful prose and sweeping canvases of locations and characters. I wish that the 3rd installation was available now. Enjoy!

Cecilia Dart-Thornton, one of the best new fantasy authors, produces a stunning second book in her Bitterbynde trilogy. Most second books sort of meander, a bridge between book one and book three. In this case, it alters the focus and the knowledge from the first book.Imrhien has regained her voice and her face, but her memory is still a blank. She has also fallen in love with the Dainnan warrior Thorn. The old carlin Maeve One-Eye assists the young woman in trying to find out who she was and why she was attacked at some time by an unseelie wight. So she disguises Imrhien as a beautiful and wealthy lady of the distant Isles of the Sorrows, and gives her a new name: Rohain of the Sorrows. Rohain arrives at the court of the King-Emperor, and fits badly into the sumptuous court, with all its unspoken rules and customs (not to mention "slingua," a bizarre little courtly language of their own). When an old friend is accused of treachery, Rohain tries to stand up for him in front of the King-Emperor -- only to find that he is the key to her happiness, Thorn. But that happiness is short-lived, when unseelie attacks begin to batter the court. An evil wizard's niece with a silver tongue tries to kill Rohain, Huon the Hunter and his Wild Hunt, and a shattering earthquake. Rohain knows that she is the target. And to know why, she must remember the past that was stolen from her: her name, her family, her life, and the beautiful, horrible events that changed Erith forever...In my review for the first Bitterbynde trilogy, I commented that it could not be rightly called an epic. That changes in this book, about two-thirds through. As before, her writing is highly descriptive, highly evocative in its use of poetic words. She doesn't spare the lush descriptions of surroundings, much in the manner of Patricia McKillip. At the same time, this book has more of a satirical side than "Ill-Made Mute," as Dart-Thornton cleverly pokes at the weird bits of a medieval court, the needless customs, and the occasional prod at fashion at the expense of comfort.I was initially afraid that Rohain (previously Imrhien, but in this book she takes on two other names and then remembers her real one) would be less interesting when she regained her beauty and her voice. This is not so -- in fact, Rohain may be even more interesting now that we see her strength and attempts to stay afloat in a place where a single malicious word could puncture her pretense. There is the strong-silent Thorn, who appears in a substantially different slot in the world than he did before, and the pleasant, robust Sianadh, whose scenes with Thorn and Rohain are pure fun. And among the new characters are Viviana, a rather fragile but ultimately resolute and loyal maid to Rohain; Daniella, a chattery noblewoman whose light tongue and odd clothes hide a malicious soul; the charming bard who befriends Rohain; and a hideous sprite called Yallery Green.If there are any flaws, it is that Dart-Thornton seems absolut