Wolfblade: Book One of the Wolfblade Trilogy

I loved this book! I oftentimes find that fantasy books take a little while to get into. Not so with Wolfblade! It starts off with mass murder and the intrigue continues on from there. Betrayal at every turn, love found and lost unexpectedly, political factions lurking in every corner, fickle gods stirring the pot and much more. This book is a must read!

I'm disappointed with the reviewers who demonstrated little ability to appreciate good writing. This novel is just as good as all of Ms. Fallon's other titles. There is more political machinations than in her previous series, but it's just as absorbing. And frankly, comparing Lackey and Fallon is like apples and oranges. Both have their strong points. I think Fallon's work is deeper and the characters are more enmeshed in their worlds. Don't turn away from this book because of the rating. It is a fantastic book. All of Fallon's work shines above and beyond the typical fare of most fantasy out there. Fallon does an amazing job of surprising the reader.

Fallon is one of my favorite authors. She writes great dialogue, and is excellent at multiple conflicts between her many realistic and interesting characters. I also love the many cultures she has created.

With Wolfblade, Jennifer Fallon goes into the past of the world she created for the Hythrun Chronicles, giving us a story of Marla Wolfblade, Damin's mother (the Hythrian Warlord in the original trilogy). Marla was an interesting character in that trilogy. Though not used much, she was intriguing, irascible, politically expedient and very intelligent. How did she get to her position? Wolfblade begins that story. Other than a slow beginning, it's a fantastic tale of political fantasy with the question always hanging over the book: who will end up with the throne of Hythria? I'm already looking forward to the results, which is a good thing since we know what the political landscape will look like in about fifteen to twenty years. Sixteen-year-old Marla Wolfblade is the only sister to an increasingly perverted High Prince of Hythria. Lernan has no interest in bedding a woman, not even to establish an heir, and the rest of his practices become increasingly strange as the book moves on. He has no interest in running the country, and leaves that to the High Arrion of the Sorcerers' Collective, an old man named Kagan. Marla is to be married off to the King of Fardohnya as part of a political bargain, but dissidents within Hythria are determined to remove Lernan from power. Other dissidents come up with a plan of their own. Caught between these factions, young Marla wishes desperately to marry for love, but instead is constantly told what she must do for the good of the realm. Now, with the much-needed son that everybody wants, will she be able to protect him from those who want absolute power anyway? Wolfblade is book one of the "Wolfblade Trilogy," at least in North America. When Fallon originally wrote the books in her native Australia, this was book four of the Hythrun Chronicles. Personally, I wish they would have left it that way. If you're a fan of Fallon's like I am, you'd follow her from book to book anyway. However, anyone who picks this up cold as the beginning of a new series may be hard-pressed to stay interested at the beginning. I cared about the characters because I knew where this would ultimately lead and I wanted to see how the story got there, but I have to say the beginning is tedious at first. I persevered, and I was rewarded, but somebody coming in without the benefit of the previous books might not. Part of the problem is that Marla is incredibly annoying. It's a vivid contrast to the Marla we know from the previous trilogy, and it's hard to get used to at first. She whines a lot about marrying for love, gets the mistaken impression of who she's going to marry *twice* (both times thinking that she would finally get her wish only to have it dashed) and is despondent after that. Without our knowledge of the characters, Fallon has to work doubly hard to keep them interesting as she's introducing all of the palace intrigue. Who really cares who will succeed to a throne of a country we're not familiar with at

Fifteen years old Lady Marla Wolfblade, sister to the High Prince of Hythria Lernen, is an asset used by her sibling to forge an alliance. He sold his pawn in holy matrimony to King Hablet of Fardohnya and in exchange Lernen strengthens his hold on the throne from invaders and usurpers. He can call on the powerful armies of his future brother-in-law to defend Hythria against an attack from Medalon, to enable him to control the feisty Warlords of his country, and especially put down the outraged Patriots that condemn the self-gratifying aristocracy. The Patriots assassinate Ronan Dell whose hedonism emulated that of the High Prince. Most residents of Greenharbour will secretly rejoice that the abusive pervert is dead; his frustrated advisor the dwarf Elezaar is one who feels relief from the demise. Elezaar offers his services to Marla. She takes to his suggestions like a student to a beloved fatherly mentor as he trains her to be a Madam Machiavelli in a regal world of backstabbing. Through his aid she instead marries a provincial warlord that causes problems for her brother with the King and increased aggression from Medalon. Still when she gives birth he names his nephew his heir. The opening act of the Wolfblade trilogy is a superb fantasy constructed on a believable complex patriarchal society in which men forge political alliances that includes selling disposable females to cement them. The story line introduces the reader to a vividly described caste system where everyone knows their place. Marla is the star of this coming of age high fantasy as she matures to the point that she is as good at deadly political chess manipulations as anyone; that leaves fans doubting whether she will survive to see her son as the High Prince. Harriet Klausner