Passion Play by Beth Bernobich
Jul. 24th, 2010 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Ilse Zhalina is the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants. She has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot; but there are dark secrets, especially in the best of families. Ilse has learned that the way for a young woman of her beauty and social station to survive is to be passive and silent.
When Ilse finally meets the older man she is to marry, she realises that he is far crueller and more deadly than her father could ever be. Ilse chooses to run. This choice will change her life forever.
And it will lead her to Raul Kosenmark, master of one of the land’s most notorious pleasure houses ... who is, as Ilse learns, a puppet master of a different sort altogether. Ilse discovers a world where every pleasure has a price and where there are levels of magic and intrigue she once thought unimaginable. She also finds the other half of her heart.
Lush fantasy. Wild magic. Intrigue, seduction and treachery, with a kingdom at stake, Passion Play is the journey of a woman who must master her passions in order to win all that she desires.
Born into a wealthy merchant family in the city of Melnek, Therez Zhalina lives a stifling existence where women are not expected to express opinions. She dreams of escape to the capital city of Duenne, but the possibility of war and its consequent effect on trade leads her father to barter her away in marriage to the head of the City Council who can grant lucrative contracts but has a cruel reputation. When her father refuses to listen to her concerns, Therez sees no other choice but to escape, sneaking out of the house and taking a wagon train to Duenne in the hope of starting a new life.
Instead she finds herself betrayed and forced to make a terrible choice that leaves her gravely ill in the city of Tiralien. She’s given refuge by Lord Raul Kosenmark, a former adviser to the king who now lives in exile, running a house of pleasure for the city’s elite. Therez takes the name Ilse and starts to rebuild her life, working in the house’s kitchen and growing closer to Kosenmark, who admires her quiet intelligence. Bu the closer she gets to him, the more she learns about the intrigue that runs through the house and of matters that go to the heart of the nation and its security.
Beth Bernobich’s novel is a quiet but compelling fantasy that focuses on character development but brings in political machinations, magic and intrigue. This is very much Therez’s story – how her experiences (at times brutal and horrifying) shape her and how she comes to be embroiled in this world. As such, the political elements are brought in slowly as Therez gradually gets brought in – similarly, the relationship between her and Kosenmark is a slow-burner that doesn’t develop until the final third.
Action fans may be disappointed as the pace is sedate and thoughtful, while readers who are into political conflict may be frustrated that this remains a backdrop to character – although these may be developed in future books.
I enjoyed the novel and especially the Central Asian/Arabic feel to the world that Bernobich has created, with its merchant caravans and sultry feel. I also loved the inclusion of bisexual and homosexual characters, who are central to the story but not a political/social message.
The book’s conclusion sets up the sequel, which I look forward to reading.
The Verdict:
An absorbing, thoughtfully paced fantasy that offers strong character development and the slow incorporation of wider political intrigue, I found this an interesting read with a main character who interested me and who I want to read more about in the sequel. It is a fantasy novel that’s about character though, so while I think there’s a lot to appeal to fantasy fans looking for some action and wider political intrigue, it does form more of the background her to Therez’s/Ilse’s story.
PASSION PLAY by Beth Bernobich is released on 12th October – I won this ARC in a contest run by the author.
Ilse Zhalina is the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants. She has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot; but there are dark secrets, especially in the best of families. Ilse has learned that the way for a young woman of her beauty and social station to survive is to be passive and silent.
When Ilse finally meets the older man she is to marry, she realises that he is far crueller and more deadly than her father could ever be. Ilse chooses to run. This choice will change her life forever.
And it will lead her to Raul Kosenmark, master of one of the land’s most notorious pleasure houses ... who is, as Ilse learns, a puppet master of a different sort altogether. Ilse discovers a world where every pleasure has a price and where there are levels of magic and intrigue she once thought unimaginable. She also finds the other half of her heart.
Lush fantasy. Wild magic. Intrigue, seduction and treachery, with a kingdom at stake, Passion Play is the journey of a woman who must master her passions in order to win all that she desires.
Born into a wealthy merchant family in the city of Melnek, Therez Zhalina lives a stifling existence where women are not expected to express opinions. She dreams of escape to the capital city of Duenne, but the possibility of war and its consequent effect on trade leads her father to barter her away in marriage to the head of the City Council who can grant lucrative contracts but has a cruel reputation. When her father refuses to listen to her concerns, Therez sees no other choice but to escape, sneaking out of the house and taking a wagon train to Duenne in the hope of starting a new life.
Instead she finds herself betrayed and forced to make a terrible choice that leaves her gravely ill in the city of Tiralien. She’s given refuge by Lord Raul Kosenmark, a former adviser to the king who now lives in exile, running a house of pleasure for the city’s elite. Therez takes the name Ilse and starts to rebuild her life, working in the house’s kitchen and growing closer to Kosenmark, who admires her quiet intelligence. Bu the closer she gets to him, the more she learns about the intrigue that runs through the house and of matters that go to the heart of the nation and its security.
Beth Bernobich’s novel is a quiet but compelling fantasy that focuses on character development but brings in political machinations, magic and intrigue. This is very much Therez’s story – how her experiences (at times brutal and horrifying) shape her and how she comes to be embroiled in this world. As such, the political elements are brought in slowly as Therez gradually gets brought in – similarly, the relationship between her and Kosenmark is a slow-burner that doesn’t develop until the final third.
Action fans may be disappointed as the pace is sedate and thoughtful, while readers who are into political conflict may be frustrated that this remains a backdrop to character – although these may be developed in future books.
I enjoyed the novel and especially the Central Asian/Arabic feel to the world that Bernobich has created, with its merchant caravans and sultry feel. I also loved the inclusion of bisexual and homosexual characters, who are central to the story but not a political/social message.
The book’s conclusion sets up the sequel, which I look forward to reading.
The Verdict:
An absorbing, thoughtfully paced fantasy that offers strong character development and the slow incorporation of wider political intrigue, I found this an interesting read with a main character who interested me and who I want to read more about in the sequel. It is a fantasy novel that’s about character though, so while I think there’s a lot to appeal to fantasy fans looking for some action and wider political intrigue, it does form more of the background her to Therez’s/Ilse’s story.
PASSION PLAY by Beth Bernobich is released on 12th October – I won this ARC in a contest run by the author.
