DAUGHTER OF EXILE

Angarred, daughter of Lord Challo Hashan, grows up knowing nothing of the circumstances surrounding her father’s disgrace and banishment from court.

Meanwhile, the family estate falls into ruin as her father immerses himself in futile intrigues with various impecunious visitors. One of these, Mathewar, a handsome but drug-addicted young magician, accompanies Angarred one day when an assassin’s arrow puts an end to Lord Hashan. Angarred’s only recourse, it seems, is to travel to Pergodi and appeal to King Tezue for justice. But Pergodi proves less accommodating than Angarred hoped. She does meet up with Mathewar again, and they enjoy various adventures, but the more they learn the worse the situation appears. Four hundred years ago, after the disastrous Magician’s War, Tobrin bound up the wild magic in a Stone and hid it. The Stone ended up in the hands of the Takeke, from whom the evil magician Alkarren stole it; now the Takeke want it back. Prince Norue schemes to depose his father by conspiring with the Tekeke to besiege Pergodi; Princess Rodarren, mutilated after being attacked by a bear, has lost her wits; Alkarren is using his Stone to control Tezue. The giants, hitherto peaceful, apparently have another Stone and are marching to war. And Jerred Snoppish, a courtier with whom Angarred becomes friendly, confesses that his family possess a third Stone! As the city descends into a welter of plots, factions, infighting, and treachery, Angarred begins to wonder who benefits from sowing chaos.

No great claim to originality, but an ingeniously plotted, tellingly detailed, and pleasingly peopled fantasy debut.