| In the first part of this book, Chime, a peasant girl whose family owns an orchard, discovers she has magical powers. Because she has the strongest powers in the land, she must marry Muller, the prince and soon to be king. Although neither want to marry at first, they grow to love one another, but there is a problem. Neither Chime nor Muller would make very good rulers, and their country, Aronsdale, needs good rulers, because the king of a neighboring country wants to take over their country for its riches. This king has a very powerful mage of his own that can oppose them.
Then Iris, another mage, find Jarid, the true heir to the throne, and Muller and Chime believe their country will be saved. Unfortunately, almost all the powerful mages in their country have some sort of flaw in their abilites, and all need to learn how to control those abilities if they are to oppose the mage and army that is coming to invade Aronsdale. If you read Asaro's short story "Moonglow" (in the anthology Charmed Destinies) you'll not only recognize some of the characters, but some of the story as well. The events in that short story occur about half way through this book, and some parts of the story are included word for word. It's not necessary to have read the short story to enjoy this book. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past Coming of age Yes Youngster becomes - a powerful magician Romance Yes Plotlet: - coping with mental/magical powers Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 % Human/magical couple? Yes Type of couple: - Both human, she has mental powers Main Character Identity: - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's If magical mental powers: - mind reading - can cast many different spells - can read emotions Main Adversary Identity: - Male Profession/status: Has magical powers? Yes Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells Eccentric: Yes How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some How sensitive is this character? Setting Terrain Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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