Tathea

Tathea #1

by Anne Perry

Her husband and beloved son assassinated, Tathea, once Queen of Shinabar, is alone and in exile. Numbed by grief, she takes refuge in the Lost Lands, where she tries desperately to find meaning in a life that has robbed her of her family, her home and her country. But in her quest for the truth, which takes her far beyond the physical world she knows, she discovers that it does not come without cost - terrible cost.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Religion, Adventure, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 1999

About the author

Anne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.

Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".

Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.

Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories

Reviews

[Mrs. S · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is very rare that I don't finish a book, but this is one of them. The book jacket made this novel sound so interesting and it had a great initial start. The first few pages were riveting and fast-paced and described the coup and Tathea's escape. There were so many scenes in the book where you had to suspend belief and forget any thoughts of a realistic plot. Her escape from the "assasins" was one of those scenes.

I read about 325 pages of this book before I realized it was not going to get better. If the book had kept on the path of a fantasy adventure (which was what the jacket alluded described), I would have kept reading. This book is only a small part fantasy, which by the way was often interesting. This book is basically a religious allegory/parable novel.

The jacket description is very misleading and must have been written by someone who wanted to sell a lot of books to people who enjoy fantasy. I do enjoy religion-based novels, but only when I WANT to read them, not when I have been tricked into reading them. Even so, I still don't think this book worked on a religious novel level. It was VERY repetitive and very boring.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anne Perry apparently does Victorian mysteries, which I hope are a little more readable than this craptastic book was. 500 pages of religious preaching behind a veiled, only marginally compelling fantasy backdrop. It was kind of pathetic.

I can compare it to Terry Goodkind in a way, who has a pretty standard objectivist line he toes with the characters in his books. The difference is that his characters are endearing, the plot is compelling, and the writing is above average, thus allowing the reader to at least get something from the book even if s/he disagrees or ignores the social commentary beneath it. Perry, on the other hand, has some seriously stilted dialogue issues, and, since the main character has no purpose but to spread The Word around the imaginary world she's created, it results in constantly being bashed over the head with it. I mean, her intent was to obviously provide her version of religious belief into an area that is often lacking in spirituality of that sort, and maybe she's actively trying to "trick" people into picking up what appears to be a compelling fantasy story and getting preached to, but yeah, really, really bad. Really bad.

[Retha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta-Thea, an empress, whose mother was of the sea and her father of the dessert, lost her husband, child and the throne in a brutal killing. She had to leave her homeland, and everything she knew, to go on a journey that took everything and gave her in return more than that.

During her spiritual travels, Ta-Thea came face-to-face with her enemy. What she learnt in the spirit helped her to survive in the world with its dangers, tests and temptations.

There was always a choice. When she made the right choices, many gained, but when she made the wrong choices, the people around her were the ones that paid the price.

She discovered the Book that was the answer to everything. It was also the answer to nothing when people interpreted it to fit their needs and desires. Will it save the world or ruin it?

Will there dawn a day when the enemy is too strong? Will the enemy be defeated? Who or what is the enemy?

Ann Perry has written a great story by combining fantasy with Biblical truths. The message I received from Tathea, is the importance of staying true to the Word of God. Spreading the Word of God should never be confused with using the Word of God to please people. Tathea reminds us of how fragile, and at the same time how strong we humans are. Tathea also tells the story of the love of God that gives us the strength, not the love of man.

I recommend Tathea and I would love to read other books from the author, Anne Perry.

Open Road Integrated Media, as part of their media review bloggers program provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, I admit is a harder read than most. It is not a piece of mild fiction, rather, a presentation on one woman's journey into self awakening and acceptance of a higher power. You will love it or hate it. Plain and precious truths are offered and what I like the most is moving my thoughts beyond the boundaries of this world and dwelling for a moment on "worlds I have without end."

When God asked Satan what he was doing in the garden the serpent replied he was "doing what is done in other worlds." How would it be to live in a world and go through a life altering experience as Tathea did and coming to accept the divinity of Christ and the Atonement that took place for you but in another sphere of time and place? We accept there are other worlds and realms in this universe yet we do not think on their progression. Interesting concept, isn't it?

While the story does become dreamlike and muddled at times, the premise of the worth of a soul is beautiful and Tathea's journey is enthralling.

[Neverdust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long but good. It made me truly feel like I was on a journey of self-discovery. Great ideas, densely philosophical, but simple, with just enough action to make it get exciting and keep my interest. And of course, littered with plot-twists. Overall, an interesting and fulfilling read. Definitely recommended.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book. I have read it several times. First time it was kind of hard to get into but once I did it was a great read!

(clean)

[Tricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this book. It was very long and the story was not engaging for me.

[Tamhack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended by a friend. At first, I thought is was just a fictional book about a woman who was trying to understand why bad happens to her and how to deal with grief. But about halfway through the book, the author starts to throw gospel principles in subtly but recognizable. It may be the author's way of preparing people to recognize the gospel when they really hear it, if so she did an excellent job of it. I like how she had the debate between good and evil at the end of the book.
I had to do more digging about the author--and found some interesting history about her (I will let you do the same and draw your own conclusions). But I think the author's personal life my be a great warning about picking friends wisely in our youth and the power of repentance and the Savior's atonement.

[amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came into this read thinking it was something else entirely; oh, how surprised I was! I managed to get through the spiritual journey part (which came surprisingly soon after the start of the book), but even that was a struggle & I gave up soon afterwards. I understand what the author was trying to go for, & I congratulate her for going for it, but it was just not for me. The message felt rather heavy-handed, & the style of writing was not appropriate, I think, for this type of storytelling. I didn't feel like we were given an opportunity to emotionally connect with Tathea, & she remained but an empty character to me. Nothing was memorable in my mind, & the read tired me out instead of enticing me to turn the page & keep going. Disappointing.

[Liz Busby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I moved this book up my reading pile after Anne Perry passed away this year. I had heard of this book in my undergrad research on Mormon speculative fiction but hadn't ever gotten around to picking it up. I ended up reading through one third of the book, skimming to the halfway point, and deciding not to finish it.

Perry is more typically a mystery writer, not a speculative fiction writer, and her inexperience in the genre shows. The first chapter, where the empress Ta-Thea awakens in the middle of a coup and finds that it has claimed the lives of her husband and young son, is riveting in its realism and interesting worldbuilding hints, perhaps drawing on her mystery writer skills in portraying death and desperation. After this long chapter, all that was built before is suddenly unimportant as Tathea (dropping the hyphen at this point) goes on a mystical spiritual journey of several one-off adventures, each ending with a sudden diaboli-ex-machina: at each island, after Tathea saves the day with moral thinking and right action, the devil shows up to promise he will not stop until he has destroyed her life.

This wandering finally leads to a literal garden of Eden where Tathea and her companion instigate the fall of mankind (through music--perhaps an interesting connection to Tolkien's use of music as divine power?) and participate in a strange reenactment of the war in heaven. None of this makes narrative sense in the context of the story in the first chapter, and the inconsistent worldbuilding makes it hardly clear whether Perry expects the reader to believe these chapters take place in real life or some mystical realm. The long and the short of it is that Tathea descends from heaven with "the Book" (never named, but often quotes from it are slight variations on Book of Mormon verses) and a charge to spread the gospel of agency and repentance across the land.

In a third left turn for the narrative, Tathea now journeys to the neighboring kingdom to the one her late husband ruled and begins to spread the gospel through the land. Much of this section falls flat because it's unclear what, if any, religion the people of the land were committed to before and what beliefs Tathea's new religion espouses. Her aristocratic audience has some interesting bumps and struggles along the path to conversion, though they are mostly sped through so quickly it's hard to appreciate them. Their spiritual journeys are mostly summarized in between theological conversations with Tathea in which people usually quickly come around to her side and agree with the wonderful (if vague) content of the Book.

Part of Tathea's goal in converting the aristocracy is to convince the ruler of this kingdom to send an army to help her retake her husband's kingdom for the purpose of spreading the gospel among them. Once they head out to war, it takes barely a few chapters for the usurpers to be overthrown and Tathea to be reinstated as empress. By this time, I was tired of the relentless pace of the story and being thrown from one situation to another without enough time to really develop any of them and so I decided to stop skimming and give up. Presumably in the second half of the book, Tathea works to convert her nation and chooses a group of followers that will help her spread the message of the Book, since they feature prominently in the summary of the sequel, Come Armeggedon.

A narrative of this scale should have been spread over multiple books to allow time for the realistic development of characters and plotlines. Even in the hands of an experienced fantasy author, I don't know for certain that it could have been made to work. The broad strokes of Latter-day Saint theology in Tathea make the parallels in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series look subtle. I can't say that I recommend the reading experience to anyone as the sentences are long and winding and often confusing. Several of the characters suffer from fantasy name syndrome--being completely unpronounceable and too similar to each other to tell apart. The one positive note I can leave on my experience reading Tathea is that in establishing the gospel on another planet while still relying on Christ's sacrifice on this one, the book fits neatly into the theories I presented in my recent paper about Mormons writing aliens. Overall, Tathea is an interesting historical novelty but not of much literary value and probably deserves to fade gracefully into obscurity.

[JBradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently been introduced to and hooked on Anne Perry’s Inspector Monk series, but the next one in sequence was not available at the library, so I had to order it on interlibrary loan, and I grabbed this novel in the interim, only to find out that it is a very different kind of book. Perry has created a new fairytale, in essence, but it is dark and complex, and undoubtedly there will be those who will object to its portrayal of the creation of a new religion.

The story begins in a land presumably long ago and far away, when Ta-Thea, the Empress of Shinibar, awakes to find the palace under attack by rebellious hordes, her husband and son already murdered, and the palace in flames. She flees, abetted by a loyal Captain of the Household Guard, who leads her out of the palace and then out of the city, pursued by a rebel group intent on killing the both of them. She eventually gets to the coast and gets passage on a boat to the Lost Lands, from which her mother had come. After staying with her mother’s relatives for a while, however, she finds herself increasingly restless, wanting to know more, to have an understanding of how these things had come to be. She consults an old priest living on a cliff, saying she wants to learn Truth, to know the mind of God for full understanding. After studying with him for a while and convincing him of her true desire for true understanding, he tells her to go stand on the shore all day and night, whereupon the first step of her journey will be made clear. She does, and a skiff sails in out of the sunrise, piloted by an unusual man who takes her aboard and then sails back out to the sea and to the lands beyond. Until this point, the story has been simply an absorbing adventure tale.

Out there, beyond the known limits of the civilized world, she finds a series of different island nations, each one presenting her with new problems--including both natural disasters and increasingly strange environments. Her name has been shortened to Tathea, and she is tested to the extreme, finding both threats and new love, until at last she finds the Book, written in the old language and telling the Truth of Life. Her odyssey continues, until she winds up in the nation of one of her former husband’s competitors, where she preaches the way of the Book, converting many listeners to the new way, and finds that hse is indeed engaged in war against the forces of ungodliness. The ending leaves things a bit unclear, as she now has a compatriot in her original kingdom looking to organize a new rebellion to throw out the usurpers, which suggests there may be a sequel to accomplish that, but the religious fervor of the message is beyond that of a single kingdom and anticipates a struggle of more than a lifetime.

I really enjoyed this book. Perry has a mixture of fascinating description and the language of legends, and her main character earned my full sympathy long before the story drifted beyond the realms of reality. I find myself left adrift; my sympathy demands that she must succeed, but my inner self questions how she can succeed in a war that is beyond reality, that will result in the overthrowing of most everything else I believe. This is true storytelling, told by an expert storyteller. I’m giving it four stars and I’m tempted to say five! Everyone should read this book.

******************************************************

After I posted my review, I looked at some of the other reviews of this book, finding that many of them faced the same agonies I had, with the result that many people gave it only one star, saying it was terrible, while at least as many other people gave it five stars, saying it was fabulous. Many of the reviewers clearly were bothered about the religious aspect of the novel, as was I; it is not my religion--but it also clearly is not the religion of the Latter Day Saints, although many objected to it apparently thinking that it was. Wondering why they thought that, I googled a bit to discover some of the amazing aspects of Perry’s real life, which reads like a novel in itself—including the fact that Perry has in fact been a member of the LDS for forty years or more and that the religious principles expressed in Tathea reflect her religious beliefs (but I still find them somewhat different from what I understand to be the Morman faith).

I also discovered that Tathea, published in 1999, was based on her early unpublished manuscripts, when she first began thinking of becoming an author, back in her twenties, and that there in fact was a sequel, Come Armageddon, published in 2001, summarized as follows: “Tathea, the Empress of Shinabar, has wandered the Lost Lands for five hundred years, spreading the teachings of a mystical Book to prepare mankind for the inevitable battle with the Great Enemy.”

I’ll look for that book.

[Kevin Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reader review on I think amazon.com commented on the dichotomous distribution of reactions to this book--loved it or hated it--thus: "'The Book' (a major focus of the novel) was supposed to divide people and families. I think Anne Perry's book does the same."

I read this book over the past couple of weeks and I loved it.

This is a book that is meant to provoke thought. Many of the negative comments essentially could be summarized as "it is boring to think about theology for 522 pages." Many of the remaining negative comments complained that Perry's heroine is "too good"; that you never expect her to actually succumb to temptation. Ironically this is a major theme of her work: that philosophies and works of art are insipid and, more, evil, if they paint Good with all sweetness and light and ignore the struggle with Evil.

Although it is very different from Orson Scott Card's Saints, I think it rivals it for Best Mormon Novel. In my opinion Card is more skilled, perhaps especially at the balance of describing scenery and characters' thoughts versus moving the action, but Tathea is written passionately and I think its more intense discussion of theology is a strong point in its favor.

Interestingly, I am now in the middle of George Eliot's Adam Bede, and I just read the title character's extended comment on his pastor at the beginning of Book Two. Eliot essentially argues through Bede for turning away from doctrines (cf. "of tenets thou shalt not talk," Doctrine and Covenants 19:31) because (a) people don't want to hear it so in the end it is ineffective, (b) it tends to hypocritical judgment of others, (c) it misses the point of charitable kindness toward your neighbor, and (d) it is hubris to think we mere humans can claim to be right about doctrine. She says that mere thoughts don't motivate a change in behavior; emotions including awe and love do. Perry couldn't agree less. Tathea is an argument for the central nature of doctrine in the Christian life. "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior" (Boyd K. Packer, “Little Children,” Ensign, Nov 1986, 16). Without the true doctrine, one would not know what to be passionate about. The fact that no one wants to hear the watchman cry out in the middle of the night does not relieve him of the responsibility to cry out (Ezekiel 33:2,6-7). Without true doctrine, one would judge wrongly what is kindness and what is smothering, cloying paternalism.

I read a very insightful review in something like BYU Studies or on the AML site that summarizes the plot and points out comparisons with the Book of Mormon. I can't find it at the moment but will add the URL if I find it. [See below.]

I think this book is worth your time.


1. Saturday, July 05, 2008 4:08 PM
Kevin Black wrote:
That review pointed out for instance that the book has the same # of pages as the current English edition of the Book of Mormon.

One theme in the book, exemplified on p. 412 in a discussion of other more commonly mentioned traits of good leaders: "... who has the strength to tell the truth when it is hardest to hear, even to be hated for it, and not turn aside."

P. 437: "'He loved the beauty in it above everything,' she replied. 'Even above the truth. On his lips, little by little, it grew softer in the telling. The hard edges of price because blurred and finally so dim as to be ignored.' ... 'We twisted mercy into a softness of the soul that denied the existence of sin. ... We made too few demands. We did not want to exclude anyone or drive them away because we asked more than they wanted to give. We thought they would be unwilling to let go of their old pleasures, so we changed the faith to accommodate them.'"

2. Sunday, January 04, 2009 1:32 AM
Kevin Black wrote:
The review that pointed out the number of pages, and the comparisons mentioned above, was by Richard Cracroft and can be found on pages 159-168 of Dialogue, Volume 32, Number 3, Fall 1999.

He felt as I did that she succeeded in her attempt. A contrary but thoughtful view is given by Darlene Young.

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Tathea. The title character loses everything that traditionally gives a person identity---family, friends, "job," home, and even country---and embarks on a journey to find out who she really is, what she's made of. After Tathea escapes being murdered at the very beginning of the book, she begins to establish a life for herself in another country. But then she embarks on a journey that is not in the realms of her world---whether dream or vision or what is not completely clear---but she comes back with concrete evidence of the reality of the places she's been: a book of truth. It is in that spiritual journey that she discovers the source of truth, not only about herself but about all of existence, and what it entails, and once she has an understanding of all that, she undertakes a quest to take that truth and spread it as widely as she can, ultimately returning to her origins to face the ultimate evil in the universe. She doesn't live on this earth but on one very much like it that has a history of civilizations similar to those of this earth's past. As she can be counted on to do, Anne Perry creates a world of intricate detail with vivid characters at the center. The interplay of personalities provides a great deal of the interest in the story, and the very well-written, exciting adventures and romance fill out the mythic plot. The religious truths in the book are presented in a logical and reasonable way that provides motives for what happens and enhances the characterizations. The title character is appealing, kind, courageous, adventurous, resourceful, highly intelligent, faithful, slightly flawed, altogether admirable--in short, she's probably Anne Perry herself in disguise.

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a fantasy/sci fi reader I very much doubt this book is for you. I was uncomfortably reminded of the Taliban and fanatical Christian fundamentalists as I read this poorly written and unimaginative religious allegory. Perry is not a world builder. The different cultures she creates are flat and uninteresting. She treats some of the peoples of her world as if they were tribes of naive children just waiting for her heroines fabulous new religion, quick to forget their own. Others are nations of self centered idolators doomed to hell because they want to keep their own faith. Her heroine has the arrogance of a self righteous, ethnocentric missionary. The story itself meanders and repeats itself. The book seems to be simply an opportunity for Perry to push her own religious beliefs on the unsuspecting reader of fantasy books. Much of what is written in the fantsy genre deals with the creation of new religions and cultures,the best reflecting our own in some way but not extolling as a virtue what is the worst about the extremists in our world. And the main character, with her uncompromising, unattractive, and fanatical religious views, I have met more often as the villain in fantasy books as opposed to the hero. Avoid this book at all costs if you a lover of real sci-fi/fantasy.

[Cheryl M-M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's start with off with what this book isn't shall we. It is not by any stretch of mind a fantasy. Tossing on a robe and giving characters foreign sounding names and having the main character travel from kingdom to kingdom does not a fantasy novel make.
Once again I am surprised by the fact that Perry is using her books to voice personal opinions and beliefs.Retrospective with age? Hmm using the vessel of her popularity to speak to others perhaps.
Which she could have pulled off successfully if the story had been good. It was like having to read a book of algebra whilst stuck on a desert island. No offense to anyone who would find that stimulating.
Where was Perrys usual panache and smooth charm?
This is a book about religious beliefs and it is most certainly leaning heavily towards the old Mormonism.
I have to admit to being disappointed. I would enjoy seeing Perry try her hand at the fantasy genre but it seems as if a lot of her books in the last few years have become more about getting her agenda out there instead of creating a great read.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time rating this book, because although there were moments that I loved, and a lot that I liked, I felt like the book was bogged down somehow, and that it completely dragged. That said, it was a good book.

It begins with Tathea, the Empress, waking to find that her husband, child and many others have been massacred in a military coup. It is is while she is in exile that the book takes its huge religious turn, as she comes back from a journey of discovery with "the Book" - teachings from God that she is to share with the world. It is from there where a lot of the story becomes rather vague. It had a great message though.

[Susie Carson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, so far this book started out really interesting (about the first chapter). Tathea then goes on a search for truth. While I agree with the author's concept of truth, and many of the revelations are quite deep, I am having a hard time with the lack of a coherent plot so far. Tathea and the man she is travelling with keep going to different islands and meeting new people, and I have yet to read anything that ties it all together. I have actually set it aside in favor of something a little faster-paced.

[Marisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book I feel most passionately negative about. I read it for book club and the lady who suggested it raved about how amazing it was. I couldn't get into it at all but I kept reading the 700+ pages because I thought I would be able to see a glimmer of what this woman saw. It NEVER happened. Ordinarily, I won't give an author more than a hundred pages to hook me. I should have stuck with that standard- I want my time back that I wasted reading this.

[Jeneale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tathea was ok. Things I liked about it: the writing was very good, good use of vocabulary, good moral, clean, no offensive language. Things I didn't like about it: too long, convoluted plot, overly didactic. Overall, I would recommend it, but just know that it is very long.

[Kolbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with many other reviewers that you’re either going to love or hate this book, and it’s 100% geared toward Christian readers. To me, it’s much more like an extended allegory than a novel, and the writing quality is inconsistent. There’s a whole lot of description and not a whole lot of dialogue or character development, which was probably my greatest hindrance and disappointment. That’s said, as a Christian and a Mormon, I got more out of this story than I expected, and I’m glad I read it.

I think it could definitely be shorter and a bit faster pace. I read it in small increments over several weeks—there are only a few places that were really enthralling for me. But those few places almost stopped me in my tracks and really spoke to me in a meaningful way. Perry made some cool parallels in the book and did a decent job at weaving the same thematic elements into the several very different sections of the story.

Ultimately, the purpose this book served for me was to help my introspection of my own faith and what I believe as a Christian. It’s not a book I would laud as high-caliber literature (though Anne Perry did have quite a few beautiful lines), but I would recommend to anyone pondering what it means to have faith and live by it.

[Karla Sargent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not judge Anne Perry by this book. If this your only introduction to Perry, I urge you to read one of her other series which are nothing like this.

It is very rare that I do not finish a book - rarer still to take the time to write a review.
I started this book because I love Anne Perry. I have read all of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, William Monk and World War 1 series. I am looking forward to the new Daniel Pitt series as well. This however, is not Perry's strongest literary work. I pushed through as far as I did only because I knew Perry's work and anticipated the book getting better. The first few pages are fast moving and exciting, but the book quickly takes a weird religious tone that was difficult to follow or believe.

I commend Perry for branching into a new genre, but I will stick with reading her mysteries.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was three stars for quite a while but the epic nature of Tathea's years of travel and adventures eventually won me over.
Whether or not you are a Christian believer, it is a great fantasy with many strong and admirable characters. In the story, The Book isn't the Christian Bible, it simply teaches that there is one God, The Book was written by him, and its followers practice generosity and love and selflessness, etc. Be mindful that some of the theology is distinctly not Christian. It isn't ugly, but it just doesn't follow scripture.
Anne Perry is one of my favorite authors, a magnificent writer. This was her first work of fantasy. I've read her WWI series (very different from this) and I highly recommend it.
TATHEA is fine as a stand-alone; it has a good and hopeful ending. if I come across a sequel, I'll probably read it.

[Peter Schoch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow, plodding, boring, overly preachy, draggingly religious, and really not worth the effort to wade through it.

You are presented with a coup, and the flight of the last member of the royal house fleeing assassination. That part is promising. Once she, Ta-thea, journeys to her mothers' homeland she embarks upon voyages of discovery. THAT is when the it loses focus, forward momentum and any reason for reading it. After she returns from the journeys, it is then a long climb to preach the gospel -- it is like living through a bad Jehova's Witness proselytizing session! RUN, do not walk away from this mess.

[Justine Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a recommendation to me by a friend who really loved it. I, unfortunately, did not. I have never read a book that made me feel more depressed. In this book, the main character meets the same situation, over and over and over, but is allowed no character growth. I kept hoping that things would get better, but it just got worse and worse as literally everyone that she knows is killed. I'm going to go wallow and then try and shake off the depression.

[Celia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to page 162 before I couldn't take anymore. This is a blatant Mormon allegory and the blasphemy includes the assertion that God is a man who has achieved holiness and thus divinity. That we are all on that same path. That Jesus is a man and brother of Satan. That angels sin (and I don't mean the choice God gave them when a third of the angels chose to follow Satan).

Jesus is God. God was not originally a man. God is, has always been, and always will be the only God. Amen.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather flat. Doesn't go anywhere.

More religious allegory than fantasy. Ta-Thea is an empress--until her family is killed and she is sent into exile. Searching for a purpose to her life, she has a divine vision and is given the Book--the Word of God. She then sets out to save the world. There are allies and enemies--and those who switch sides. Man proves unworthy, so Tathea must wait until they are.

[Judie Ulman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried, twice. But it was just too repetitive, too predictable, and ugh.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderful in so many ways but often hard to follow.

[Christina Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish it. Too allegorical and spread out.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book. would love to find it in print again..