Aramaya

The Chronicles of Dion Trilogy #3

by Jane Routley

Searching for her missing niece, Dion journeys to Akieva, the corrupt capitol of decadent Aramaya, and finds the girl trapped in a vicious web of necromancy and treachery created by Dion's archenemy, the demon Bedazzer, who will do anything to possess her. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Magic, Demons

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

I write fantasy with strong women characters.
I’ve published 7 books as me – Mage Heart and the Aurealis award winners Fire Angels and Aramaya, The Three Sisters and The Melded Child.
I have a queer time travel romance called A Shining Knight.
I've begun a new series in a new world called Shadow in the Empire of Light.
I am also publishing TTRPGs in Call of Cthulhu.
My short stories have been widely anthologized, appeared in Meanjin and read on the ABC.
My favourite writers are Jane Austen, Angela Carter, Sara Douglass, Janet Evanovich, and Gail Carriger.

My current life ambition is to see an erupting volcano.

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am always very hesitant to criticize leading ladies in fiction. They are already over criticized and held to higher standards then their male counterparts. Nevertheless, I could not identify with or even enjoy this book. The main character had an issue (which I will not mention to keep spoiler free) that she constantly rehashed throughout the story. It was impossible to get in to the storyline because of this. You would read a little plot and then several pages would be devoted to the heroine talking about her problem. Coping with an important issue is good to discuss in literature. However, this was way over done and largely unresolved. The heroine believed her worth was dependent upon this issue being solved. The overall message of the book boiled a woman's worth down to her uterus, which I find insulting and ridiculous. A redeeming quality of this book was the supporting character (Kitten). She was interesting, adventurous, and tried to knock some sense into the main character. I wish she had been more integral to the end of the book.

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aramaya is the 3d in the series, so you'd expect the author to be fairly practiced. I'm thus not even going to attempt the earlier books. The writing is passable, but the blend of high fantasy tropes (quest, demons, betrayal, immense magical powers) with kitchen sink drama, or more accurately, what they call in England Aga Saga, is really not working for me, especially when the dialogue lapses into 20th c. suburban slang ("Well, what a grouch") or soap-opera exchanges:
"Oh Shad I didn't mean for it to happen like this,"
"I know sweetheart. It's just a big mess."
Punctuation as in original.
Dion Holyhands is, too, a raging Mary Sue. She's the most powerful demon slayer ever, every mage she meets is awestruck by her, she's pursued by her estranged husband and the incredibly sexy Russian prince/mage, not to mention the demon Bedazzer who still has the hots for her, and all she does is angst about how she can't have a baby. And why can't she? Because her own magic is working against her, as if it had been reading R.D. Laing's Knots.
I understand the unhappiness of losing a baby, and of infertility, but Dion is SO self-centred and self-pitying there was no need for anyone else's pity. She didn't help matters by dismissing her best friend's miscarriage and infertility as nothing compared to her own. (Okay, she apologised, but really!)
But I was struggling through, because the Russian setting is unusual, though the use of clearly Russian names (Grigori, Nikoli) in a not-really-Russia annoyed me (like Frank Herbert giving the desert dwellers in Dune Arabic-style names). But when our ill-assorted party got on a riverboat and travelled by river from the Russia-equivalent to an Egypt-equivalent, I started skimming in earnest.
An Amazon reviewer put into words something that had vaguely bothered me. Dion is supposed to be quite young, in her early twenties (because that makes her incredible talent and power even more amazing!) but she comes across, particularly in her dealings with her runaway niece, as much more middle-aged. Perhaps on the positive side, some of her escapades with BFF Kitten had the feel of an I Love Lucy episode, and Routley might have done better to write the whole story with that slapstick, frantic touch, instead of going for Angst and Drama.

[Adi Greif · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. It’s a straightforward adventure that finishes in one book, simple and clear prose, and it discusses issues common throughout the world not often discussed in fantasy - how barren women are treated and their inheritance problems. Plus, strong female lead that fights demons.

[Kathryn Baron]

I had volumes 2 & 3 on my shelves for _years_ waiting to find volume. 1 and start reading.

Seduced by the cover which hit all my buttons. Yeah. No.

[Dion Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a beautiful finale.

We are travelling through Aramaya (fabled Russia), it is decadent and extravagant. You can see some of the pettiness of the people and the faded grandness.

Dion is dealing with some personal issues, a childless issue that is tearing apart her marriage and she has finally located her niece Dally (if you have the read the last book you will know).

I wish there was more rather than this being the final book.

[kvon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into it. Bad characterization...whining and moping main character. Maybe it would mean more to someone who's infertility was ruining the marriage. I never believed she was as powerful and others thought.

[Rafira · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read the last one first whoops.jpg

[Ticonderoga Publications · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard Ticonderoga Disclaimer: We published this book because we loved it!

[Margaret]

I am not a huge lover of the fantasy genre and I have to be in the mood for it. This story was not bad - I really like the first two thirds of it but found the last third to just be a little too fantastical for me. I did like that the main character was female although I wanted her to be a tad less self-doubting and a tad more confident. But for the most part, an entertaining and fun read.