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Desert Rising #1
Desert Rising: The First Epic Fantasy Trilogy – Twins, Soul Bonds, and War Against Capricious Deities
"It frightens me, knowing the One has called up two such strong individuals. It means that there are troubled times in our future, and you must prepare yourselves."
The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One's four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective—one that just might be considered heresy, but that is catching on rather quickly …
Sulis's twin, Kadar, meanwhile, is part of a different sort of revolution. When Kadar falls in love with a woman from a Forsaken caste, he finds he's willing to risk anything to get these people to freedom. But with Sulis drawing a dangerous level of attention from the deities, and war about to break out on two fronts, change may not come as easily as either twin had hoped.
An astonishing debut, Kelley Grant's Desert Rising brings to life a powerful new epic fantasy tale of determination and self-discovery.
The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One's four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective—one that just might be considered heresy, but that is catching on rather quickly …
Sulis's twin, Kadar, meanwhile, is part of a different sort of revolution. When Kadar falls in love with a woman from a Forsaken caste, he finds he's willing to risk anything to get these people to freedom. But with Sulis drawing a dangerous level of attention from the deities, and war about to break out on two fronts, change may not come as easily as either twin had hoped.
An astonishing debut, Kelley Grant's Desert Rising brings to life a powerful new epic fantasy tale of determination and self-discovery.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 21, 2015
30 people are currently reading
408 people want to read
About the author
Kelley Grant
5 books31 followersKelley Grant grew up in the hills of Ohio’s Amish country. Her best friends were the books she read, stories she created and the forest and fields that inspired her. She and her husband live on a wooded hilltop and are owned by five cats, a dog and numerous uninvited critters. Besides writing, Kelley teaches yoga and meditation, sings kirtan with her husband, and designs brochures and media.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 26, 2015
I may be a little biased, but I loved this book! ;)
September 13, 2017
This is a really nice read.
I liked both Sulis and Kadar. The story switches between the both of them and at times to other characters to give more insight in what's going on.
I must say I wanted to know more about what happened to their mother. There are references and I can guess a lot, but it seemed liked what happened to her was glossed over too easily, especially as it is implied that Sulis is following in her footsteps.
That aside I was intrigued by the world that is painted in this story.
I liked Sulis' story line the best, but that might be because of the school aspect of her story. She's chosen as a pledge and has to follow lessons and stay in the temple until she's initiated. She and her fellow pledges are stirring things up though, and might expose themselves to danger this way.
The story about Kadar falling in love with a Forsaken (casteless) woman is interesting as well, but at times it felt that his story was overshadowed by what Sulis was doing. I would have liked a bit more scenes from his perspective and about the struggle of the Forsaken.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I will most certainly give the next book in the series a try.
I liked both Sulis and Kadar. The story switches between the both of them and at times to other characters to give more insight in what's going on.
I must say I wanted to know more about what happened to their mother. There are references and I can guess a lot, but it seemed liked what happened to her was glossed over too easily, especially as it is implied that Sulis is following in her footsteps.
That aside I was intrigued by the world that is painted in this story.
I liked Sulis' story line the best, but that might be because of the school aspect of her story. She's chosen as a pledge and has to follow lessons and stay in the temple until she's initiated. She and her fellow pledges are stirring things up though, and might expose themselves to danger this way.
The story about Kadar falling in love with a Forsaken (casteless) woman is interesting as well, but at times it felt that his story was overshadowed by what Sulis was doing. I would have liked a bit more scenes from his perspective and about the struggle of the Forsaken.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I will most certainly give the next book in the series a try.
July 9, 2018
On the one hand, this is a book that really looks at belief as well as a good use of poc lead characters. The central character is beliavable and thankfully surronded by women who she actually gets along with.
On the other hand, at no point did I feel any of the character was actually in danger.
On the other hand, at no point did I feel any of the character was actually in danger.
April 25, 2015
2.5 Stars
ARC Provided by the publisher. Review available on my blog
I've said in the past that one of the better aspects of the Harper Voyager Impulse line is its lower price point: it encourages you to take chances on books that you might not otherwise look at, or, in the case of a book such as this, a book that has flaws, but enough originality to balance it out.
There is some fun to be had with this book: I like the idea of the four deities speaking through humans, and that the humans can channel the powers of the gods when needed. There's a very Greco-Roman feel to the whole affair. Bonding with the feli isn't entirely unique, but you really can't go wrong with giant cats either.
That being said: the world feels generic. The vaguely Middle Eastern setting isn't taken advantage of. There is the one empire that is subduing the other, and of course the empire is evil and condones slavery while the good guys treat all people of all levels equally. It's a bit preachy and it's been done before and not overly compelling. I'm also not sold on the machinations of two of the deities. While the premise of war is intriguing, making one someone who preys on the pledges is...yeah. And it doesn't feel like the have any nuance either. There's nothing that makes them sympathetic, and given that she does change point of view to tell their portion of the story, there's no reason she couldn't have given them more depth. If they don't have depth again they're not compelling. I suppose you could argue that they are petty because their gods are petty, but if that was the aim, then I'm not sure that we needed this point of view at all then. I don't know.
So yeah, it's a mixed bag. There's definitely enough there to give it a look, but for epic fantasy, it could stand to be a little more epic.
ARC Provided by the publisher. Review available on my blog
I've said in the past that one of the better aspects of the Harper Voyager Impulse line is its lower price point: it encourages you to take chances on books that you might not otherwise look at, or, in the case of a book such as this, a book that has flaws, but enough originality to balance it out.
There is some fun to be had with this book: I like the idea of the four deities speaking through humans, and that the humans can channel the powers of the gods when needed. There's a very Greco-Roman feel to the whole affair. Bonding with the feli isn't entirely unique, but you really can't go wrong with giant cats either.
That being said: the world feels generic. The vaguely Middle Eastern setting isn't taken advantage of. There is the one empire that is subduing the other, and of course the empire is evil and condones slavery while the good guys treat all people of all levels equally. It's a bit preachy and it's been done before and not overly compelling. I'm also not sold on the machinations of two of the deities. While the premise of war is intriguing, making one someone who preys on the pledges is...yeah. And it doesn't feel like the have any nuance either. There's nothing that makes them sympathetic, and given that she does change point of view to tell their portion of the story, there's no reason she couldn't have given them more depth. If they don't have depth again they're not compelling. I suppose you could argue that they are petty because their gods are petty, but if that was the aim, then I'm not sure that we needed this point of view at all then. I don't know.
So yeah, it's a mixed bag. There's definitely enough there to give it a look, but for epic fantasy, it could stand to be a little more epic.
December 22, 2015
Desert Rising was an entertaining read. Sulis and Kadar are great characters with an amazing relationship between them. The way they tease each other really makes them feel like siblings who have grown together. The lore about the gods in this world is very fleshed out with rich details of how the deities came to be, how the temple works and how acolytes are chosen. I wish I’d gotten more from Djinn!! I love the idea of feli and bonding. Quite a fun read!
August 10, 2015
Mostly I liked the telepathic cats
March 31, 2019
A while ago, I was looking through the budget tittles on the kindle book store and one caught my eye. It’s called Desert Rising and it is a fantasy set in what appeared to be a Middle Eastern themed fantasy. That sounded uniquely intriguing and I am always in the mood to read something new, so I thought I would give it a try. Here is my review of Desert Rising by Kelley Grant.
The story starts with a desert family who moves into a city up north, and it follows the twin teenagers. The girl Sulis, has a gift from her mother. She has a calling from the god known as the One and pledges herself to the temple. She is an exceptional candidate and head of her class. But the deities, the four pope like servants of the god (The One), are at war with themselves to use their power for personal gain opposed to serving the ways of the One. Sulis hopes once she is accepted in the officially that she can change enough things in the temple to return order. Meanwhile her brother, Kadar learns about slavery in the north. He falls in love with a slave and helps to start a revolution to give the slaves freedom.
The good? This is different. I did enjoy the setting. I like Kadar and Sulis. Their chemistry is wonderful. And I really liked the evolution of Kadar especially. He has a great arc.
The bad? Much of this story is cliche. Sulis’s whole story resembles that of Harry Potter as she attends these classes at the temple, makes new friends, and learns how to channel magic of The One. And to be honest, the tale of a student going to a type of magical school is very over done at this point. Then the mythology and lore behind the gods, deities and the chosen one are all tropes and clichés seen nearly all other fantasies as well. So it is as predictable as ever. Sulis’s story is bland and mundane and her story takes up the majority of the novel as Kadar’s much more interesting tale makes up less than a quarter of the book. There is little action. The climax is short and very underwhelming. And lastly this book has plot of element of casual rape. One of the temple deities likes to rape his female pledges so that the deity of childbirth will have pledges forced into her servitude. And this book is not dark or gritty, so it seemed out of place. To throw something like casual workplace rape of students, into and otherwise PG to PG 13 rated book is tone deaf and somewhat tasteless. There was no need for it to be there other than shock factor. And I just really didn’t like it. It all felt wrong. Also I’ve been picking a lot of fantasy novels because I want to escape the politics, shootings and rape allegations that are on the news 24/7. So this is the worst form of escapism right now.
Overall, this book is dull and bland. It does have some elements of good story in it, but it decides to focus on the boring elements instead. It is a book hard to finish as it is stuffed full of generic fantasy tropes and that offers the most basic forgettable tale. It’s just not a very good book. If you never read fantasy, you may get enjoyment overall, aside from the casual rape element. Otherwise this is a skip. This book is not worth your time.
1 smoothies out of four.
Overall Rating: A Bland Generic Tale of Fantasy
The story starts with a desert family who moves into a city up north, and it follows the twin teenagers. The girl Sulis, has a gift from her mother. She has a calling from the god known as the One and pledges herself to the temple. She is an exceptional candidate and head of her class. But the deities, the four pope like servants of the god (The One), are at war with themselves to use their power for personal gain opposed to serving the ways of the One. Sulis hopes once she is accepted in the officially that she can change enough things in the temple to return order. Meanwhile her brother, Kadar learns about slavery in the north. He falls in love with a slave and helps to start a revolution to give the slaves freedom.
The good? This is different. I did enjoy the setting. I like Kadar and Sulis. Their chemistry is wonderful. And I really liked the evolution of Kadar especially. He has a great arc.
The bad? Much of this story is cliche. Sulis’s whole story resembles that of Harry Potter as she attends these classes at the temple, makes new friends, and learns how to channel magic of The One. And to be honest, the tale of a student going to a type of magical school is very over done at this point. Then the mythology and lore behind the gods, deities and the chosen one are all tropes and clichés seen nearly all other fantasies as well. So it is as predictable as ever. Sulis’s story is bland and mundane and her story takes up the majority of the novel as Kadar’s much more interesting tale makes up less than a quarter of the book. There is little action. The climax is short and very underwhelming. And lastly this book has plot of element of casual rape. One of the temple deities likes to rape his female pledges so that the deity of childbirth will have pledges forced into her servitude. And this book is not dark or gritty, so it seemed out of place. To throw something like casual workplace rape of students, into and otherwise PG to PG 13 rated book is tone deaf and somewhat tasteless. There was no need for it to be there other than shock factor. And I just really didn’t like it. It all felt wrong. Also I’ve been picking a lot of fantasy novels because I want to escape the politics, shootings and rape allegations that are on the news 24/7. So this is the worst form of escapism right now.
Overall, this book is dull and bland. It does have some elements of good story in it, but it decides to focus on the boring elements instead. It is a book hard to finish as it is stuffed full of generic fantasy tropes and that offers the most basic forgettable tale. It’s just not a very good book. If you never read fantasy, you may get enjoyment overall, aside from the casual rape element. Otherwise this is a skip. This book is not worth your time.
1 smoothies out of four.
Overall Rating: A Bland Generic Tale of Fantasy
February 10, 2022
This is, for me, a 3.5. It took a bit to get into it, although I immediately liked Sulis and found her appealing. Kadar grew on me. The mystery of their mother's death is a good hook. I think the characters could use a bit of expanding, although it's the first in a series.
My greatest complaint was the world-building. While the religion is intriguing, it needs nuance--and more care in choice of terms. Some are generic (temple, herald, shrine, festival, etc.), some are Christian-specific (church, Templar, Mother Superior, vespers, etc.). I think a lot of people don't realize "church" IS Christian specific (derived from Ekklesia), just as mosque is Muslim. A little more familiarity with religious history would be good to avoid this sort of problem. As for more nuance, two of the "lesser" deities are "good," while two are "bad" *in themselves* not just as expressed by their mouthpieces. OTOH, concern for their area to the exclusion of others might make sense, this overlay of good-bad dichotomy makes them less interesting. At first, I was assuming (hoping) it was simply a problem of the leaders, but we get a direct conversation between the Templar and his deity, which makes it clear it's the *deity*.
While I very much enjoyed seeing trade fronted, I hope to find out more about it, as we move to the desert area with Sulis and Kadar. It felt a little more thought-through, however, compared to the religion, even if we got less of it due to setting.
Last, the climax and wrap-up felt a bit rushed. I would have liked more description of that final fight, and what came after. It didn't need a lot, but it needed more than we have, I think.
I will certainly read the second book, to see where it goes. Hoping for more development on the religious front.
(Full disclosure: I teach and study religion in the ancient Mediterranean region, including the history of the Early Church, so I may be somewhat pickier than the usual reader on that score.)
My greatest complaint was the world-building. While the religion is intriguing, it needs nuance--and more care in choice of terms. Some are generic (temple, herald, shrine, festival, etc.), some are Christian-specific (church, Templar, Mother Superior, vespers, etc.). I think a lot of people don't realize "church" IS Christian specific (derived from Ekklesia), just as mosque is Muslim. A little more familiarity with religious history would be good to avoid this sort of problem. As for more nuance, two of the "lesser" deities are "good," while two are "bad" *in themselves* not just as expressed by their mouthpieces. OTOH, concern for their area to the exclusion of others might make sense, this overlay of good-bad dichotomy makes them less interesting. At first, I was assuming (hoping) it was simply a problem of the leaders, but we get a direct conversation between the Templar and his deity, which makes it clear it's the *deity*.
While I very much enjoyed seeing trade fronted, I hope to find out more about it, as we move to the desert area with Sulis and Kadar. It felt a little more thought-through, however, compared to the religion, even if we got less of it due to setting.
Last, the climax and wrap-up felt a bit rushed. I would have liked more description of that final fight, and what came after. It didn't need a lot, but it needed more than we have, I think.
I will certainly read the second book, to see where it goes. Hoping for more development on the religious front.
(Full disclosure: I teach and study religion in the ancient Mediterranean region, including the history of the Early Church, so I may be somewhat pickier than the usual reader on that score.)
February 27, 2024
When this book first came out, I was extremely excited for it. It was the first time I saw a story with a female person of color as the "chosen one" protagonist. It was something I didn't know I desperately needed until I had it. And I have to admit, the story starts extremely well. The worldbuilding is well-done, the main character is interesting and likeable. The cracks start to show almost immediately, though, when the main character begins going back on the beliefs she was raised on. To summarize, their world has One god who decided to delegate their duties to four gods they created, which is a cool premise. Most people worship the 4 gods, and her people only worship the One. However, she basically gives up on that and starts training to be a follower of one of the 4, which makes little sense in light of her character and upbringing, all while teaching the other students, who are white, about the One. Make a note about the races of these characters, because this becomes extremely important. The ending of this book was a bit disappointing, but the second book is where the real toxic tropes came in.
I won't go into it in too much detail here, as I don't want to spoil too much and weigh the first book too heavily by the mistakes of the second. My warning to others is this: if you want a Chosen One narrative featuring a dark-skinned woman of color, this is NOT THE BOOK SERIES FOR YOU. Look elsewhere. I will explain why in my review of the sequel.
I won't go into it in too much detail here, as I don't want to spoil too much and weigh the first book too heavily by the mistakes of the second. My warning to others is this: if you want a Chosen One narrative featuring a dark-skinned woman of color, this is NOT THE BOOK SERIES FOR YOU. Look elsewhere. I will explain why in my review of the sequel.
May 2, 2021
I love how social media makes for a small world. I believe I'd have found Kelley Grant's books eventually but Laura Bickle made it happen quicker. I have enjoyed Laura's books for a long while and follow her on Facebook. She posted a memory on her page that had Kelley Grant with her. I looked Kelley Grant up on Goodreads. And immediately downloaded this book. Proceeded to immediately begin reading it.
It is so good! Excellent world-building, intriguing characters and storyline.
Sulis appears to be the main character but there are others who shine too. Her twin brother Kadar has a voice telling the story too. Side characters from the Temple of the One I hope to see more of.
The machinations of the deities under the One make for some excellent conflict. Just because you are religious does not make you good. And some of them get to all kinds of wickedness.
I do hope for more backstory on Sulis' and Kadar's mother. I really look forward to reading the next in series, The Obsidian Temple, to see what happens next. It's already on the Nook.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
It is so good! Excellent world-building, intriguing characters and storyline.
Sulis appears to be the main character but there are others who shine too. Her twin brother Kadar has a voice telling the story too. Side characters from the Temple of the One I hope to see more of.
The machinations of the deities under the One make for some excellent conflict. Just because you are religious does not make you good. And some of them get to all kinds of wickedness.
I do hope for more backstory on Sulis' and Kadar's mother. I really look forward to reading the next in series, The Obsidian Temple, to see what happens next. It's already on the Nook.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
October 19, 2019
Desert Rising by Kelley Grant
Nomadic traders find interaction with a theocracy or perhaps more accurate a polytheistic dominated city state fraught with danger. Visiting the temple can lead one to be chosen by one of four quarreling deities shown by a great cat adopting them. The Forsaken are this societies un-touchables often due to the greed of temple politics.
Sulis and Kadar are twins thrust into the role of revolutionaries. Their desert society does not believe in slavery which is what the role of the Forsaken really is.
Grant does a very good job developing her strong female protagonist in Sulis. Kadar is not give the same depth of development except as a supporting role for Sulis. I do enjoy strong female protagonists.
This is an exceptional story, captivating and exciting, I recommend it.
Nomadic traders find interaction with a theocracy or perhaps more accurate a polytheistic dominated city state fraught with danger. Visiting the temple can lead one to be chosen by one of four quarreling deities shown by a great cat adopting them. The Forsaken are this societies un-touchables often due to the greed of temple politics.
Sulis and Kadar are twins thrust into the role of revolutionaries. Their desert society does not believe in slavery which is what the role of the Forsaken really is.
Grant does a very good job developing her strong female protagonist in Sulis. Kadar is not give the same depth of development except as a supporting role for Sulis. I do enjoy strong female protagonists.
This is an exceptional story, captivating and exciting, I recommend it.
Read
March 29, 2022DNF @ 28%. Put me in a reading slump. Neat world building and characters, but conflict was too distant. Sulis's sections were like that episode of ATLA when Aang goes to the Fire Nation school, but if Aang were arrogant. She wants to join a religious order & try to change it like her mother had though her mother was murdered. That the same could happen to Sulis is the core of the conflict, but it's too distant for me. I liked Sulis from the start but she gets annoying real quick. The brother's sections were pretty forgettable, and Sulis still featured when she was gone in what I think of as "The Shazi Effect". Some of it is reasonable since his sister went off to possibly the same fate as her mom--I guess I just wish the silk merchant contact didn't first meet and fall for Sulis.
I meant to keep reading but I'm just not excited with the promises of revolution that are sprinkled in.
I meant to keep reading but I'm just not excited with the promises of revolution that are sprinkled in.
May 26, 2020
Terrific story. Magical. One all-powerful god. Four lesser gods who fight for control of the world through their human believers. Special people with special powers who bond with one of the four through sacred big cats they call feli. Sulis is one of those special people and she and her feli Djinn are on a mission.
May 19, 2019
Sulis has a much more interesting story than her brother. I definitely enjoyed the plot, but the writing throughout the novel wasn’t great.
May 12, 2015
Desert Rising has a fairly unique setting and good world building. The deity based magics as well as the giant cat familiar bonding has good portents for fans of this type of fantasy. The lead protagonists, Sulis, and her twin, Kadar, are strong characters that readers genuinely can get to like, so you're invested in their well-being. The dangers in the world around seem real but the true and frankly, scandalous danger comes from the gods themselves. It might be better to call this the lands of the Fractured God, each deity is sentient offshoot of the One, which Sulis' tribe worships. The corruption and laxity of the 4 more active lesser gods have made the northern lands a brutal place for the Forsaken, people who have been declared verboten, excised from their place in society, their wealth taken by the deities and the temple, their families enslaved. Women's rights are very, very modest things, with some of the lack of freedom directly benefiting the deity that presides over hearth and home. All in all, you can't blame the desert tribes for not giving a fig for the gods that came from the One. They are pretty in a way that would make the Olympians chide them. But, I'm not all that cool with a Supreme Deity that just sorta shrugs and says, kids will be kids, back to being mysterious and remote. oh well, back to the story. The action is limited in this story, so don't expect big fight scenes. So is the magic, actually. For a magic place, there's not much magic flinging around. This is an origin story, and the point of this story is the shifts in thought Sulis brings to the Temple and the novices as well as the reactions of the gods. So it's a bit slow but the build up is intense. The negative is that it ends right where you feel like it's about to begin. Perhaps it's because publishers are looking for serials these days, but I think the book could have hit it's stride and provided a more complete finish. It doesn't detract from it, but know that when you hit where things really get moving, the book ends, leaving you wanting a follow-up right away. A good book for a summer weekend read.
August 17, 2015
Desert Rising isn't a perfect YA-fantasy novel, but it is, regardless, an excellent and compelling one. It's so wonderful to see a young WOC as a protagonist, thrust into a typically "white" culture who remains proud of her heritage, and steadfastly embraces it, rather than joining the white world. Neither the deities nor the feli (the giant telepathic cats) are a 100% original concept, but they are such simple bases, with such variation enacted upon them, that they stand quite solidly. More importantly, Kelley gives us characters that it's easy to fall in love with, who have to struggle with their lots in life and with each other, forming involved and imperfect relationships that will carry you through. Also a point-scorer for me is the championing of independent, intelligent, and willful women who have not had to give up their femininity and men who retain their sensitivity, and champion their women. Another point scored is the unabashed political nature of the plot, and the fact that it manages, despite its politics, to remain compelling and authentically character driven, rather than a puppet show being used to make a point. Desert Rising will leave you with plenty to think about, for all the right reasons. What you'll find in minor flaws of storytelling or pacing is more than compensated in intelligence and heart.
May 7, 2015
Kelley Grant shows us a medieval world in which Gods are quite real and provide the magical powers. The One, worshiped by the desert people created four other deities. Potential priests are selected by Felis, giant cats who bond with the priests and allow bonding to the one and to the other deities. The problem is that the deities not only don’t agree, but are frequently in conflict. The deity of war has been pushing to expand his armies to attack the people of the desert and has turn more people into Forsaken, a class frequently treated as slaves with no rights at all. Into this comes a set of twins, born of a woman who left the priesthood. Sulis knows herself called and has a knack of befriending all the felis. She goes the Temple at Illian to be trained. Her brother, Kadar, is apprenticed into his family’s merchant business and falls for one of the Forsaken, Farrah, who his family pays full wages to. This is the beginning of a tale of Desert Rising (ebook from Harper Voyager Impulse) and a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to the next part of the tale.Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press
April 13, 2016
I reviewed this title for Ohioana Quarterly http://www.ohioana.org
Kelley Grant hales from the rolling green hills of Ohio Amish country, a far cry from the desert world she’s created. In the Desert kingdoms in a world ruled by sacred cats (feli) of the One god; telepathic cats who bond with their priestesses. Revolution is brewing. Twins Sulis and Kadar are at the heart of this revolution and it is never a good idea to gain a god’s attention, let alone the One god and the four deities on this sandy planet.
I found myself slogging through this fantasy world and not getting hooked into the story. It just didn't have enough umph or is it character to draw me in.
I'll admit that I didn't finish the book. Maybe some of my friends will like it more.
Kelley Grant hales from the rolling green hills of Ohio Amish country, a far cry from the desert world she’s created. In the Desert kingdoms in a world ruled by sacred cats (feli) of the One god; telepathic cats who bond with their priestesses. Revolution is brewing. Twins Sulis and Kadar are at the heart of this revolution and it is never a good idea to gain a god’s attention, let alone the One god and the four deities on this sandy planet.
I found myself slogging through this fantasy world and not getting hooked into the story. It just didn't have enough umph or is it character to draw me in.
I'll admit that I didn't finish the book. Maybe some of my friends will like it more.
October 14, 2016
The worldbuilding has some interesting elements in the religion (especially the whole 'bonding with big cats' bit), although the social parallels to the real world (around race, gender, class, and privilege) are a bit too on the nose. The real problems with the book are in the structure: the pacing is notably uneven (particularly when what should be climatic events pass in a blink), and way too much of the world is revealed through exposition rather than being slowly peeled back as details in the story (there's no joy in slowly piecing the religion together for oneself or in trying to figure out who the bad guys are and what their objectives are).
June 28, 2015
Desert Rising is a solid start to what promises to be a rousing epic fantasy series. With bickering gods, giant sentient feline companions, and cultures on the brink of war, the worldbuilding is as deep as they come. The main characters are fully fleshed out and interesting in their own unique ways, and the writing is top notch. Like many books that are the beginning of a planned series, I felt the plot spent a little too much time setting up the conflict to come, yet there was still enough tension to keep me engaged. Overall, it was very satisfying and I can't wait to see what comes next!
October 26, 2015
A rich, exotic, culture forms the backdrop for this expertly concocted mixture of murder, romance, and intrigue. When Sulis, the daughter of a merchant, accepts her calling to dedicate her life to the Temple, she leaves behind her twin and confidante, Kadar. They are not so much separated by distance but by the cultural restrictions that surround Temple pledges. But before long, Sulis finds herself deeply involved in the machinations of Temple politics unsure who she can trust except for the feli who has bonded with her, the great cat, Djinn.
February 1, 2016
I wanted to love this novel, with its desert setting and undertones of dissenting faiths facing off against one another.
I read and read, mildly enjoying the characters and finally got excited near the second act when I dreaded the thought that the only character I actually felt connected to might die.
Then, that was it.
The third act did nothing, went no where, brought about no resolutions.
It was a slow, plodding novel with lots of potential that felt at times cliche, out of place and confused.
I was sorely disappointed.
I read and read, mildly enjoying the characters and finally got excited near the second act when I dreaded the thought that the only character I actually felt connected to might die.
Then, that was it.
The third act did nothing, went no where, brought about no resolutions.
It was a slow, plodding novel with lots of potential that felt at times cliche, out of place and confused.
I was sorely disappointed.
July 11, 2015
Found this an enjoyable read with interesting characters. I found the parts with Sulis at the temple and the deities drew me in more than the parts with her brother Kandar and the uprising of the Forsaken. But all kept me entertained enough to finish in a few days. It was a little narrow in viewpoint for an epic fantasy, but can see that changing with the second book!
April 1, 2016
Enjoyable fantasy in the vein of Mercedes Lackey and Juliet Marriller. What I particularly liked is that the heroine is dark skinned. I've thought about how fantasy lead characters are so predominantly white when it's especially simple to make them otherwise.
Plus the feli.... I'm a sucker for any fantasy involving big cats.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
Plus the feli.... I'm a sucker for any fantasy involving big cats.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
October 2, 2015
Yeah, this is totally a series, which I did not realize when I read it. However, really good and I liked the characters and look forward to reading more about the culture and getting more world building.
February 25, 2016
Excellent book that kept me entertained! I'm not typically a science fiction or fantasy reader but this book was easy to get into and easy to follow. You cared about the characters and wanted to see what would happen next. Looking forward to the next books!
August 3, 2016
Enjoyed this trilogy although the story could have been told in 2 volumes instead of 3. Liked book #1 the most for the initial world building and introduction of new characters. Book #3 felt convenient and you could see the ending from half the book away which took away a lot of the suspense...
July 27, 2015
approachable sci-fi great for fans of ya and dystopian stories.
October 9, 2015
Absolutely AMAZING book!!!
February 26, 2016
This is an excellent beginning to a fantasy series. The characters, Sulis and Kadar, are wonderful. The plot moves fast. A fast, entertaining read.
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