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The Heldan #1
The Heldan
Summoned to the Held fortress where she is to train as a Heldan warrior, Senea soon learns that she will need every weapon--including an ancient forbidden Held practice--to defeat the Ja'sid. Original.
326 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 2, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 27, 2013
A very intriguing world. A civilization that lives & is safe because of the laws that keep them trapped... and yet, they don't see it. The main character finds herself suddenly recruited into the Held - and into a new life. She is dead to her family, and they are dead to her - she will never see them again.
The Heldlen (Heldlord) sees her, and senses something... different. So he breaks tradition and takes her as his apprentice.
IT is a wonderfully written story - one that kept me engaged all day, and left me wanting the next book RIGHT NOW.
The Heldlen (Heldlord) sees her, and senses something... different. So he breaks tradition and takes her as his apprentice.
IT is a wonderfully written story - one that kept me engaged all day, and left me wanting the next book RIGHT NOW.
September 29, 2012
Read this because I have a goal to read all of the Del Rey Discovery books. Some of them are very, very good. This one, however, is not.
It reminded me of a not-as-good, much shorter version of Kate Elliott's Jaran. (This was published two years later.) The stories aren't that similar, but the mix of romance and fantasy gives it a similar feel. However, Jaran's romance won me over. The romance here didn't work for me at all. The people who fell for each other did so out of the blue; I didn't feel their attraction at all. In the case of one couple, it was completely mystifying - in one chapter you see the guy completely abusing and humiliating the woman, she hates him, and in the next chapter they're a couple. Huh?
The main relationship in the story wasn't much better.
The main character, Senea, is somewhat befuddling as well. She seems pretty ordinary - but everyone she meets either instantly hates her or loves her. Why? The emotions in this book, overall, just don't work.
The plot felt pretty typical - young village woman is recruited into an elite-but-feared caste of warriors. Each walled town in this area has a cadre of warriors who are in conflict with one another but aren't allowed to communicate with each other in any way. The lead warrior (and romantic interest) wants to either make peace or discover forgotten magical secrets that will allow his group a military advantage; unfortunately there is dissension within the ranks.
The setup didn't really make much sense - there wasn't enough background to convince me or explain how the peculiar social system described came into place.
It reminded me of a not-as-good, much shorter version of Kate Elliott's Jaran. (This was published two years later.) The stories aren't that similar, but the mix of romance and fantasy gives it a similar feel. However, Jaran's romance won me over. The romance here didn't work for me at all. The people who fell for each other did so out of the blue; I didn't feel their attraction at all. In the case of one couple, it was completely mystifying - in one chapter you see the guy completely abusing and humiliating the woman, she hates him, and in the next chapter they're a couple. Huh?
The main relationship in the story wasn't much better.
The main character, Senea, is somewhat befuddling as well. She seems pretty ordinary - but everyone she meets either instantly hates her or loves her. Why? The emotions in this book, overall, just don't work.
The plot felt pretty typical - young village woman is recruited into an elite-but-feared caste of warriors. Each walled town in this area has a cadre of warriors who are in conflict with one another but aren't allowed to communicate with each other in any way. The lead warrior (and romantic interest) wants to either make peace or discover forgotten magical secrets that will allow his group a military advantage; unfortunately there is dissension within the ranks.
The setup didn't really make much sense - there wasn't enough background to convince me or explain how the peculiar social system described came into place.
June 5, 2013
This book has been one of my guilty pleasures since high school, so I was excited to see it available as an e-book. It hasn't held up so well to my adult sensibilities (I find Senea too passive as a character and was bothered that the threat of sexual abuse among the Helden is not addressed), but it's still one of those books that makes me happy.
The e-book version available on Kindle is a revised edition. There are very few changes to the content, all good. They include better descriptions of the Ja'sid power, a few lines by Mara about Vayhawk's strange name, and changes to the term 'Black Ja'sid' (which referred to their clothing, but might have been edited because of racial concerns?). The author also
The writing has been polished too. I noticed, reading with the paperback in one hand and my Kindle in the other, that the author had reworked many sentences to reduce wordiness and passive voice sentence constructions. I'd definitely recommend the Revised edition over the original!
The e-book version available on Kindle is a revised edition. There are very few changes to the content, all good. They include better descriptions of the Ja'sid power, a few lines by Mara about Vayhawk's strange name, and changes to the term 'Black Ja'sid' (which referred to their clothing, but might have been edited because of racial concerns?). The author also
The writing has been polished too. I noticed, reading with the paperback in one hand and my Kindle in the other, that the author had reworked many sentences to reduce wordiness and passive voice sentence constructions. I'd definitely recommend the Revised edition over the original!
September 9, 2009
I honestly don't know why I like this book so much. But I guess there are just some things you can't explain. There's just something about it that makes me come back to it and read it again and again. I wouldn't say this is the best book I've read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
March 10, 2011
I found this at a used bookstore and gave it a try. It was suprisingly so wonderful that I had to go and check out if the author had any other books. Sadly, I've only ever found one other book by her.
August 2, 2014
Re-read 29 Jul - 1 Aug 14
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews