Blurb: (From Book 1) Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan. Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni. While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spy-master plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir. Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival. But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy. Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all--in his own impregnable stronghold.
Review: This is a self-contained series within a larger universe, and I believe the strongest installment of that universe. Please do not let the larger series deter you from trying this, rather let it provide an additional optional starting point.
This series is empire management done right. It does a brilliant job of combining the struggles of holding together a crumbling clan, and the personal job of Mara, which I was so invested into. I felt that the plot was very well thought out, with the books making a natural trilogy without shoe horning new characters or problems.
Somehow the biggest strength of this series isn't 'empire management done right', but the side cast. There are so many well written characters with individual goals and ideals, that are critical to the story. This is all written without detracting from Mara, and without expanding the book into a goliath of varying point of views. Kevin, Hokanu, Lujan, Arakasi........ Simply beautiful.
The setting of different worlds connected by portals was done brilliantly. I enjoyed how the empire management interacted with the different cultures and races. The cho-ja were so creative to me, and I see derivatives of them littered throughout modern day fantasy.
This stand-alone subseries was the highlight of The Riftwar cycle for me, equaling the absolute banger start of Magician. Huge recommend from me.