-Trudi Canavan
I decided recently to try a new fantasy series and 'Millennium’s Rule' seemed an appropriate choice on many levels. The
author has good reviews, she is Australian (supporting the home land) and
the last book in the trilogy is set to come out at the end of this year.
Brilliant, I thought, I shall devour the first two books become completely
addicted and then I will join the screaming, slathering crowds waiting outside the book store on the release date. Alas, it was not to be.
My rating - 3 Stars
Setting - I really liked the steampunk setting of this book. It had an
old worldly feel to it while there are still machines and robotics. In this
world system, magic is common but it is possible to use up the magic in a
particular space. Say you wanted to magic some Turkish Delight out of the air,
you could do that but a stain or smear of blackness would appear where you
stood to show that the magic had been used up. To get more Turkish Delight you
would have to take a step to the side and use that magic or wait the time it
would take for the magic to replenish itself and the stain to disappear.
Rielle's story line - Rielle is a teenage girl living in a world where
magic is feared. Only the priests are allowed to use it and if other people use
it or can see the magic stain they are considered 'tainted' - barred from
paradise after death. Rielle can see magic stain but she has kept it a secret
all her life until things get complicated when she falls in love with a poor
artist called Izare.
I didn't find this story line very interesting, while there were moments
of suspense it was generally very predictable and I was never sure if I was
supposed to trust Izare. I didn't trust him as a character but I was unsure if
that was my cynicism or the author's intention. Some of his actions were far
too Pimp like and controlling for me to like him.
Tyen's story line - This is the story line that kept me interested.
Living in a different world to Rielle, Tyen is at university studying magic. At
the beginning of the novel Tyen reluctantly steals a magical book from the
university and then has to try and evade capture. I say he reluctantly steals
the book because Tyen is incredibly honourable. To Tyen the rules are there to
be kept and he will put himself in harm’s way to keep the rules and not
hurt others. This at times seemed like strength of character and at other times
foolish naivety.
If your treacherous professor
asked you to go for a walk and then suddenly suggested you both stroll down a
deserted, secret passage would you be wary? Tyen wasn’t. He wouldn’t do
anything as underhanded as attack someone so why would his professor?
Overall - I found Tyen’s story line interesting but slow and Rielle’s
quite yawn. With this book not capturing my attention and being over 500 pages I
don’t think I am willing to give up the time to finish the series. However I
will probably look up how it ends when the third book comes out.
"His pulse quickened as he caught the object... and his heart sank a little. No treasure lay in his hands. Just a book. Not even a jewel-encrusted, gold-embellished book."
