Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this book from Amazon based on the synopsis---only because I was bored. To be honest, the synopsis made it sound like yet another run-of-the-mill sword-lockpick-and-sorcery fantasy novel, and the recommendations didn't help with their comparisons to fantasy writers whose works I've grown to dislike over time. I just needed something to read while on the stairmaster at the gym, so I bought it. And that most wonderful of occurrances happened---I discovered a deliciously good novel, completely by accident. It doesn't start out slow, but there *is* a lot to digest at first---a completely new world, both like and unlike those of other fantasy realms, complex politics, a number of characters who will all grow to be important eventually. Fortunately, Seregil is so charming and Alec so ingenuous that they alone held my attention during the required learning curve of this book. Once past that curve, I was able to appreciate the complexity of the plot---intrigue has always fascinated me, and the politics of war, while repellent, are plausibly and interestingly-presented here. A lot of people have commented on the central romance in the series (because there are several, which others have not noted). I want to emphasize, for those who may get the wrong impression from the reviews (as I did)---this is not a "queer fantasy". Rather---there's a same sex romance in it, but it's made clear in the books that neither of the characters involved is what we Americans would categorize, stamp, and bracket as "gay." They simply happened to fall in love with someone of the same gender. The same-gender issue *isn't* an issue, in most ways---neither of the characters spends a great deal of time questioning their sexuality or masculinity or fretting that they're violating the mores of polite society (mainly because, in this series, they aren't). I'm only pointing this out because I hate seeing books "labeled". If you're the puritanical sort who dislikes any dollop of non-traditional romance in your traditional fantasy, then the books will irritate you, so don't bother reading them. If not, you don't have to be a rainbow-flag-waving GLBT activist to like the series. It's just good fantasy, with a realistic and thoroughly satisfying romance in it. The romance is also not central to the novels' plot. They're spies and adventurers for the queen in a land beset by war. They fall in love, somewhere in the middle of book 2. They go on spying and adventuring for the queen as the war progresses. It's an accent to the novel, not a key plot element. So for those who dislike reading fantasy books which are really just thinly-veiled Harlequins with sword-wielding Fabio's on the cover, this book is a delight. (Don't get me wrong; personally, I love a nice central romance---when it's appropriate to the story. But in this case, too much attention focused on the romance would detract from the all-too-engrossing other plot elements of the books.) So since others have compared these books to another author's, I'll say this---these are excellent for those who are ready to graduate from reading Mercedes Lackey. Here is true originality, plausibility, excellent characterization, and fascinating worldbuilding. And a damn good read. The time on the stairmaster just flew by.