Review of Breath and Bone

	Breath and Bone by Carol Berg 464pp (Paperback) My Rating: 9/10 Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4.61/5 Good Reads Rating: 4.33/5

Breath and Bone is the second half of Carol Berg's latest set of books, The Lighthouse Duology. It picks up where its predecessor leaves off, so it is necessary to read the first part Flesh and Spirit before attempting to read this book. This means that this review may contain some spoilers for Flesh and Spirit since it would be rather difficult to discuss even the basic plot without giving away some events from the end of the first book.

The sorceror Valen, who has a talent for finding people and the realms of the magical Danae, is still bound in the service of Prince Osriel, the bastard prince with a frightening reputation. Watched constantly by an almost inhuman warrior, Valen is frustrated by his inability to help rescue the boy Jullian from the clutches of a man who had been posing as one of the monks he is was staying with. In an attempt to find one of Jullian's missing friends, the monks put a sleeping potion in the water of those watching over Valen so he can use his abilities to help them find him. They find his body in the well of the Danae where Valen again sees the same Dane who keeps appearing to him.

In spite of his many flaws - a rebellious reputation, illiteracy, and an inability to perform fundamental magic spells - the priestess Sila Diaglou also shows an interest in Valen and would like to obtain him from the prince. Valen finds the idea of being in the clutches of Sila Diaglou, who thirsts to banish knowledge from the world, even more abhorrent than serving the prince, who may not be quite as bad as Valen had feared but is still rather unnerving.

---

The highlight of this story is its characters. Although this story is told in the first person perspective from the point of view of Valen, all the characters are very well drawn and real. Valen's personality drips off the page with every thought and observation, simultaneously humorous and thoughtful. He is a very gray character who undergoes many changes since we were first introduced to him in Flesh and Spirit, and in many ways, this novel is about Valen coming to terms with himself.

The character of Osriel is also well done as Berg reveals there is more to the prince who practices dark magics than it may appear. His actions may at times be evil, but he has a vision and is doing his best to do what he believes to be right. Even the extreme fanatic Sila Diaglou has motives that almost make her seem understandable when she talks about her viewpoint. The characters come alive and that has always been Berg's strength - crafting characters the reader can really care about. Valen has struggles with his family and his relationships that are problems almost anyone can identify with, yet he has more intense issues such as his addiction to a drug that is so heart-wrenching anyone can identify with the emotions portrayed if not the situation itself.

The world of the Danae is also more fully revealed in this story and the descriptions of it are lovely. However, it is not perfect - their picturesque beauty is contrasted with their treatment of others and some rather ugly societal beliefs and practices.

This novel begins at a quick pace with several big revelations occurring within the first few chapters. After that, it slows down a bit, which makes the pacing seem a little bit off since some of the most interesting questions built up in the first book are answered so early in this book. This is not a big flaw, though, since the characters and well-written prose keep you reading.

Breath and Bone is an improvement over the first book, which was a little difficult to become immersed in early on. The conclusion more than makes up for the slow start since Valen's development would not have the same impact if it had not been shown in the first book.

I would recommend The Lighthouse Duet to anyone who enjoys characters who leap off the page into your imagination with some politics and magic thrown in.

9/10

Excerpt from Breath and Bone
Author's Website

Other Reviews:

• Fantasy Book Spot
• Sci Fi Weekly
  

Flesh and Spirit

Recently, I read the newest book by Carol Berg, one of my favorite authors and a very underrated one, at that. Flesh and Spirit is the first book in the Lighthouse Duology. Fortunately, the second book Breath and Bone is already completed and is supposed to be out in January 2008 so there is not a long wait for the closing volume.

Valen, our hero - er, anti-hero - is a Pureblood, a sorcerer whose life is controlled by the Pureblood Registry and their own family. Purebloods are considered to be highly gifted and privileged, and the price of this gift is a limit on the freedom they have. These sorcerers are not allowed to control their own destiny - everything from marriage to employment is settled by a contract made by their family. Valen was a rebellious child who never got along well with his family, particularly his father who hated both Valen and his grandfather, who singled out Valen as his favorite.

When we meet Valen at the beginning of the story, he has been a runaway for several years and is badly wounded. His partner thief, Boreas, takes all Valen's belongings he can find, except for a book he considers worthless, and abandons Valen. Fortunately, Valen is found by some monks belonging to a nearby monastery who offer him sanctuary. Not having anywhere else to go, Valen decides to become a monk for a time. The abbot seems all too ready to accept Valen as a monk due to the book he carries with him, which is a magic book known to lead to lands of the Danae, a magical race similar to angels.

Valen soon finds that at least some of the members of the monastery are more than what they seem and are trying to prepare for a time of darkness in which men will forget much of what they know. With the rare knowledge of the book of maps he carries, Valen may be the only one who can help them prepare for the dark times ahead.

I was surprised at how slow the beginning of this book was since all of Carol Berg's other books I have read have grabbed my attention from the beginning and been nearly impossible to put down. Once I got into this book, though, I found the world to be very interesting and I am looking forward to the next book very much. There were a lot of unresolved mysteries about the Danae and Valen's grandfather that piqued my curiosity. I'll definitely be picking up the next volume when it comes out.

Like the Rai-kirah trilogy and Song of the Beast, this book is written from a first person perspective. The characterization is fairly well done, and although I really liked Valen, I didn't feel as connected to him as I did to the characters from Carol Berg's other books I have read - Seyonne from the Rai-kirah trilogy or Aidan from Song of the Beast. Valen is an interesting character with a mix of good and bad qualities, and I'm not sure exactly what was lacking when I compare him to the other characters. He was still a tragic figure you could feel for, but he wasn't as "nice" as the other characters, which may be why - you feel that he deserves at least some of what is coming to him.

The book was very well written and Valen definitely had his own voice that stood out from the other characters Berg has written about. It always takes an author of talent to not always write characters who all sounds the same when writing from their perspective, and I feel she does this very well.

The themes are similar to the themes in the other books I have read by this author - slavery/lack of freedom, the truth about reality, personal growth, and the confinements of religion. These are all themes I really enjoy, so that may be why I tend to love her books so much.

In spite of not being as good as Transformation (which is one of my favorite books so it is hard to live up to), Flesh and Spirit is an enjoyable, intriguing tale if you have the patience to wait for the story to get going. Once I did get into it, it had me hooked and eager for the next volume.

8/10