Monday, July 4, 2011

Book Review #83: The Rogue by Trudi Canavan

The Rogue
by Trudi Canavan


Genre: Fantasy
Ages: 16 and up
Sequel to The Ambassador's Mission
I received an e-book from NetGalley for review.

Description:
Sonea, Black Magician of Kyralia, remains deeply concerned about her son Lorkin, who has gone missing on assignment in the foreign land of Sachaka. Her problems at home remain as well, for there is a rogue magician on the loose, threatening the life of her friend Cery, leader of the Thieves.

Lorkin, living among the Sachakan rebels, does his best to learn about them and their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their knowledge for the Healing they so desperately want, and while he assumes they fear revealing their existence to the world, there are hints they have bigger plans.

In Sachaka, Dannyl has lost the respect of the Sachakan elite for letting Lorkin join the Traitors. The Ashaki's attention has shifted, instead, to the new Elyne Ambassador, a man Dannyl knows all too well.

And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within.


My Review:
I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as I had hoped. It is not like I hated it, but I found it to be very dull. I couldn't get into Trudi Canavan's writing style at all and the way she kept jumping from character to character to character annoyed me. I never managed to know or care about them, though several seemed like they could be interesting if given the opportunity.

Lilia, for example. She is a gentle, naive girl just learning about love and she is led to do a foolish, dangerous thing. Instead of shirking her responsibilities or trying to hide, she faces what she did wrong and does her best to make it right, even though it may cost her what she holds most dear. I could respect and like her for that, but since the characters kept switching around I never really got to know her.

Lorkin also had some potential, as did Anyi. Cery bothered me because in the first book his family was murdered in the first chapter and other than one bout of tears he didn't show any emotion. Their deaths were only mentioned every so often in a half-hearted and ineffectual attempt to elicit an emotional response from the reader. Sonea was completely bland and Dannyl...I had trouble paying attention to his storyline because I was so bored.

The plot moved very slowly with nothing unexpected or original coming up. Despite all of this, I must confess to a mild curiosity as to how it will end. Perhaps when book 3 comes out I will read the last 5 pages. But not the whole book.

Profanity:
There is no swearing in this book.

Sexuality:
I rate it a 4.10 for one fade-away.

Violence:
I give it a 5.10 for murder and kidnapping.

                                Lieder Madchen

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