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Laurel N
, February 06, 2012
(view all comments by Laurel N)
"Alexand DeKoven Woolf is destine to occupy a position of power in the Concord of the Loyal Houses, the basically feudalistic government of thirty-third century. The Concord, despite its outward appearances of stability and prosperity, is suffering severe internal stresses, primarily manifested by chronic uprisings among the Bonds, the serf/slave class. The Concord is,in fact, threatened with the specter of a third dark age."
As first born of Lord Phillip DeKoven Woolf, and heir to the Chairmanship via his grandfather, Lord Galinin, Alexand has been trained from birth to lead, but he may never get that chance. Political intrigue, assassinations, slave uprisings, and insurgency give this story a lot of meat. Add in plenty of phycological study and you have a tale that will have readers taking a hard look at the world around them.
Sword Of The Lamb is a science fiction/fantasy escape from reality that kept me reading long into the night. The characters are three-dimensional and the settings beautifully wrought. There are history lessons at the start of many chapters and I have to admit I didn't read them carefully the first time through, but you don't have to read them in order to enjoy the story. The second time through I understood how they fit in and appreciated the added depth they gave the story.
This is book one in a trilogy that I first read twenty years ago and have never been able to forget. I have read and re-read them until my copies are falling apart so I have now purchased a second set. You will want to find them all and it may take a little time to locate the full set as they have been out of print twice. The original covers are a little dated but fit the stories perfectly. The turquoise covers are reprints.
M.K.Wren is best known for her cozy mysteries but I believe she put her very best work into the pages of these three books - Sword Of The Lamb, Shadow Of The Swan, and House Of The Wolf.
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