THE KING'S DAUGHTER

Author: Miriam Newman ISBN: 9780709084655 9/2008 ALTERNATIVE REALITY FANTASY Publisher: DCL PUBLICATIONS

When the idyll of Tarabenthia's childhood ends, she will defy her father for the sake of love, tip the balance in a world poised on the brink of war and ensure ruin and redemption for her land and herself. She will be a slave and a Queen and will marry a famous general, a Northern Prince, and a man who arrives on her shores with only the clothes on his back. And, always, the love of her land and the Goddess she worships will rule her life.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE KING'S DAUGHTER is a lush alternative world epic and much better than I expected it to be. At nearly 133,000 words and spanning more than seven years (plus a scene set a decade earlier), this first person account features Tia, first princess then queen of battered Alcinia, but also slave, lover, then wife to the most powerful general in the Empire of Omana. I have seen the book referred to as medieval but to me it felt more like the time of the Roman Empire, with Omana as Rome and Alcinia as a border province.

This novel is the biography of the changing times in Tia’s life. It is full of rich landscapes, fascinating people and battle. There is a hint of magic and religion as well.

Sex is referred to frequently but is never explicit. Tia has a power that draws men to her and though she’s faithful to her husband, there are several men in her life—a cousin, her husband’s nephew, royals from other kingdoms who wanted to marry her. Her life comes full circle in this account, though I’m not sure she changes so much. She gains wisdom and experience, but she will need more for survival as the story continues. Being a queen leads to a treacherous, tenuous life under the circumstances of Tia’s world.

A sequel is available.

Heather Hiestand