THE BETRAYAL

Author: Pati Nagle ISBN: 9780345503855 3/2009 FANTASY Publisher: BALLANTINE

The noble and magical aelven were riven by war when a rogue clan embraced a forbidden source of magic: the drinking of blood. In the bitter fighting that ensued, the vampiric Clan Darkshore were cast out of the aelven and driven across the Ebon Mountains. Stripped of their various clan colors, they were thenceforth known only as “alben,” hated and shunned. An uneasy peace now holds over the land, but it is whispered that Shalár, the beautiful and bloodthirsty queen of the alben, is readying a surprise attack to win back all that was lost–and none can say where or when she will strike. The fate of the clans will depend on two young aelven lovers, Eliani and Turisan, who are blessed with a legendary gift: the fabled power of mindspeech. But this ability comes with great risks. Time is running out as the alben mount their attack–and their ultimate betrayal.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE BETRAYAL is an ambitious work of high fantasy. It’s a tale of elves with a reworking of vampires for spice. Vampires are invading all different kinds of genre fiction now, being refreshed as they go to suit the storytelling.

In this version, certain elves somehow started to need blood to survive and then are burned by sun. There are other minor effects, such as their hair turning white. Their need for blood, which breaks their moral code, prompted a horrible war and these alben, the vampire elves, were driven from their homeland.

This is one of those stories where it is obvious that every character is the hero of their own story. The “bad guy”—the leader of the alben—has good reason to do what she does and is by far the most compelling character in the story.

Like is typical in high fantasy, this book is merely the beginning of the tale. I don’t know if Nagle has sold additional titles but more of the story needs to be told. As usual in these books, war is coming! Also, we don’t know what caused the elves to go alben in the first place.

I didn’t enjoy this book as a romance, but certainly it more than held my attention as a fantasy. The world-building is creative and excellent. The vampires here are very interesting, and the societies and lifestyles will make you wonder what pieces of lore Nagle used to build her world.

Heather Hiestand