Joshua Palmatier, The Skewed Throne

The Skewed Throne

Joshua Palmatier

Daw, Jan 2006, $23.95, 352 pp.

ISBN 0756403316

One thousand years ago, the great and powerful and socially enlightened city of Amenkor was caught in the White Fire, a phenomenon that didn't change immediately change things but soon famine, disease, and madness slowly infested the land. The city was slowly able to bounce back until five years ago when the White Fire returned and this time the people are in dire straights.

Varis, a child of the slums, grows up to become a tracker and spy for a guard who obeys The Mistress sitting on THE SKEWED THRONE. Varis has a special sense that allows her to see people in grays (those who are good) and reds (those who would do harm) so she knows that the Seeker guard Erick is hiring people who commit crimes and kill. When she is sick of her role, she flees into the heart of the city where she saves the life of a merchant targeted by an assassin. He hires her and they soon learn that with the famine wide spread there is a dangerous cabal of merchants that are gathering all the goods that would be needed over the winter so they can sell them for a huge profit. The Mistress won't listen to her people who need her to take control and save what is left of Amenkor so desperate people try to shake the political structure of the city.

The heroine is the main reason THE SKEWED THRONE is such an interesting fantasy. She goes from a slum child struggling to survive to an adult with a strong sense of morality. She sees what she had done in her past and tries to become a better person in the present. She is stubborn and loyal in a place where people behave dishonorably. The very survival of her city forces her to do something she finds abhorrent. Readers are treated to a realm in flux where one person's actions can make a difference. This is a fine fantasy that readers will enjoy immensely.

Harriet Klausner