Noel-Anne Brennan, Daughter of the Desert

Daughter of the Desert

Noel-Anne Brennan

Ace, April 2006, $7.99, 323 pp.

ISBN 0441013945

When the Virsat conquer the land of Tireera, they enslaved the Tidars who were there before them. Most are slaves and considered less than human, but some are free though treated like third class citizens. Forentel, the daughter of the High General and the High Judge, is shocked when she sees her twin near the royal palace. She learns that she is the daughter of A Tirdar woman, who had intimate relations with her father, and unable to comply with her father's wishes to marry a lecherous wealthy old man, she runs away.

Also on the run is Prince Erba whose brother killed their father the king and assumed the throne. Now Erba is in hiding because his sibling wants him dead so he won't threaten his power base or try to gain the throne. Both Forentel and Erba are making their way to Dreffir, the city where it is said the Tidor came from. Erba wants to see what everyone thinks is a magical place, and Forentel wants the people to teach her to use her magic that is growing stronger, and to learn about her heritage. In pursuit of their goal the two runaways must face several dangers, including cannibals, man eating plants, slavers, and a soldier determined to bring Erba back to his brother.

DAUGHTER OF THE DESSERT excels at strong characterizations, and in most cases the women are independent thinkers capable of ruling or doing whatever they set their minds to accomplish. The power structure in Tireera is uneven, and the slave population and the residents of Dreffir look upon Forentel as the Delass (the bridge), and once she figures out what that means she will do all in her power to see that that life in Tireera is changed. Readers will eagerly await the next book in this stunning new series.