Path Of Honor by Diana Pharoah Francis
01/03/2005 . Source: Jennifer Howell 
pub: ROC. 379 page paperback. Price: $ 6.99 (US), $ 9.99 (CAN). ISBN: 0-451-45991-1. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.penguin.com
The second book in what looks to be a trilogy, 'Path Of Honor' is the sequel
to 2003's 'Path Of Fate'. Not having read book one, it's a little confusing
at first - especially as the prologue has precisely nothing to do with the first
book by the look of things - but most of the important facts click into place
soon enough.
The protagonist, Reisil, is a healer who discovered she was one of the magical
ahalad-kaaslane in the first book. This is a kind of wandering judiciary system
in the land of Kodu Riik, who are telepathically bound to companion animals.
The orphaned Reisil, bonded to the goshawk Saljane, had been looking forward
to finding a replacement family in her fellow ahalad-kaaslane now that she was
finally accepted as one of them. Blasting an army of enemy wizards away at the
end of the last book should have helped with that, you'd think.
The start of book two finds Reisil alone and exiled once again, though, as her
more powerful magic has made the ruling nobility suspicious of her intentions.
Added to the fact that their goddess, the Blessed Lady, who gave the ahalad-kaaslane
their powers seems to have deserted the land, plague is coming and Kodu Riik
is about to be besieged from all sides by foreign sorcerers. The situation just
keeps getting worse.
Reisil, meanwhile, is having more and more trouble using her healing magic -
but using her magic to reduce her enemies to small piles of ash is getting easier
and easier by the day...
Middle books of trilogies are notoriously difficult even if you've read the
first book and I have to say that I can't really recommend reading this particular
volume if you aren't familiar with 'Path Of Fate'. Not only are you stuck in
the middle of a set of conflicts and relationships that have very little meaning
(because everything happened between the characters in book one) but there's
not really anything in particular that would allow this instalment to stand
alone outside of its series. But then, it's really not designed to.
In terms of plot, the idea of a healer who can suddenly only destroy things
is intriguing, but I think the idea deserves a more interesting treatment than
it gets here. There are several moments like this, little things that catch
the interest momentarily but aren't followed through. The main problem for me
was a lack of originality in making anything new of what are your basic standard
fantasy tropes - telepathic animal companions, for example. As cute as the concept
is, it became a cliché hell a long time ago and actually making the animals
religious in this case actually comes across as slightly creepy, especially
as they lack any distinctive individual voices.
I have to say that it will always stick in my head for a truly memorable description
of a character having their eyeball surgically removed whilst still awake! I
have to say I wouldn't recommend reading that particular scene whilst eating.
Very bad idea.
There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, if you accept the fact that
most middle books are mostly filler. It's perfectly readable (assuming they
get some fairly amusing typos all sorted) and there are some entertaining moments
and concepts that keep your attention most of the time. Recommended only if
you're following the series.
Jennifer Howell 
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