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The Skein Of Lament (Book 2 of The Braided
Path) by Chris Wooding check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
A group duty bound to the bringing down of the Weavers and their blight that's still spreading across Saramyr. Kaiku has come a long way. The control of her kana - the power to kill with fire and navigate the Weave itself - has improved and she is learning new skills.
Constantly raging against those that share that ability, the Sisters of the Red Order, she feels duty bound to the oath she made to Ocha, to avenge her family's death at the hands of the Weavers. Lucia and Kaiku must discover the truth behind the Weavers and the terrible desolation. The time for action is nearing and the Libera Dramach feel an urgency to save their kinsfolk. Though their paths lay upon differing roads, their intent is constantly braided. The only problem is that the truth may be far worse than they could ever have imagined. In a book that has deceptions prevalent against every character, where interactions are laced with betrayal and deceit and nothing is ever quite what it seems, Chris Wooding has made an evocative return to Saramyr. If you liked the first of Chris Wooding's adult fantasy series, then you will love this next book. I was gripped from the first chapter and the story followed smoothly on from the previous book. If you haven't read the first, then buy that one and read it before, because you won't get the full force of Wooding's prowess with storytelling if you don't. Much of this book is hinged on the political set-up of the first. This is not a stand alone title by any means. You haven't a clue where the plot twists come from and when they do you have to physically restrain your jaw in public places. In this volume, there are many more battle scenes. They are narrated with a precision rarely seen in the fantasy genre, showing Chris Wooding's mastery of rendering his world within the mind of his readership. As a reader of fantasy, I have found myself embroiled in a battle scene and been bored out of my brain. Wooding has never done this for me! The characters are very familiar to you already, but Wooding has made them so much more than his characters. Their depths seem to have no boundaries, just when you think you know these characters they do something that you don't expect and you have to re-evaluate your notions about them. Never does Wooding have his characters do anything that is not true to what he has woven. He just throws another dynamic into the pot. The story has grown in leaps and bounds, too. If you wanted some more answers to the questions that the first book threw in then you won't be disappointed. This one answers some of them and lands a whole pile of others in your mind to think about. Fantastic plotting that you never find lacking. The only thing I would say is that 'The Braided Path' as a series can be a little overwhelming. His style of writing is excellent, but you need to concentrate to take in all the nuances of the plot. Persevere, because the story is well worth the commitment of you, the reader. It's not something that should put anyone off, just an observation of the writer's style. Overall, I am immensely impressed with this series and particularly with this second book. Sequels can lose their momentum in the vast telling of such a long story, Chris Wooding has achieved a book that makes you want more. When's the next one coming out? Donna Jones
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OTHER REVIEWS - June 2004
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It
is five years since the liberation of the Heir-Empress, Lucia tu
Erinima, from her home in the Imperial Keep. Her Aberrancy there
had been shunned and hidden away, but now she resides in a secret
location among the peoples of the Libera Dramach. 
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