Review: Great world building, too short
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 30, 2010
This is a great short story.The world building is extremely interesting. The Masarian society where Gaven is led to is made of warriors. The focus of their life is battle and emotional and sexual bonds between the warriors are not only encouraged, it's the pillar of society. The young men, while training to be warriors, are assigned to a mentor, who will make fighters and lovers out of them.Gaven has never belonged to a place and he feels he'll never belong to the new place where he is taken, so the story is about Gaven's finding his way in life at his own terms. The journey is not a smooth one and Gaven puts himself in difficult situations, where he gets to prove his resilience and then his valor.Gaven is clearly confused at the beginning and his mentor doesn't seem very nice. I think I'll have to re-read it because Vlar (his mentor) initially behaves like a jerk, and although he is fascinating (he is a mage), the reason why Gaven begins to be attracted to him is not clear. I guess proximity sometimes helps.There's some magic, but there's only a hint to it, and I wish it would have been explained more. I hope the book will have a sequel, because it left me with a lot of questions and the desire to know more about Gaven, his new life, and the world he lives in. And what happens between him and Vlar too.