Review: Riveting and sensual... seductive journey of adventure and love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 22, 2013
This compelling and entertaining read held me in its grip within the first paragraph. Written in a sparse, but lyrical timbre, each sentence provided a compelling glimpse of the larger story leaving me hungrily gobbling up passages, held captive by both the story and the charming manner in which it is delivered. I was barely through the initial chapter before I was gleefully applauding the fact that I had four more Tales of Amaranth books yet to read. Yay me!I immediately likened Amaranth to one of the many magical hamlets frequented by Conan of Robert E Howard's Conan series, or a village from one of the Waylander/Drenai Tales written by the late, great David Gemmell. The appeal being that while towns like these were but brief hideouts for the great heroes of those books; now to my mind, through the writing of Thom Lane, I would be afforded a longer stay and gain an idea of what really went on in those towns and I would see it all through the eyes of a slave. I am happy to say that not only did the promise of this premise hold true, but the story also surpassed my initial imaginings, offering a captivating slice-of-magical-realm life, and a love story between two men who hold vastly different stations in life.Tam is a slave who is almost indifferent to his seemingly powerless position in life. In Amaranth, slaves serve in whatever capacity desired by any and all free men. Tam works in a guildhouse, which is like a tavern/inn/guesthouse for travelers and the like. As a slave he assists the house's guests in any capacity needed. Whether they request he tote their burdens or pleasure them, he must comply or he will be beaten. Every slave learns early that it is useless to try to escape or yearn for freedom; the most Tam can hope for is to not feel the switch too many times each day. The big dream for Tam and other slaves is to serve a single master instead of being at the beck and call of so many. When Tam is assigned to temporary houseguest, Lucan, he wants nothing more than to serve him forever.A powerful mage, Lucan is something of a loner and is used to others fearing him. All men fear mages and he is a necromancer; working the dark death arts often involves working with demons, which inspires only more fear from ordinary people. When Tam appears to serve him, he sees a comely slave with a spark of something different; the boy appears to be unafraid of him and is actually a bit of a smart-aleck. Surely the guildhouse's mistress wouldn't assign a poorly trained slave to a powerful mage, would she? Intrigued when Tam's mistress asks for a discreet investigation that requires a mage's touch, Lucan demands that Tam assist him. The two men undertake the mysterious, mystical adventure and learn that each in their own way is both powerful and powerless, and that there is a place in life where both are useful.Beautifully written, with a steady voice that sketches the realm of Amaranth without damming or apologizing for its politics, the tale and the characters haunted me well after I'd read the last page. The events unfold swiftly with sensual love scenes strewn liberally as the taking of pleasure slowly morphs to true partnership over the course of the adventure. I also very much enjoyed the happy-for-now ending which upheld the freeman/slave boundaries of the realm of Amaranth.Thank you, Thom Lane, for this captivating journey into the shadowy land of Amaranth, where love is love. "Lyrical, Mythical, Sensual...magic"