Path of Fate - Diana Pharaoh Francis

Category: Fantasy

This is the author’s first book, and as long as she keeps writing like this I will keep buying.

This is a story about a young woman called Reisil. Reisil is an orphan, taken in and raised by the people of Kallas. Sent away to be trained as a healer she has now returned to Kallas to live and practice as a healer. All she desires is to make a home for herself and give something back to the people that cared for her as a child. Fate, however, has other plans.

In Reisil’s land there exist a group of people known as the ahalad-kaaslane. Paired with companion animals these people are the chosen of the Lady, the land’s deity. They are answerable to no one but the Lady. They come and go as they please on the Lady’s business wherever it takes them.

When Reisil is chosen by such a companion creature she refuses, however events force her into a reluctant partnership. Since she initially refused the bonding she now has to prove herself worthy.

This is a tale of many levels. There is the basic story of good vs. evil, but there is also a strong theme of questioning the traditional black and white attitude to these two roles. One persons good is another’s evil. Reisil has to overcome many physical and emotional obstacles and gradually comes to learn that although duty can be a burden it can also be very rewarding. There are many of the traditional themes of hopeless love, betrayal, the soft heart hidden behind the hard exterior, and the realisation that someone is not a bad person simply because we don’t like them.

This is definitely another one for my re-read collection.

Rating: 8/10

The series:

1. Path of Fate
2. Path of Honor
3. Path of Blood (due 2006)