Seeds of Betrayal – David B Coe

Category: Fantasy

This is the second book in the Winds of the Forelands series, after Rules of Ascension.

The story continues with Tavis and Grinsa pursuing Brienne’s killer into the neighbouring kingdom of Aneira. There they discover that Aneira is suffering it’s own problems akin to those plaguing their homeland.

Back home, Lord Kentigern is trying to upset the monarchy by claiming that he did not agree to step aside in favour of the now king. He is claiming that since the Rules of Ascension have been broken, they should be thrown out completely. This has the desired effect of dividing the kingdom between his supporters, the King’s supporters and those who wish to remain, or appear to remain, neutral.

The conspiracy continues to gather momentum, however more and more Eandi are becoming aware of it, and the general mistrust of the Qirsi, and specifically of the advisors, is growing. Added to this are the rumours that the conspiracy is run by a Weaver.

This book continues the massively tangled plots and schemes from the first book. It then proceeds to make things even more complex by moving to a second kingdom with even more characters to keep track of.

Once again I found myself struggling to read and finish this book. It did managed to pique my interest a little in places, but whether sufficiently to make me want to read the rest of the series, remains to be seen.

A good narrative style but an overly convoluted story for my liking.

Rating: 4/10

Winds of the Forelands Series:
1. Rules of Ascension
2. Seeds of Betrayal
3. Bonds of Vengeance (due Feb 28th 2005)
4. Shapers of Darkness (due late 2005)
5. Weavers of War (due 2006)