I love the characters in this book, and the story is interesting. The main characters are male, but there is good female representation. I think the book has some pacing issues, though. It can drag a bit, which makes it easy to lay aside. ( )

It is a good thing I got the next book out from the library at the same time that I got this one out. ( )

(35) OK, well I liked the next in the series, too. This has the feel of 'Game of Thrones.' You know that it is way too long and detailed and without much literary merit . . . but. . . . but, the storytelling really sucks you in. This story is how Inda comes to prominence as rather a Robin Hood version of pirate and puts together a fleet to challenge the Venn. And what happens back in (I wanna say King's Landing, but I know thats not right) the royal city - well, lots of surprises!

This is really long though, and I had a sense of the quality tailing off a bit with the whole Signi, the Sea Dag plot line. Things started to feel a bit draggy and the magical element began to seem cheesy. But I still can't give any less than a 4 star rating giving the rate at which I plowed through and my desire to move on to the next one.

These types of series - Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Outlander - they are like popcorn, or Chinese food -- it seems like you just can't get enough despite the fact that you know its not good for you, and then, just a few hours later, you are ready to digest even more. ( )

(Second of 4: Inda series. Fantasy, epic fantasy)

I carried straight on to this book after finishing [Inda], the first book in this quartet because I was enjoying it so much. Smith does characterisation very well.

This book takes Inda from the age of sixteen to about twenty. Now that Inda's life has expanded from his father's castle to his shipboard life, we get to see more of his world too. He applies the military genius that was evident from an early age to his new life, young as he is, and turns it to defending against pirates. His daring and success earns him a formidable reputation as 'Elgar the Fox' as he adopts the fox banner of the Royal Academy of his childhood.

In the meantime, we continue to see Inda's world through the eyes of other characters which initially keeps us in touch with events in Iasca Leror - the country, family and friends from which Inda has been exiled - and then introduces us to the politics of other courts on the Sartoran continent (which seems to be in the southern hemisphere as the warmer climes are in the north).

There is a bit of clearing of the decks in the middle of the book and one or two characters finally come into their own. I would have liked to have seen more of them, as they seem quite interesting; there was a throw-away (though plausible) explanation of why they are now so capable after having been non-players for so long.

5 stars ( )

An exile from his beloved homeland, Inda has become a feared pirate captain. He sets his crew to destroying first the bloodthirsty Brotherhood of Blood, then the Venn Empire, which is bent upon conquest. Back home, his bff Evered contends with internal plots and the uneasy responsibilities of a conquerer.

The adventure and plotting parts are thrilling, but once again Smith uses too many narrators, and switches between them too frequently. Plus, I have gotten sick of the various tricks Smith uses to keep Inda in exile. ( )