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Submitted by Kade Bond P. Hutchinson 
(Mar 22, 2006)

Milennia ago, brutal technological wars reduced the planet of Lenfell (corruption of “landfall”) to a semi-feudal world populated with many humans that possess magical powers. These people aligned into two groups – the caring, protective Mage Guardians, and the sinister, controlling Lords of Malerris.

Today, the planet’s regions are ruled by powerful aristocratic families that each send a representative to Ryka Court, where they convene in a governing body overseen by the elected First Chancellor. Through years of obscurity and secret back-room maneuvering, the Lords of Malerris have risen to positions of power. Our story opens with the secretly Malerris-controlled government striking its first blow against their ancient enemies, the Mage Guardians.

The powerful land of Ambrai, longtime home of the Mage Academy, is decimated in this onslaught. Two of the three royal granddaughters, Sarra, and Cailet, are spirited away into hiding by their mother. The eldest daughter, Glenin, is taken by her father (whose betrayal helped destroy Ambrai) to grow up at Ryka Court.

The Ruins of Ambrai follows the story of these three sisters – two secretly fighting as part of a noble Mage Guardian resistance movement, and the third (First Daughter Glenin) avariciously climbing the stairs of ambition at Ryka Court. Along the way, we meet many friends, including the amazing and endearing men Alin Ostin and Valirion Maurgen, two resistance fighters deeply in love. The story of the Ambrai sisters is continued in the sequel, Exiles: The Mageborn Traitor, and Melanie Rawn fans everywhere pray she’ll finish the trilogy with Exiles: The Captal’s Tower very soon.

I can hardly rave enough about Melanie Rawn’s writing; she is without a doubt my favorite fantasy author. I easily place her on equal footing with the “greats” of fantasy. Absolutely no one can best Melanie in the creation of an utterly immersive and deeply textured reality that your heart and mind completely believe. The political intrigue is engaging, the adventure thrilling, and the important characters deep and well constructed. The love stories always feel perfectly in place, contributing to the reader’s understanding of the characters’ motivations. The good guys have flaws, and defy stereotype well; the bad guys have real-world motivations, and through Glenin, are characterized almost as thoroughly as our heroes.

For the GLBT reader, Alin & Val’s tangible love is awe-inspiring, a poignant picture of how two very different men can love one another, a picture that never resorts to stereotypes. All the elements of fantastic fantasy are here: swords, sorcery, and high adventure; deep characters that you either love intensely or love to hate just as intensely – yet each one with a real point of view; a rich, colorful, sublimely crafted world rife with political intrigue; nail-biting, well-paced, creative plot; amazing stories of love and sacrifice. In short, I want to live there.

Great new series. The twists and turns in the storyline are not confusing, but are definitely refreshing. I was getting so tired of parallel storylines, which invariably appear in most fantasy novels and which only add to the confusion of the reader, that it was refreshing to see that Ms Rawn could tell a story without the use of convaluted storylines. The matriarchal society which Ms Rawn created in this series is also a nice departure from the usual depiction of this type of society, there is no "Men cause the trouble, women fix it" attitude. I found the first two books of the series a thoroughly satisfying read and look forward to the final installment.

I love Melanie Rawn's Exiles trilogy, the two that are out. I've read the Dragon Prince novels, and although they were very good, they didn't quite draw me in like Exiles did. The first book in the series, The Ruins of Ambrai, is my without-a-doubt favourite book in the world. The characters, the world, it's all so realistic. I feel like I could visit Lenfell and feel (almost!) at home. I feel like I know the characters, and I love their quirkiness, their uniqueness. Exiles books are unlike any other books I've ever read, and I highly recommend that every fantasy fan reads them. They are Melanie Rawn at her finest!