| $@%&! level: Medium-High “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: High Back Cover: “Horse Stealer hradani aren't very popular among the Sothoii. There's the little matter of a thousand years of mutual raiding and slaughter. Then there's the well-known fact that all hradani—and especially Horse Stealers—are bloodthirsty barbarians, subject to uncontrollable bouts of berserk bloodlust and fury. Not to mention the reason they're called “Horse Stealers” in the first place: their notion that the Sothoii's beloved warhorses are culinary delicacies. So just what is Bahzell Bahnakson of the Horse Stealer hradani doing in the middle of the Sothoii Wind Plain? Trying to stay alive, of course. But that's not going to be easy. Not only is he a Horse Stealer, but the son of the Horse Stealers' ruler, and the Horse Stealers' ambassador to Baron Tellian, the most powerful of all the Sothoii's nobles. Which is just a bit complicated by the hostility he faces as the Horse Stealer to whom Tellian surrendered an entire army...when he outnumbered Bahzell thirty-to-one. And a champion of Tomanak, the God of War and Justice—a claim most Sothoii regard as outright blasphemy. That would probably be enough to keep things lively, but then there are the coursers, the huge magically-engineered horses with human-level intelligence and long and bitter memories. And the deadly confrontation building between the Sothoii war maids and one of Tellian's vassals. And the plots of Baron Tellian's most bitter political enemy, who's sworn to destroy the fragile peace Tellian and Bahzell are trying to build. When you add evil wizards, hordes of undead demons, at least two Dark Gods, assassins, and last, but not least, one extremely determined fourteen-year-old girl, Bahzell has his hands full. Fortunately, he has a few friends along to help. Unfortunately, his problems are just beginning....” |
So, this third book has almost all of the elements that made up the previous installments. Brandark is still around, so he and Bahzell have their usual insulting banter, which I always enjoy, even if it does sometimes interrupt what might have otherwise been a clear (and long) explanation. The hradani get to do some showing off when it comes to feats of skill, strength, and endurance. I especially love the Sothoii reaction the first time they see the Horse Stealers when they want to get somewhere fast. To the Sothoii, that means you should saddle a fast horse. To the hradani, it just means you carry on running when you might have otherwise stopped to enjoy the scenery or have a bite to eat. It's not like they were actually tired, after all. And of course Bahzell is his usual gentle giant/berserk war machine self. The one element from the previous books that is decidedly missing is the travel. Yes, they move about within the one country a good deal, but the fact is that they stay in one country, which they've never managed for so long before. Bahzell has a tendency to expedite his departures (most often by getting his hands bloody).
And we get two brand new dark gods to deal with. Previously, it's pretty much been Sharna and his various demons. Here we have Krahana and Shigu (a couple of goddesses, as it happens), and I get the feeling that before he's done, Bahzell will have personally faced and defeated the entire dark pantheon, especially since David Weber never brings a story to a proper ending as long as it's still popular. Anyway, it's kind of a nice change to have vampires and soul-sucking wolf-beasts and evil priestesses instead of assassins and the occasional demon.
You know how I often re-read the good bits? (And I tell you which parts I re-read so you know what to look forward to.) In this one, I most often go back over the healing of the coursers, and the two main confrontations. There are a whole lot of other things in there, with mysteries to solve and political intrigues to be dealt with and armies clashing and so forth. But to my mind, those three parts are the most excellent and worthy of my attention.
Also, just so you know, Bahzell finally finds a horse who can carry him, and it's absolutely brilliant.