Daughter of the Desert

by Noel-Anne Brennan and Aamna Qureshi

Book Overview

The author of the acclaimed fantasies The Sword of the Land and The Blood of the Land brings readers this tale of a young noblewoman and a prince whose unlikely alliance must defeat the savage magic... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441013945
• ISBN13: 9780441013944
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A fast paced coming of age story set in the desert

Story: Forentel is the daughter of the High Judge (her mother) and the commander of the kings army (her father). Her father wants to marry her off so that he can cement his alliance with other nobles in the city that think it is time for the ailing king to turn over the throne to his ambitious older son, Mirta. Erba is the younger son of the king and dreams of exploring far away lands in search of fame, riches, and adventure. He has no interest in dealing with the politics that come with the throne. Erba and Fortnell are brought toghether when both of their former lives are ripped away from them, Fortnell through the murky secrets in her parents past and Erba through the treachery of his brother. Together they must face shifting alliances , the treachous peoples of the desert, and their own predjuices to find the destiney that awaits them in the legendary city of Dreffir where the secret of Forentel ever increasing power will be revealed. --------------- This was a pretty good fantasy read. As far as I can tell this is a stand alone book meaning that you don't necessairly need to any other of the author's books to understand this one. It is a step above of the usual kid discovers that he/she has amazing powers and they go onto save the day. The characters in this book are mostly (understandbly) tired, confused, and scared as they seem to be being dragged along by something they cannot control. This book also does deal with prejudice as the main characters come from one nation (virsat) that has conquered another (tidar) and the conquered nation is seen as second class or worse. The characters grapple with their feelings as their preceptions change. As in real life not everything gets instantly better, it takes work. All in all I would recommend this to any one who likes a little depth to their characters and likes a fantasy that is set in a different world but deals with issues in this one. As a plus it does seem like a stand alone book. m.a.c

Please email Penguin Books (Ace/BErkley) to get sequel

This was an awesome book. Engaging and fascinating. Somehting different. However, the publisher has pulled the sequel, I found out from the author today :(. If we want a chance at a sequel, we need to write/email the publisher to let it be heard we want one! Can you help?

Listen to the Reviews

The last two reviewers stated it perfectly. This book is good, but I wish it had more character development and moral trials, stuff like that. "Sword of the Land" and "Blood of the Land" were amazing books,with Sword of the Land being one of my favorite novels, so I had high hopes for "Daughter of the Desert." Though not as spectacular as I expected, it's still a page-turner, and I will most definitely read the sequel as soon as it comes out.

I do hope there's a sequel...

Having adored her "Sword of the Land" and "Blood of the Land" books, I was excited to see this new title available. "Daughter of the Desert" was a fairly straightforward read, but it brought up more questions than answers that beg for a sequel to be written. The one issue I had with "Daughter" was that there was less characterization than in her previous "Land" books. The focus seemed to be more on the events than on the characters' inner growth, with several characters just sort of changing their mind about their behavior (Riessa and Kelern, two supporting characters, for example) with no real struggle toward the end of the book. There were so many things that could have been developed - such as Forentel's growing in her powers, and learning and fulfilling her destiny, or Erba learning and fulfilling his destiny as well. The author also hints that Riessa and Kelern have new roles to fulfill but doesn't go into detail, since the book ends at right about that point. That's why I'm hoping there's a sequel. Right about the time you think, Now we'll get to see them step into their destinies, the book ends. But the author ties up the book with so few loose ends (without spoiling it, let's just say the bad guys get what's coming to them) that I have to wonder how she could reopen the story, since the main conflict is resolved by the end of the book. Of course, that would make a sequel rather interesting.... Overall, a nice, simple read, and hopefully the start of another series.

excellent fantasy

When the Virsat conquer the land of Tireera, they enslaved the Tidars who were there before them. Most are slaves and considered less than human but some are free though treated like third class citizens. Forentel, the daughter of the High General and the High Judge, is shocked when she sees her twin near the royal palace. She learns that she is the daughter of A Tirdar woman, who had sex with her father and unable to comply with her father's wishes to marry a lecherous, wealthy old man she runs away. Also on the run is Prince Erba whose brother killed their father the king and assumed the throne. Now Erba is in hiding because his sibling wants him dead so he won't threaten his power base or try to gain the throne. Both Forentel and Erba are making their way to Dreffir, the city where it is said the Tidor came from. Erba wants to see what everyone thinks is a magical place and Forentel wants the people to teach her to use her magic that is growing stronger and to learn about her heritage. In pursuit of their goal the two runaways must face several dangers including cannibals, man eating plants, slavers, and a soldier determined to bring Erba back to his brother. DAUGHTER OF THE DESSERT excels at strong characterizations and in most cases the women are independent thinkers capable of ruling or doing whatever they set their minds to accomplish. The power structure in Tireera is uneven and the slave population and the residents of Dreffir look upon Forentel as the Delass (the bridge) and once she figures out what that means she will do all in her power to see that that life in Tireera is changed. Readers will eagerly await the next book in this stunning new series. Harriet Klausner