Freedom's Sisters

by Naomi Kritzer

With a magical gift for bringing sorcery to vivid life, acclaimed author Naomi Kritzer continues the suspenseful tale of Lauria and Tamar, sisters-in-arms bonded by blood--and torn apart by their enemies. . . .

As a freeborn servant of the Greeks, Lauria once hunted escaped slaves. But as her loyalties shifted, she found herself freeing those she once captured--and loving those she once mistrusted--like Tamar, of the bandit Alashi tribe...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553586750
• ISBN13: 9780553586756
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Length: 401 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Concludes the trilogy, but a bit of a disappointment

I _loved_ the two earlier books in this series, and I loved Kritzer's other books. But this one stumbles. I'm sure that, if you read Freedom's Apprentice and Freedom's Gate, you'll buy Freedom's Sisters too -- just because you need to wrap up the "...and then what happened?" the author left us with; however, you may end up saying, "oh" instead of "wow." Kritzer does tell us more about the world in which her characters live: where Alexander the Great didn't die young, where slavery is rampant, and where djinn were captured to perform magic for their owners. (And darned good worldbuilding it is, too.) In the final book of the trilogy, she fills in more of the political landscape, but it's mostly painted in the background or reported by a secondary character. Yes, you do find out about what it means for Lauria to be a "gate" and the promise of the rivers' release. But by that point, I'm not sure that I cared to know as desperately as I once did. One reason is that the two main characters, Lauria and Tamar, are separated for most of the book. Kritzer has to switch back-and-forth between each character to move the action along, which in this case made the story flow uneven. Kritzer's also so busy trying to move the characters through the story that she does less painting of the background; in earlier books, we get the taste of kumiss, the smell of the tents, the heat of the day -- our senses are engaged. Not so much, here. A larger problem is that Kritzer's characterizations aren't up to her usual excellent quality; people change their minds or make decisions for apparently random reasons, and their motivations are unclear. (I'd give examples but they might become spoilers.) Is Kyros a good guy or a bad guy? What's going on in his head? She could have accomplished a great deal by giving *his* viewpoint in the story. I did read the book all the way through, and I was glad to find out what happened to the Alashi. Despite my criticisms, I suspect that most readers of #1 and #2 will feel compelled to read #3. It's just that Kritzer is ordinarily such an awesome writer that this single stumble is a disappointment -- like an A+ student unaccountably handing in a B- term paper.

Slightly disappointed, and stunned by it

Freedom's Sisters is the final book in Kritzer's Dead Rivers Trilogy (follows Freedom's Gate and Freedom's Apprentice). The story of Lauria and Tamar continues as the former is captured and held by the Greeks and the more importantly, the Sisterhood of Weavers. Tamar, the former slave Alibek, and Janiya are looking for Lauria and trying to entice the Younger Sisters to rise against the Sisterhood. The main characters from the last two books are now separated, but working towards the same goals. Lauria's place as a Gate and what that means becomes clear. Tamar and Alibeck grow to shed the last vestiges of their enslavement. As an ending, it was pretty disappointing. The duel plot lines weakened the finish to what had been a great series. All in all said, it is worth reading, but you'll probably like it better if you read all three books back to back. I started this one when it came out, but found I had to reread the second in the series to become interested in the beginning of Freedom's Sisters. This slight disappointment is a first for me with a Kritzer book. Read them all!

Wonderful conclusion to great series

Wow. This was a fantastic book and a really great series. This was the type of book that once you start, you cannot stop reading. However, I suggest you start with the first book in the series, Freedom's Gate. If you like this series, I would also recommend Carol Berg. Her style is similar.

strong fantasy

Wanting to please her father Kyros, a very highly placed power in the Penelopeia Empire, Lauria catches runaway slaves. She was sent to spy on the Alashi on the steppes outside the empire because they took in runaway slaves. They also have a surplus of karentitee which the rulers of the empire, the Sisterhood of Weavers, use to bind jinn, and that stock is desperately needed because Penelopeia is running out. When Lauria tries to free the last slave she helped capture, the slave turns her in and her father takes her to Penelopeia to be judged because she also committed the crime of freeing a bound jinn; the only known person who can do so because she has a special gate in her heart which lets her return them to their home. Her blood-sister Tamar and two others are sent out to sow discord between the Sisterhood of the Weavers, the Young sisters and a rouge element of the army to divert attention from the Alashai who the empire wants to conquer in order to take possession of karentite. When Lauria gains her freedom through her series of adventures by hersef, with Tamar and her other allies, she believes she has a way of saving the empire. What began in FREEDOM'S GAME and continues in FREEDOM'S APPRENTICE comes to a glorious conclusion in FREEDOM'S SISTERS. In a world where women hold the power Lauria and Tamar stand out as the brave people who try to overthrow their conditioning and fight the empire on their terms. Readers will be enthralled by the adventures Tamer and Lauria undergo, separately and together as they struggle to accomplish their goal. Naomi Kritzer is a master storyteller who creates characters the audience comes to love. Harriet Klausner