Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Fey

Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Fey, WMG Publishing.

• The Sacrifice, 1995.
• The Changeling, 1996.
• The Rival, 1997.
• The Resistance, 1998.
• The Victory, 1998.
• The Black Queen, 1999.
• The Black King, 2000.

If you like heroic fantasy with political shenanigans, then this series is for you...

On Blue Isle live a peaceful nation that became rich thanks to trade. But the Fey, a warrior and magical race, decides to invade it, as they have invaded many other nations in the past centuries.
The massacre and surrender seem unavoidable. But a Blue Isle priest suddenly finds out that the sacred water they use in their rites has devastating effects on the Fey. A terrible fight for the island follows, an island that, it will be revealed along the volumes, has many mysteries.

It is a very readable fantasy though it remains within the beaten tracks of the genre. Rusch really takes her time to round her characters and they aren't just cardboard villains or heroes. Like Butler has done before her, the idea of compromise, hybridation, is central to the novel. But any reader who has read Iron Dream by Spinrad may sometimes feel a bit ill at ease.
The pace is often gripping, though some volumes may feel slower because Rusch really tries to give a proper motivation and backstory to all her characters.

Overall, it's a very enjoyable story and in the current heroic fantasy market where most books are recycling ad nauseam the Martin, Jordan or Abercrombie recipes, it feels like a refreshing change.

---

If you've liked The Fey, you may also like

Jenn Williams, The Copper Promise.

Greg Keyes, The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone.

Juliet McKenna, The Tales of Einarinn.

---