Overview

The Sisters of the Blade rule Medalon with an army of elite Defenders to enforce their oppressive rule and keep bordering nations in check. Overseeing all is First Sister Joyhinia. She lives for politics and power and will let nothing come between her and greatness - even her children. So when R'shiel and her half- brother Tarja are caught on the wrong side of one of their mother's schemes, they are forced to flee the capital. Travelling as exiles they see the full extent of the Sisterhood's oppression, and begin to hear rumour of the lost offspring of the legendary Lorandranek, a demon child who will unite the people and vanquish tyranny forever. MEDALON is the first volume in a stunning new high fantasy trilogy from an author of extraordinary talent and boundless imagination.

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9781841493268

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Reviews

Credit Fallon for exploring themes like dirty politics and religious tolerance...an intriguing soap opera of espionage and family revelations. -- Nisha Gopalan Entertainment Weekly (04/30/2004)

"""Credit Fallon for exploring themes like dirty politics and religious tolerance...an intriguing soap opera of espionage and family revelations."" -- Nisha Gopalan ""Entertainment Weekly"" (04/30/2004)"

Another Australian fantasy import from Tor, which seems to have cornered the market. The story's set in a typical quasi-medieval world, with the twist that the rulers of the central nation of Medalon have expelled all worshipers of the pagan gods and now run the state on rational, atheist principles. Fallon follows three main characters: R'shiel is a Probate of the Sisters of the Blade, the group from which Medalon's governing council, the Quorum, is drawn; her older half-brother, Tarja, is a captain in the Defenders, battle-tested and canny. Both are independent, and often at odds with their domineering mother Joyhinia, a leading member of the Quorum. The third major presence is Brak, a half- human descendent of the legendary Harshini, a magical race expelled from Medalon. When the gods ask Brak to find the mysterious demon child, a half-human destined to lead the fight against the evil god Xaphista, the trail leads him inevitably to the two young Medalonian rebels-who, by the time of his arrival, have joined forces with peasants fighting against Joyhinia's attempt to enforce the ban on religion. Several adventures and reverses ensue. R'shiel and Tarja are captured, tortured, imprisoned, rescued, and betrayed in a whirlwind plot that leaves little time for reflection. Brak manages to enlist various of the gods (for whom he has little respect, knowing them all too intimately) to the cause of the young atheists; the demon child's identity is revealed; the forces of Xaphista are for the nonce defeated; and the stage is set for the two likable young Medalonians to set forth again in the next installment. Fallon brings a fair quota of wit and a healthy dose of realism to rather predictable material: nothing earthshaking, but engaging overall. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Jennifer Fallon was born in Victoria, Australia, the ninth child in a family of thirteen girls. Her prolific career includes work as a youth worker, store detective, advertising sales rep and executive secretary.

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