These books take place in a world home to constant natural disasters, averted only by talented individuals known as 'Sources' (who channel power to deflect disaster) and 'Shields' (who keep the minds and bodies or the Sources safe while they channel). Dunleavy Mallorough was taken from her family when she was four to train as a Shield and has finally made it to 'graduation.' Sources and Shields can only work in pairs, and the best pairs are 'bonded' - a spontaneous, unpredictable, uncontrollable, and permanent connection formed as soon as a pair sets eyes on one another. Dunleavy has her sights set on several of the Source candidates, but is disappointed when she ends up bonded to Lord Shintaro Karish, a talented Source with a reputation for being very popular...with everyone. Dunleavy has little time to get used to the idea since they get shipped off, almost immediately, to High Scape - a large city with enough disasters to boast a large compliment of the most experienced Pairs. They'll have to get over their differences fast, though, since disasters (natural and otherwise) come straight at them as soon as they settle in.
In the sequel, The Hero Strikes Back, Lee and Taro have recovered from all of the problems they faced in the first book and life in High Scape has settled down to normal. Well...almost normal. It's snowing in the middle of the summer. Unfortunately, there's nothing that the Pairs can do about (ab)normal weather if it doesn't involve major forces of nature. That doesn't keep the citizens from being hostile about the abrupt changes in the weather which are destroying their livelihoods, however. Meanwhile, both Lee and Taro have to deal with personal problems, too. Lee's mother has come to visit and Taro's is threatening to come force him to bend to her will. Without a choice, Lee and Taro must rise to the occasion to meet all of the new challenges thrust upon them.
I have really enjoyed these books. The plots are interesting, although the first book has more action while the second has more character development. The characters are very realistic and they interact well. Also, the situations surrounding Sources and Shields is well described and everything is easy to follow. The stories are told from Lee's point of view and infused with her thoughts and wit.
I'll admit that my first inclination was to think of the parallels to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series which involves 'channeling the Source' and 'bonds' between the person who channels and the one(s) who protects her (for those who are unfamiliar). However, despite the similarities in terms, these books really aren't at all alike - the characters and their powers work very differently and the ideas behind this series is original and in a very different style.
Although these books are fantasy, the emphasis is definitely on the people and the situations - good for readers of all sorts. Overall, I would definitely recommend these books. I'm looking forward to the third book which comes out sometime in 2008, and also the fourth book which is still in the works. Update: here's my post about Heroes' Reward and the end of the series.
Anyone who wants commentary, updates, and excerpts on upcoming books can check out Moira J. Moore's LiveJournal. (She also has a webpage, but it seems to have far less information.)
- If these books sound interesting, consider these: The Immortalsseries, Harper Hall Trilogy, or Spirit Fox
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