“BREATH AND BONE” BY CAROL BERG
“Breath and Bone” is a second part to a two-part saga telling a story of a rebellious magician and diviner, Magnus Valencia de Cartamandua, who refuses to conform to the limitations and restriction his parentage and the long lines of diviners have established for him.
In “Flesh and Bone” (the fist volume of the saga), we get to meet Valen (as he prefers to be called) and witness his struggles with an addiction to an enchantment that turns pain into pleasure and his mothers prophecy foretelling his doom. And we get to see how, despite of himself, Valen learns that friendships and loyalties are sometimes far more important than his own feeble life.
In “Breath and Bone” we see Valen sold to the terrible prince as a part of his heirloom while the land of Navronne sinks deeper into war and bloodshed. While Valen risks both body and soul to save an innocent child in the surrounding chaos as well as heal the dying land and bring it to its rightful king, he runs into many that would like nothing more than put their hand on this one of a king sorcerer. And what is the secret behind his extraordinary powers? Will he discover where his abilities come from and how he can use them in time to heal the land of Navronne and help his king? Or will he fail, unable to resist the constant hunger for nivat and the release it brings?
Both books are written in a beautiful English that resembles the 19th century novel writing, which makes reading them an exciting and pleasurable experience. Berg’s narrative is intense and suspenseful while the characters are well-developed and three-dimensional, which is an important detail for the fantasy novels.
“Breath and Bone”, as well as “Flesh and Spirit” are filled with sorcerers, magic, intrigue, dark secrets and characters both noble and weak. One of the most endearing qualities to the novels are the vividly depicted details. AS Sharon Shinn (author of “The Thirteenth House”) writes: “Berg brings to life every stone in a peaceful monastery and every nuance in a stratified society, describing the difficult dirty work of ordinary life as beautifully as she conveys the heart-stopping mysticism of holiness just beyond human perception.”
