Wayfarer Redemption - Battleaxe (Axis Trilogy: Book 1)

A Fantasy Series Book Review

By Sara Douglass

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Heroes, 16+
ISBN: 0765341301
Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st Mass Market Ed edition (September 17, 2001)
Mass Market Paperback: 672 pages
Read an Excerpt

(Note) This series was released as a 6 book set in the US but as 2 trilogies in other countries. For the purpose of this review, I am going with the dual trilogy idea and for now, I plan on just reviewing the Axis Trilogy. Also the name of the first book differs. In the US, book one is The Wayfarer Redemption while in other places it was titled Battleaxe.

Publisher's Blurb:

A millennia-old prophecy was given when the Forbidden Ones were driven from Achar. And now, the Acharites witness its manifestation: Achar is under attack by an evil lord from the North, Gorgreal-his ice demons strike from the sky and kill hundreds of brave warriors in the blink of an eye.

All Acharites believe the end is near.

One young woman, Faraday, betrothed of Duke Borneheld, learns that all she has been told about her people's history is untrue. While fleeing to safety from the dangerous land, Faraday, rides with Axis, legendary leader of the Axe-Wielders-and hated half-brother of Borneheld-and a man Faraday secretly loves although it would be death to admit it. She embarks on a journey, which will change her life forever, in search of the true nature of her people.

This grand and heroic story tells the tale of one woman's plight to learn the truth of her people and change their hearts and their minds forever. She fights against oppressive forces to share this reality and will not desist until everyone knows. . . . . The truth of the Star Gate

This is one of my favorite types of fantasy, classic large-scale battle of good verses evil with magical races. Granted, this type of fantasy is no longer in "fashion" but it is the type that developed my love for fantasy so I will likely never grow tired of it.

The blurb does not do the book justice (I am finding that few of them do.) Faraday is but one player in this drama, granted an important one, but there are several more who are just, if not more, important then Faraday. As with most first novels in a trilogy, this book contains a lot of setup. There are multiple unique races with different religious views, several different magic systems, extensive world building, a prophecy to be explained, and an impending war. Because of this, the book starts slow. Do not fear though, if you stick out the beginning, the resulting action will more then make up for the slow start.

A partial list of main characters. Axis, Battleaxe of the Seneschal, is at the very heart of this book and a suitably complicated character. His half-brother Duke Borneheld, the War Lord of Achar, hates Axis with a passion and tries everything in his power to see Axis dead. Faraday is the betrothed of Borneheld, in love with Axis and an unwitting player in the prophecy. The Avar, also called the People of the Horn, are a forest dwelling race who revere and protect nature. The Icarii are a beautiful and arrogant winged race who worship the stars and wield powerful magic. The Sentinels are lovable, magical beings who serve the prophecy. The humans, who believe in a religion that calls for the destruction of trees, the power of the plow and the elimination of all things magical. Then we have Gorgrael the Destroyer, determined to rule the world, commander of hordes of mist wraiths and other foul ice based creatures. In Gorgrael, we have, at least partially, an understandable antagonist with actual motives and reasons behind his insanity. I love it when the antagonist is not just a nameless, faceless evil creature who destroys just because he can.

Slow start that builds into a page-turner. You slowly fall in love with the characters and by the end of the book, you find yourself caring about what happens to them. There is a mystery here to be solved - several actually - romance, intrigue, betrayal and loyalty, love and loss, angst and triumph. I can only imagine that the series will just get better from here. The characters are adults. As with any war, there is violence, and as with any romance, there is the possibility of love scenes. None of the content is overly graphic and the bedroom scenes are implied, not detailed. There is a main theme of adults dealing with issues that were caused by dysfunctional childhoods. I am going 16+ on these, not because of graphic content but due to the maturity of the issues explored. As always, that is only my opinion.

I have an ulterior motive for choosing this trilogy for review. Sara Douglass has been diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer Her Post. The best way I know of to show my support is to promote her books. My heart and good wishes go out to her and I hope that she wins her battle. So buy her books or go to the post and leave a comment, meanwhile I am off to read book two, I want to know what happens next!

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Shelfari Rating 4+/5 Librarything Rating 3.74/5 Amazon Rating 3+ out of 5 stars (170 Customer Reviews) What Should I Read Next?

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