Fires of the Faithful
A Novel
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
From a gifted new voice in fantasy fiction comes the thrilling saga of a war-ravaged land and the remarkable young woman destined to restore it. . . .
For sixteen-year-old Eliana, life at her conservatory of music is a pleasant interlude between youth and adulthood, with the hope of a prestigious Imperial Court appointment at the end. But beyond the conservatory walls is a land blighted by war and inexplicable famine and dominated by a fearsome religious order known as the Fedeli, who are systematically stamping out all traces of the land’s old beliefs. Soon not even the conservatory walls can hold out reality. When one classmate is brutally killed by the Fedeli for clinging to the forbidden ways and another is kidnapped by the Circle—the mysterious and powerful mages who rule the land—Eliana can take no more. Especially not after she learns one of the Circle’s most closely guarded secrets.
Now, determined to escape the Circle’s power, burning with rage at the Fedeli, and drawn herself to the beliefs of the Old Way, Eliana embarks on a treacherous journey to spread the truth. And what she finds shakes her to her core: a past destroyed, a future in doubt, and a desperate people in need of a leader—no matter how young or inexperienced. . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Typical fantasy books require some getting used to before one is firmly hooked, but this far-from-typical fantasy from first-time author Kritzer is like chocolate cake: instant addiction. Kritzer's clever use of familiar-feeling things people and place names that sound Italian, though they are not, and a castles-and-kings setting that similarly evokes old-world Europe in the era of murderous Borgias and witch-hunting Savonarolas enables readers to effortlessly fall into the medieval Italianate world of teenage violinist Eliana. Cloistered in a monastery-like music conservatory, the prodigy is protected from an outside world torn by wars, famine, religious fanaticism and the deadly misuse of magic. Then an outwardly small event, the introduction of a new song that's not what it seems, catalyzes the kidnapping of her new roommate/best friend (who also may not be what she seems) and the brutal public killing of another schoolmate by "good guys" (who definitely aren't), forcing Eliana's fast flight and equally rapid transformation from sheltered court-musician-in-training into, quite possibly, the rebel savior of her doomed world. To the reader's delight, unresolved plot lines hint that sequels are planned; with habit-forming books like this, you can't read just one.
