I just finished the “Crown of Stars” fantasy series, by Kate Elliot, and while I’m glad that I’m less one distraction now that school is actually starting, I’m sad that it’s over. It was pretty good. It takes a much darker and more realistic approach to fantasy than a lot of books do. In many ways it’s an alternative history of the early Middle Ages, with a little sorcery thrown in. Most characters can’t read or write, the Church is a huge force to be reckoned with, heresies are serious crimes, and bad things happen to good people all the time. Also, many of the characters are obsessed with learning the movements of the stars and planets (for sorcerous purposes of course), which, needless to say, appeals to me too. The author clearly spent a lot of time researching before she wrote the series (she has a list of references in one book), and she really makes you think about what it would have been like for people way back then, even though a lot of it is obviously fictional. Summer’s over now, but I’m glad I had plenty of time to read for fun! It’s nice to be able to read multiple books in the same series all in a row.
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