Sanctuary
by Paul B. Thompson & Tonya C. Cook
Book One of the Elven Exiles
1. Sanctuary
2. Alliances
3. Destiny
Review:
In reading Dragonlance, I know that not all books are going to have happy endings and glorious conquests. That’s just the way history works - even if it is the history of a fabled world. That being said, Sanctuary is kind of depressing. From gigantic burrowing sand monsters to a strange elven wizard who despises his own race, the story races along into marital disputes, abandonment of orders, heartwrenching demotions, treachery-plotting sons, and… well.
I have to say that I was rather disappointed in Kerianseray as the Lioness, wife of Gilthas, Speaker of the Sun and Stars. She seems at times to act like a brash, spoiled child. I had expected better from her role in The Elven Nations Trilogy. Oh, she’s enjoyable, from her dust-encrusted hair to the tip of her elven-forged sword. But when all is said and done, she recklessly disobeys her commander-in-chief and actually raises an army that threatens to fight him. Talk about nasty spats. I think she just needs a good f***ing. Alas, their moments together usually end in hair-rising arguments and Kerianseray storming out of their tent in disgust.
However! The elves do find a potential home in a secret valley. This secret valley is very mysterious, and I believe that I need to read some more about it in order to understand just what exactly is going on with those floating lights in the cavernous ruins.
Synopsis:
Khur is home to nomadic tribes who scoff at borders and live in isolated cities of stone that rise out of the arid desert like islands in the sea.
Into this inhospitable land the exiled elven nations have come, driven from their marble halls and green forests by powerful enemies. Uniting around Gilthas, joint ruler now of the Qualinesti and Silvanesti, and his warrior wife Kerianseray the Lioness, the elves coexist uneasily with surrounding tribes under the walls of Khuri-Khan.
Chance puts an ancient map in Gilthas’s hands. Where the desert meets the mountains appears to lie a secret valley. This misty vale, taboo for centuries, could be the new sanctuary of the elven race.
Or will secret forces at work make it their final tomb?