[.ca] The Black King: Book Two of Black Throne (ISBN 055358118X)

Great series:
I will admit that I am a voracious, but picky reader. I like a lot of books, but seldom love them. However, this is a series that I do love. It is not all 'Hollywood endings' and stalwart, dashing heros. The Fey world is well developed and the characters are very interesting. I don't think it is a great idea to pick this book up without having read the previous ones. Although it can certainly be read on its own, the story will more rounded if read in as a series. In order to fully absorb this book, you should read the series from the start. I place Kristine Rusch up there with Guy Gavriel Kay, Robin McKinley, Katherine Kerr, and George R.R. Martin (my current faves.) My only fault with this book (and it's slight) is that I think Rusch forms a stronger relationship between the male and female sibling main characters than was previously there. Bottom line, I will certainly keep buying and enjoying this series.

Excellent Fantasy Novel:
With the recent decline of some of my favorite authors like Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, Raymond E. Feist and even Terry Goodkind to a lesser extent, there hasn't been much to get excited about in fantasy. This was the first novel I've purchased in months and I loved it. This is the eleventh book I've read from Rusch, including all the Fey series. This one in particular stayed focused on the main characters with credible tension, disagreements and magical battles. The characters are as real as an author can get. I like this series because it moves through time(unlike Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time). Main characters do die in this series and we get to move on and read the stories of their children. If you're looking for a Rusch novel outside the Fey stories, try Traitors. I can't believe she's so low in Amazon's sales rank. Rusch is a great author.