- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (12 Oct 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 076532217X
- ISBN-13: 978-0765322173
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.7 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,070,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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"Passion Play, indeed. Passionate, articulate, clever, this book sings right along. Byzantine politics seldom combine so well with great characters. A marvelous debut novel." - Patricia Briggs, New York Times Bestselling author."
Product Description
Ilse Zhalina is the daughter of one of Melnek s more prominent merchants. She has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot. But there are dark secrets, especially in the best of families. Ilse has learned that for a young woman of her beauty and social station, to be passive and silent is the way to survive when Ilse finally meets the older man she is to marry, she realizes that he is far crueler and more deadly than her father could ever be. Ilse chooses to run. This choice will change her life forever and it will lead her to Raul Kosenmark, master of one of the land s most notorious pleasure houses...and, who is, as Ilse discovers, a puppet master of a different sort altogether. Ilse discovers a world where every pleasure has a price and there are levels of magic and intrigue she once thought unimaginable. She also finds the other half of her heart. Lush fantasy. Wild magic. Intrigue, seduction, and treachery, with a kingdom at stake. PASSION PLAY is the journey of a woman who must master her passions in order to win all that she desires. PASSION PLAY is sure to appeal to fans of Jacqueline Carey s Kushiel s Legacy series.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Born into a wealthy merchant family in the city of Melnek, Therez Zhalina lives a stifling existence where women are not expected to express opinions. She dreams of escape to the capital city of Duenne, but the possibility of war and its consequent effect on trade leads her father to barter her away in marriage to the head of the City Council who can grant lucrative contracts but has a cruel reputation. When her father refuses to listen to her concerns, Therez sees no other choice but to escape, sneaking out of the house and taking a wagon train to Duenne in the hope of starting a new life.
Instead she finds herself betrayed and forced to make a terrible choice that leaves her gravely ill in the city of Tiralien. She's given refuge by Lord Raul Kosenmark, a former adviser to the king who now lives in exile, running a house of pleasure for the city's elite. Therez takes the name Ilse and starts to rebuild her life, working in the house's kitchen and growing closer to Kosenmark, who admires her quiet intelligence. Bu the closer she gets to him, the more she learns about the intrigue that runs through the house and of matters that go to the heart of the nation and its security.
Beth Bernobich's novel is a quiet but compelling fantasy that focuses on character development but brings in political machinations, magic and intrigue. This is very much Therez's story - how her experiences (at times brutal and horrifying) shape her and how she comes to be embroiled in this world. As such, the political elements are brought in slowly as Therez gradually gets brought in - similarly, the relationship between her and Kosenmark is a slow-burner that doesn't develop until the final third.
Action fans may be disappointed as the pace is sedate and thoughtful, while readers who are into political conflict may be frustrated that this remains a backdrop to character - although these may be developed in future books.
I enjoyed the novel and especially the Central Asian/Arabic feel to the world that Bernobich has created, with its merchant caravans and sultry feel. I also loved the inclusion of bisexual and homosexual characters, who are central to the story but not a political/social message.
The book's conclusion sets up the sequel, which I look forward to reading.
Instead she finds herself betrayed and forced to make a terrible choice that leaves her gravely ill in the city of Tiralien. She's given refuge by Lord Raul Kosenmark, a former adviser to the king who now lives in exile, running a house of pleasure for the city's elite. Therez takes the name Ilse and starts to rebuild her life, working in the house's kitchen and growing closer to Kosenmark, who admires her quiet intelligence. Bu the closer she gets to him, the more she learns about the intrigue that runs through the house and of matters that go to the heart of the nation and its security.
Beth Bernobich's novel is a quiet but compelling fantasy that focuses on character development but brings in political machinations, magic and intrigue. This is very much Therez's story - how her experiences (at times brutal and horrifying) shape her and how she comes to be embroiled in this world. As such, the political elements are brought in slowly as Therez gradually gets brought in - similarly, the relationship between her and Kosenmark is a slow-burner that doesn't develop until the final third.
Action fans may be disappointed as the pace is sedate and thoughtful, while readers who are into political conflict may be frustrated that this remains a backdrop to character - although these may be developed in future books.
I enjoyed the novel and especially the Central Asian/Arabic feel to the world that Bernobich has created, with its merchant caravans and sultry feel. I also loved the inclusion of bisexual and homosexual characters, who are central to the story but not a political/social message.
The book's conclusion sets up the sequel, which I look forward to reading.
Format:Hardcover
The setting of "Passion Play" was enough to get me to pick up Beth Bernobitch's debut novel -- a sort of medievalish Renaissanceish Italy-Spainy kind of world. But there was also a lot in it that nearly made me put it down, ranging from the cliches of the fantasy genre to the flimsy storyline (which has more than enough time to flesh itself out).
Therez Zhalina is the daughter of a rich but unhappy merchant family. Then she meets the much older man that her father has decided for her to marry, and freaks out because he's even nastier than her father. So, like any rebellious princess, she changes her name to Ilse and runs away. Big mistake: she finds out that there are things that are much, much worse in this world.
She eventually finds her way under the wing of Raul Kosenmark, a castrati brothel-owner, and discovers that Raul is far more important and dangerous than he appears. He's forming his own "shadow court," and Ilse soon becomes wrapped in this world of court intrigue, secrets and shadowy magic...
"Passion Play" is a textbook example of a book that has lots of awesome ideas -- reincarnation as fact rather than belief, a Mediterranean fantasy world, court intrigue, a feisty heroine seeking her place in the world. But somehow... it just never gels into the brilliant Sherwood-Smith-by-way-of-Robin-Mckinley book it tries to be.
Part of this is because Bernobich never fleshes out her world quite as much as she could. There were so many parts of it that could have been explained just a LITTLE more, like countries and people never seen by the readers, and court intrigue conducted by proxies. Bernobich has the skeleton of an elaborate, earthy-yet-elegant plot in this book, but she isn't able to quite enthrall us with the flesh.
I will say that she has a talent for writing -- she's got a clean, warmly ornate style, and she doesn't shy away from the nastier aspects of her world, or the effects of running away (Ilse being nastily -- but not graphically -- raped by the caravan men).
And Ilse is a character who... is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Sometimes she comes across as a naive young girl who must stumble her way past her own traumas and fears; at other times, she comes across as a twentysomething woman in a teenager's body, who sometimes gains skills she shouldn't rightfully have. Kosenmark is a much more intriguing character, especially when we learn of his past.
"Passion Play" is a collection of intriguing yet undeveloped details that never quite gel into a satisfying book. Maybe Bernobich will improve with time, but this debut definitely has some beginner's flaws.
Therez Zhalina is the daughter of a rich but unhappy merchant family. Then she meets the much older man that her father has decided for her to marry, and freaks out because he's even nastier than her father. So, like any rebellious princess, she changes her name to Ilse and runs away. Big mistake: she finds out that there are things that are much, much worse in this world.
She eventually finds her way under the wing of Raul Kosenmark, a castrati brothel-owner, and discovers that Raul is far more important and dangerous than he appears. He's forming his own "shadow court," and Ilse soon becomes wrapped in this world of court intrigue, secrets and shadowy magic...
"Passion Play" is a textbook example of a book that has lots of awesome ideas -- reincarnation as fact rather than belief, a Mediterranean fantasy world, court intrigue, a feisty heroine seeking her place in the world. But somehow... it just never gels into the brilliant Sherwood-Smith-by-way-of-Robin-Mckinley book it tries to be.
Part of this is because Bernobich never fleshes out her world quite as much as she could. There were so many parts of it that could have been explained just a LITTLE more, like countries and people never seen by the readers, and court intrigue conducted by proxies. Bernobich has the skeleton of an elaborate, earthy-yet-elegant plot in this book, but she isn't able to quite enthrall us with the flesh.
I will say that she has a talent for writing -- she's got a clean, warmly ornate style, and she doesn't shy away from the nastier aspects of her world, or the effects of running away (Ilse being nastily -- but not graphically -- raped by the caravan men).
And Ilse is a character who... is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Sometimes she comes across as a naive young girl who must stumble her way past her own traumas and fears; at other times, she comes across as a twentysomething woman in a teenager's body, who sometimes gains skills she shouldn't rightfully have. Kosenmark is a much more intriguing character, especially when we learn of his past.
"Passion Play" is a collection of intriguing yet undeveloped details that never quite gel into a satisfying book. Maybe Bernobich will improve with time, but this debut definitely has some beginner's flaws.
Format:Hardcover
Passion Play is quite different to a lot of the fantasy books that are on my radar at the moment. Perhaps I need to expand my radar, because I'm glad I read this one.
Its tone is most akin to historical fantasy, though it's set in a secondary world (which, pleasingly, is not yet another version of Western Europe). It includes elements of political fantasy and romance, but ultimately it's a very personal story: it documents the difficulties and growth of its main character, a young woman called Therez/Ilse (there's a name-change partway through) who flees an arranged marriage and has to find her own path in life.
Trigger warning: this book contains rape. I did not read it; from bits I saw when flicking past, it's raw and unpleasant. But not, I note, in a skeevy way.
Because, in a rare and wonderful twist, Bernobich doesn't depict rape and its survivor in a way that makes me want to pitch the book across the wall. There is no sexualisation, no random tacking-on of abuse in a vague bid to make the character sympathetic, no extended victimisation. On the contrary, Passion Play is a book about a survivor surviving. The rape is early in the book. The book is about Ilse growing as a young woman whose life has a lot more going on than being a rape survivor.
The fact that I have to actually applaud this makes me angry. Still, it pleases me that not everyone who writes about rape is a terrible person.
Ilse comes into the employ of Raul Kosenmark, who is embroiled in state politics - in which she begins to involve herself. The pace is slow, with a fairly long section about Ilse's life as a maid and her interactions with the other maids, which invokes many of the standard 'new girl in a boarding school / other close-knit environment' tropes. It gets more interesting when she expands her role away from being a maid. But what makes this readable and enjoyable rather than dull is following the growth of Ilse in confidence. She's intelligent and thoughtful - and resilient, and interesting. I have a soft spot for tough, well-written women in fiction. For all the pace, I was utterly engrossed. I cared about Ilse and wanted to find out what she did.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, and ultimately it feels very much like Book One in a series. This is annoying on one hand, but on the other it makes me keen to read the next book, Queen's Hunt, which is due out in 2012 and looks like it will contain a lot more of the politics than really began brewing by the end.
If character-focused fantasy with a historical flavour is your kind of thing, I definitely recommend checking this book out.
Its tone is most akin to historical fantasy, though it's set in a secondary world (which, pleasingly, is not yet another version of Western Europe). It includes elements of political fantasy and romance, but ultimately it's a very personal story: it documents the difficulties and growth of its main character, a young woman called Therez/Ilse (there's a name-change partway through) who flees an arranged marriage and has to find her own path in life.
Trigger warning: this book contains rape. I did not read it; from bits I saw when flicking past, it's raw and unpleasant. But not, I note, in a skeevy way.
Because, in a rare and wonderful twist, Bernobich doesn't depict rape and its survivor in a way that makes me want to pitch the book across the wall. There is no sexualisation, no random tacking-on of abuse in a vague bid to make the character sympathetic, no extended victimisation. On the contrary, Passion Play is a book about a survivor surviving. The rape is early in the book. The book is about Ilse growing as a young woman whose life has a lot more going on than being a rape survivor.
The fact that I have to actually applaud this makes me angry. Still, it pleases me that not everyone who writes about rape is a terrible person.
Ilse comes into the employ of Raul Kosenmark, who is embroiled in state politics - in which she begins to involve herself. The pace is slow, with a fairly long section about Ilse's life as a maid and her interactions with the other maids, which invokes many of the standard 'new girl in a boarding school / other close-knit environment' tropes. It gets more interesting when she expands her role away from being a maid. But what makes this readable and enjoyable rather than dull is following the growth of Ilse in confidence. She's intelligent and thoughtful - and resilient, and interesting. I have a soft spot for tough, well-written women in fiction. For all the pace, I was utterly engrossed. I cared about Ilse and wanted to find out what she did.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, and ultimately it feels very much like Book One in a series. This is annoying on one hand, but on the other it makes me keen to read the next book, Queen's Hunt, which is due out in 2012 and looks like it will contain a lot more of the politics than really began brewing by the end.
If character-focused fantasy with a historical flavour is your kind of thing, I definitely recommend checking this book out.
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