- Paperback: 525 pages
- Publisher: Voyager; paperback / softback edition (2 April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007113986
- ISBN-13: 978-0007113989
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,410,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Already an accomplished SF novelist, Sarah Zettell's debut fantasy, Sorcerer's Treason, shows her to be equally adept in lands of myth and magic.
Bridget Lederele is Keeper of the Light on Sand Island, shunned by the mainland following the birth and death of her bastard child and rumours of her psychic visions. Now she keeps the lighthouse blazing, warning sailors away from the rocky dangers of the lake. Her life is thrown into turmoil when she rescues the tattooed stranger Kalami from the wreckage of his boat and tells her she is needed in another world to defeat the sorceress step-daughter of the Empress Dowager Medeoan. Seeing the chance for a new start, Bridget accepts Kalami's offer but the world she finds waiting for her is unlike anything she has been promised.
Zettell's first fantasy novel is a triumph of story-telling, taking fairytale and folklore and dressing it in lies, half-truths and dark magic. All the characters are powerfully drawn, especially Bridget, a strong and attractive heroine, willing to face her responsibilities as much as the aged Dowager is willing to run from hers, if only because she thinks it the right thing to do. This is a world populated by characters who are flawed to the extreme, not totally evil, but driven by motivations they know to be wrong. It's a world of grey areas and twisted truths that thanks to Zettell's superb plotting only gradually revels themselves. The magic system is rich and detailed with truth spells woven into warm herb bread and transportation spells cast out nothing but air itself. Sorcerer's Treason is a magnificent fantasy novel, showcasing just how good this genre can be. Rich, compelling and exciting, this could be the best fantasy debut in years and is certainly as good as fantasy gets. --Jonathan Weir --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Praise for A Sorcerer’s Treason:
Zettel’s first fantasy novel is a triumph of story-telling…All the characters are powerfully drawn, especially Bridget, a strong and attractive heroine…A Sorcerer’s Treason is a magnificent fantasy novel, showcasing just how good this genre can be. Rich, compelling and exciting, this could be the best fantasy debut in years’ Jonathan Weir, Amazon
‘A fresh and surprisingly exciting fantasy thriller…Zettel’s engaging writing style conjures up a gripping plot and some effective, three-dimensional characterisation. Even the magic system is well-thought out and inventive…this engaging and vivid slice of escapist fantasy will keep fans of Robin Hobb more than happy’ SFX
‘Sarah Zettel’s well-told and absorbing tale is full of original touches’ Starburst
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I confess I wasn't overly enthused when this book reached the top of my to-read pile; in my experience, fantasy authors promoted as Exciting New Voices all too frequently turn out to be More Of The Same. By _A Sorceror's Treason_, however, I was more than pleasantly surprised - I was completely hooked.
On the surface, the tale is a simple one, in genre terms: a lonely woman meets a mysterious man from another world, who takes her home and enlists her in a battle against his evil political opponents. Yet Zettel's novel - in both its striking plot twists and its overall structure - swiftly distances itself from cliche.
Bridget Lederle is a memorable character in a vividly-drawn world even before she enters Zettel's fantasy realm. While most novels of this type treat the protagonist's home world as little more than a prelude, a painted backdrop to the real story, here Bridget's earlier life is given welcome emphasis. The close-knit nineteenth-century fishing community in which Bridget lives and works as a lighthouse keeper is portrayed with intriguing detail, its supporting characters fully-rounded individuals. Bridget herself is conflicted, complex and intelligent, resilient but worn out with old emotional pain; as much of an outsider in the world where she grew up as she will be in the one she travels to.
Zettel's fantasy world, meanwhile, does not pale beside its historical counterpart. Isavalta is a fine blend of cultural elements that seasoned fantasy readers will find less familiar, incorporating elements of eastern European, Middle Eastern and Asian folktales and history. Most notable are the fabulous fox spirits, and there is a real sense of old powers with unfathomable schemes at work. Bridget functions excellently as our window on this fascinating world, but alongsider her Zettel makes good use of different point-of-view characters for different perspectives, tension-building and plot twists.
The plot moves along at an absorbing pace, the characters provide much of the drama, and the reality of Bridget's situation - as it gradually emerges - is a pleasantly twisty one. If you're tired of genre books where you can spot both good guys and outcome within two pages, you'll enjoy this very much.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are bits of good story in here - but they are curiously unconnected at times, as if the book had been written by several people, and the editing was not very good; so that the joins show up. The binding together of these strands produces a curious mishmash effect, with some rather blatant 'subtleties'; the magic is not very convincing, again with various strands (Baba Yaga, braiding) not blending as one would hope for. A good background to such a long story is essential, a background that resonates, one that taps into vague memories and old lore; and such bits, for me, are missing.
The blurb says fans of Robin Hobb will enjoy this; no, not quite. The story is enjoyable, but not compelling; there are good ideas, but they have not quite meshed yet. And that makes the book too long-winded. I read it, I finished it, but I stayed separate from the story; I was not immersed.
The blurb says fans of Robin Hobb will enjoy this; no, not quite. The story is enjoyable, but not compelling; there are good ideas, but they have not quite meshed yet. And that makes the book too long-winded. I read it, I finished it, but I stayed separate from the story; I was not immersed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Over a number of years of reading fantasy, I have in general become more critical and less accepting of the majority of offerings. Zettel's book is an exception: although perhaps the plot is not 100% fresh, it is well constructed, and has a heroine of some interest as a character. In terms of the character and also of the two-worlds intertwined type of approach, there were reminders of Stephen Donaldson's "Thomas Convenant" series. Zettel neatly presents the reader with a mystery (which is mostly but not fully resolved at the end of this book), and proceeds to maintain the tension of unknowing throughout many twists of the plot, making the book quite compulsive reading. I look forward to the second helping (despite it being a prequel).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Original and involving
What I like most about this book - series, in fact - is the unusual setting. So many fantasy books are set in the same sort of western European, pseudo-medieval setting. Read more
Published 6 months ago by LadyLibrary
So many plots and layers
Sorcerers and Sorceresses. Witches and animal spirits. The world of the dead, the world of the living. Zombie like creatures. Read more
Published on 6 May 2009 by Jessica
Fantasy at its best.
Bridget Lederle takes care of the lighthouse on an island in one of the Great Lakes. She leads a lonlely life being an outcast from the local community after having had an... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2005 by Ms. H. Sinton
A Sorcerer's Treason - The First of a fantastic Trilogy
A book that was impossible to put down from start to finish. A mix of magic, sorcery, love and adventure set in numerous worlds. A down to earth heroine who you can not but like. Read more
Published on 27 May 2003
Brilliant, enchanting and different.
This book follows the story of Bridget Lederle, lighthouse keeper on Sand island; or is she. Tormented by the crowds, as a murderer, Bridget knows nothing about her past. Read more
Published on 9 May 2003 by "jenny8078"
A rollicking story and a pleasant surprise!
You know, it just goes to prove that you should NEVER judge a book by its cover. Sadly, I did this at first, yet after starting reading it, I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2003 by E. Jager
A great new fantasy
This book was recommended to me by a fiend who had read the proof copy and told me if I liked fantasy I would love this book. He was not wrong! Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2003 by Mark Ridley
interesting, but not perfect..
This was so nearly as good as i hoped it would be...
There's an interesting mix of Japanese and Russian-inspired mythology in the background, the heroine is familiarly feisty and... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2002 by J. Howell
Wonderful if a slow start
When I first started reading this book is seemed to be very jumpy and dissjointed but after the first few chapters it redemed itself and after that I could not put it down! Read more
Published on 15 July 2002 by "velf"
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