Lion of Senet: The Second Sons Trilogy, Book One (Paperback)

Ranadon once again has two suns surging through its sky, but its inhabitants have suffered greatly in the past when one of the suns disappeared and the Age of Shadows began. The High Priestess, Belagren, with the help of a great mathematician, Neris, discovered the secrets about the Age of Shadows, which is a natural phenomenon that depends on the orbits of the suns. In her eagerness for power, Belagren used this information to her advantage and claimed that the Goddess spoke to her and told her exactly were the sun would return, granted that certain sacrifices were made. It all worked out, and Belagren gained considerable power through this stratagem. However, Neris sealed the secrets inside a deadly Labyrinth, and threw himself off a cliff, presumably dying.

In her need to know when the next Age of Shadows will return, so as to prove her communication with the Goddess, Belagren convinced the Lion of Senet, ruthless ruler of the strongest kingdom in Ranadon, to search for Neris because she suspects the genius is still alive. Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Dhevyn, which is "controlled" by Senet, the second son of Duchess Mirna of Elcast is being trained to be a physician. He is a bright boy and is thrown in the middle of the action when the Lion of Senet and Belagren arrive to Elcast looking for a very special prisoner, who was left unconscious in the coast after a tidal wave made his vessel the victim of a shipwreck.

The plot is complex but easy to understand, with religion and politics cleverly intertwined in a mix that achieves a similar effect on the reader to the one "Dune" accomplishes. There are many characters, but with the help of the character list and the masterful descriptions the author elaborates, it is reasonably easy to keep track of them. I would recommend following the story closely with the map provided, at least until the reader gets a clear idea of the geographical location of the different places mentioned. This will make the book a lot more enjoyable and easy to follow. Finally, an extra benefit in this trilogy is that it is already written in its entirety, thus, there is no need to wait a long time for the next two installments, which have already been published in Australia and New Zealand. If you like epic fantasy I highly recommend you read this book and discover what Fallon has to offer.

A little slow on the start but this book develops into a fantastic story of court intrigue.

Dirk Provin is an extremely intelligent and is happy with his life untill he is claimed by the Lion of Senet to come and work at his court.
In the meantime a sailor well known to most non-supporters of the Lion of Senet is shipwrecked and thrown onto the island of Elcast. This opens up the story big time!!!
Revelations all over and characters are very well developed.

The book is fantasy however there is not a lot of magic, spells or wizardy this book is more about kingdoms, invasions, intrigues and rivalries.

I am happy that I ordered this book and will finish the triology for sure!