(Karen Miller, Voyager, $20.95 pb, ISBN 9780732284527, December) ****

The first thing that struck me is how different the setting is from the first book in the series, Empress of Mijak. Unlike Mijak, which is a bleak land dominated by a strict and bloodthirsty God, Ethrea is a nation instantly recognised by fantasy readers. Far away from the events and characters of Mijak, it almost feels like the start of a new series. A princess is orphaned and pressured by a corrupt church leader into being a pawn in his pursuit of power. It’s well written but very familiar. Even the introduction of Zandakar, the exiled prince from the first book, does little to pull the story away from the ‘rescue the princess’ cliché. It is what is revealed about Mijak in this book that is most interesting. Miller has used her entire first book to define and explore the antagonists in the series, leaving the introduction of the ‘good’ faction till book two. The Riven Kingdom is still a good read, though not as compelling as Empress of Mijak. I am curious to see what Miller will do when the two groups collide in book three. This is one for fans of darker fantasy.

Stefen Brazulaitis is a customer service manager at Borders Perth and has been a bookseller for 16 years

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2007, Thorpe-Bowker