The narrative POV of this book is challenging and inconsistent: it switches from an omniscient narrator to personal perspectives of the characters frequently, and between multiple characters on a single page. The plot and setting are not explained or explored adequately. Information is thrown out with the assumption that the reader knows what’s happening, which often left me confused.

It was difficult to believe the premise of international/inter-world politics being handled by 12-15 year olds, especially as this is an adult book written for an adult audience. It’s a strange choice to ground the story in teenagers and pre-teens.

I found the book to be dense and difficult to engage with. It also felt very much like an introduction, and 650 pages is a lot for a setup. This is not a new favorite, by any stretch. It was simultaneously wildly confusing and intensely boring. ( )

{First of 4 in Rise of the Alliance sub-series, Eighteenth of 27(?) in Sartorias-deles series; fantasy, adventure} (2019)

Firstly, this book needs a map in case there are any publishers listening. I have found maps of individual countries online but the only map of the whole of this world is 400 years ago in its history. And it does need a whole-world map because events involve people from all over Smith’s world of Sartorias-deles - not to mention its sister-world, Geth-deles, on the other side of the sun, and Norsunder, the place otherworldly enemies come from which is held outside time.

The premise of this (sub) series is that many of the current batch of kings and queens in this world have come to their thrones very young and therefore inexperienced and many of them and/ or their friends are mages. There are two centres of learning for mages but not all mages (and especially not rulers) belong to either one. The inhabitants of Norsunder, the place outside time, have been showing an interest in Sartorias-deles in recent years, motives unknown but none of it good. Many characters have had interactions with Norsundrians in the past and Norsunder has been the reason many of these rulers have come to their thrones so young. But, though Norsundrian magic is older and stronger, these young people are determined to resist Norsunder, however outmatched they are. They form a network through mutual acquaintances and become the Alliance.

Essentially this book sets up the world (although most of the major characters have back stories which have been explored in previous books) and how the Alliance, rather accidentally, came into being and how its communication network was created. The Alliance is a bit cobbled together since many of the members haven't met before but have mutual acquaintances within the group. I appreciated the way that not all of their goals are completely aligned and some members are not completely comfortable with (or even don't trust) others.

And the idea that she would be the first Sartoran ruler to set foot in a kingdom depicted as full of villains made the fun that much more fun. Hibern had promised her that Senrid wasn't a villain. At least, he was trying not to be one, though he'd been raised to be. All that made him even more interesting.

The cast list is vast, covering not only the young rulers but also their close friends and we catch a glimpse of the manoeuvrings in Norsunder; we even get to go off-world for a brief visit to Geth-deles, who's orbit keeps it on the opposite side of the solar system to Sartorias-deles. Despite this, the characters' personalities are distinct (though I did create a wiki page to keep track of the major characters, their countries, ages and physical descriptions: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Rise_of_the_Alliance_-_characters#A_Swor.... Although most of them are in their teens or early twenties, they vary in age, responsibilities and maturity.

I think the magic in this universe works well. I'm not sure of the mechanics of the Child Spell which many of the characters in the Alliance use to hold themselves at a certain physical age (for various personal or political reasons) until they are ready to move on. (I do like the convenience of the Waste Spell, though, which deftly handles all sanitation issues.) And I love the valley where everyone can fly. I have not read the books set immediately prior to this in the timeline (though I have read the Inda series set about four centuries before, which I thoroughly enjoyed) but I think Smith has covered the ground in this book well so I didn't feel I was missing relevant details (although I did wonder, occasionally, since I know they exist 🙂). I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I hope DAW publish it SOON.

February 2022
4.75 stars ( )

First in a new sub-series, set immediately after the events of Fleeing Peace and overlapping with A Stranger to Command. This would probably work as an entry point to the series, despite building on what has gone before.

The recent upheavals have a left a lot of young people as rulers in countries across Sartorias-deles. Mage student Hibern suggests forming an alliance among these youths; the beginnings are rocky, but the bonds grow.

A bit disjointed at first, as it follows a lot of widely-scattered characters dealing with a lot of different issues, but it smoothes out later. I enjoyed it. ( )