Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn

Dark Moon Defender is the third in the Twelve Houses books by Shinn. As I read this series, it seems to me that they fall somewhere between the "buddy movie" and the "questing fellowship". The band of characters established in the first couple of books just float in and out of this one, as needed. The main focus is on Justin, a King's Rider with a rough past. He was the illegitimate son of a prostitute, lived as a thief on the streets, but met his match when he tried to rob Tayse, a King's Rider. Tayse saw something in young Justin and recruited him to the Riders, and now Justin is fiercely loyal to the Riders, King Baryn, but mostly Tayse. "If he ever had to chose between saving the king's life or saving Tayse's, he would save the king's, but only because it was what Tayse would expect of him."

Justin is sent on a clandestine mission to the town of Neft, which is close to the Shrine of the Pale Mother, where Coralinda Gisseltesse runs a cult which persecutes and kills any mystics it finds. Coralinda is also suspected of plotting rebellion against King Baryn with her brother, Halchon, so Justin's instructions are to keep an eye on things and report back any suspicious behavior.

One night, Justin saves a young initiate of the cult from being assaulted by a drunken thug, and finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. He begins to meet with her, telling himself that it's another way to gather information about Coralinda's plots, but it's obvious there's a bit of romance in the air.

The girl, Ellynor, is a member of one of the Lirren clans, who was sent to accompany her cousin, Rosurie, to the shrine, where her family hopes to keep Rosurie out of trouble, sending her away from a boy from a clan unallied with her own (shades of Hatfield and McCoy here). It's become apparent to Ellynor, though, that girls who come to the shrine are not allowed to leave later. What's not so apparent to her, but is apparent to anyone who's been following the series, is that the gift of healing that she has naturally, and some of her other abilities, mark her as a mystic. It's only a matter of time before someone in the cult figures it out and she is exposed, probably to be burned at the stake for her "crimes."

So, we have an undercover King's Rider who falls in love with a feisty, naive mystic. What could possibly go wrong? Shinn tells a great tale, as always, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

The Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn

This book is a sequel to Mystic and Rider, which was a pretty fun read. This reminds me why I've enjoyed having my own personal massive library for so long. Books in a series end up getting put in the library, and when new one comes out, I can re-read the earlier ones to get back up to speed before I start the fresh novel. Unfortunately, this novel had no "what has gone before" section, so I was wondering throughout just who all these peeps were.


Despite that, it was a fun novel. We have a kingdom with a young female heir, and everyone is involved in political maneuvering to be ready for the old king to die, so they can grab all the power possible. The king has appointed a regent, and the beginning of the story is about his rescue from kidnappers by a group of mystics and a king's rider (see previous title). This group is more or less protegees of the earlier group, but they seem to work well together, in this and other escapades throughout.

Nothing really earth-shattering happens, as far as the entire kingdom is concerned, in this sequel to M&R, but we discover more information about the powers of the mystics, some of the factional struggles become clearer, and there's an awful lot of schemes and assassination attempts made on the regent and the princess, which are thwarted quite nicely by our little group.

So, it's a bit of mindless entertainment, which is not exactly what we've come to expect from Shinn. She always tells a good story, but usually there's some sort of deeper meaning and more poignant internal struggles for her characters. Read the first one in the series, then this one, and you'll be amused for an evening or two. Or, you can wait till the series is complete and do them all in one fell swoop.

Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn

When I picked up a copy of The Thirteenth House, by Shinn, I just had to go back and re-read the first book in the series to refresh my memory of "that which has gone before." I enjoyed it nearly as much as the first time around (perhaps it's a short term memory loss thing).

In Mystic, we have a group of people - Tayse, a senior King's Rider, Justin, a novice Rider, Senneth, a powerful mystic, Kirra, a shape-shifting mystic, and Donnal, another shape-shifter - who have been sent on a mission by King Baryn to investigate rumors of dissent in the southern provinces. Early in their journey, they acquire another companion, Cammon, whom they rescue from a somewhat abusive state of domestic servitude, and who turns out to be a sensitive type of mystic; he can sense the thoughts and intentions of those around him.

This novel does a really good job of introducing us to about half of the provinces of Gillengaria, King Baryn's realm. As the group prepares to deal with each ruler, or marlord, there's a good bit of dialogue discussing their character, strengths and weaknesses, political leanings, and so forth. Also, during one long night around the fire, we get to hear the back story for each of the companions. Tayse is the quintessential military brat; his father was a Rider, and his grandfather before him. Justin grew up as a street urchin, but was recruited by Tayse after Justin attempted to rob him, and now is fiercely loyal to Tayse and the King's Riders for giving him a home and family, of sorts.

Senneth was born to a noble house, but was disowned by her father and spent years wandering alone through Gillengaria and surrounding regions before she was recruited by the King to use her mystic powers on his behalf, and spy for him, as well. Kirra is also a noble, but her father was more tolerant of her mystical abilities, and raised her in an atmosphere of love and support. Donnal is the son of a poacher living on Kirra's father's lands, who was brought to the estate to train with Kirra in the mystic arts. Cammon is an orphan, and finds in this odd group a sense of belonging he's never had before.

This series isn't as intensely emotional and powerful as her earlier Samaria books, but the political intrigue pretty well makes up for it. The villains, as well, have believable motivations and back stories. If I got into them in any depth, I'd have to give a spoiler alert, so I won't. The primary villains are a brother and sister, Halchon and Coralinda Gisseltesse. Halchon's need for power and influence lead him to begin his plotting to depose the king, and could embroil Gillengaria in a civil war. Coralinda is a religious fanatic, leader of the Sisters of the Pale Mother, and her self-proclaimed mission is to rid the land of all mystics, whom she believes are evil personified.

Mystic and Rider is a great yarn, and a great beginning to another well-written series by Shinn. It's out in paperback now, so pick it up and enjoy.