Sword Masters, Selina Rosen, 2008, ISBN 9781896944654
Tarius, of the land of Kartik, travels to the neighboring land of Jethrik to join their swordmaster academy. The two his parents have been killed by the Amalites, and Jethrik is at the moment at war with the Amalites, so Tarius desires to destroy Amalites. He speedily distinguishes himself as an skilled with the sword, and is observed by Darian, the headmaster, and by King Persius. Tarius also attracts the discover of Jena, Darian's daughter, who only has eyes for Tarius. He tries every thing possible to push her away, to no avail. Tarius is hiding a large secret, which will not keep secret permanently Tarius is a woman.
Jethrik is a land of rigidly defined gender roles among them is the absolute prohibition on women wielding steel. Tarius leads a number of effective campaigns towards the Amalites. Persius gets the Amalites to depart Jethrik land, and agree to a peace treaty (in excess of Tarius' strong objections). Beings like the Amalites, with a philosophy of Convert or Die, will not be bound by a piece of paper they will be back.
At some point, Tarius' secret is exposed, and, as anticipated, Persius, Darian and Jena hit the roof. Tarius is to be immediately executed, by becoming dragged throughout the kingdom, tied to the back of a horse. She is helped by buddies, nursed back to well being, and heads home back to Kartik. Jena is forced to marry Tragon, a man she despises. After her repeated refusal to let him into her bed, Tragon unintentionally kills her unborn kid, and Jena kills Tragon. For a wife to destroy her husband is a major offense, so Jena is convinced that fleeing to Kartik, to see if Tarius will consider her back, is a really very good idea.
This is an excellent piece of writing. It truly is a sword and sorcery novel with an emphasis a lot more on the "sword" than the "sorcery." The reader will not be disappointed.
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