Publisher’s Description
Liobhan, the young warrior and bard, has lost her brother to the Otherworld. Even more determined to gain a place as an elite fighter, she returns to Swan Island to continue her training. But Liobhan is devastated when her comrade Dau is injured and loses his sight in their final display bout. Blamed by Dau’s family for the accident, she agrees to go to his home, Oakhill, as a bond servant for one year.
But Oakhill is a place of dark secrets. The menacing and enigmatic Crow Folk still threaten both worlds and while Brocc battles them in the Otherworld, Dau must battle his own demon – despair.
When Liobhan and Dau begin to expose the evil at the core of Oakhill, they place themselves in mortal danger. For their enemy wields great power and will stop at nothing to get his way. It will take all the skills of a Swan Island warrior and a touch of the uncanny to give them any hope of survival . . .
Review
I recently read A Dance with Fate (Warrior Bards, #2) by Australian fantasy author Juliet Marillier.
Following from the events of The Harp of Kings, Swan Island warriors Liobhan and Dau are competing for recognition among the band of trained warriors and spies who live on Swan Island, when tragic accident in a bout between Liobhan and Dau finds Dau severely injured and blinded. Claiming recompense for Dau’s injuries and blindness, Liobhan is made a bond-servant to the family estate for one year.
But events at Dau’s home estate of Oakhill are as uneasy as the ones he fled years before with darkness and deceit lingering over the place. In the Otherworld, Brocc is encountering his own trials as the numbers of the Crow folk grow and uncanny people under the protection of his Queen are increasingly injured and he is forced into a bargain that puts them all in jeopardy.
Final Thoughts
A well-written novel that followed effortlessly from A to further develop the three main characters of Brocc , Liobhan, and Dau At times the pace did feel slow and the content more heavily focused on the mortal realm, but as with the first novel in the series, the balance between the mortal realm and Otherworld is a key theme. Indeed, the three characters are challenged to further themselves in the mortal realm such as is the case for Dau, whereas Brocc has chosen his life in the Otherworld and it is Liobhan who truly walks the path between both worlds – those two people closest to her, her Swan island companion Dau, and her brother, an Otherworld bard.
Conclusion
A Dance with Fate is a highly recommended Fantasy novel. Readers who have enjoyed previous works by Juliet Marillier will enjoy this well-crafted historical fantasy, or those who are seeking a new experience of historical fantasy where the line between dark ages history and Otherworld legend is nicely balanced.
** I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review **
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