The Riven Kingdom by Karen MillerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So, this book was the sequel to Empress by Karen Miller, which I found very surprising. The first book introduced us to Hekat, who quickly became apparent as the villain of the trilogy's arc. I kept reading, despite disliking Hekat, in the hopes that someone--anyone!--would give her what was coming to her.
The second book in the series introduces us to Hekat's foil--the Princess Rhiann--and it tickled me a little that Rhiann doesn't actually start out all that likable. I'd read this as a criticism of the book, but I think it's a deliberate ploy on the part of the author. Rhiann really does grow and change and mature as the book progresses, and if she'd started out perfect (gag) the story would be substantially less interesting.
So this book sets up what should be a fascinating confrontation between Hekat and her scorpion god (really a sacrifice-fueled demon) and Rhiann and her kinder, gentler (pseudo-Christian, probably real if somewhat absent) god. There's a lot going on here, under the surface, about religion and the nature of faith, and I'm very curious to see how it plays out in book three.
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