≡ Libro The Assassins of Tamurin S D Tower 9780380806218 Books

The Assassins of Tamurin S D Tower 9780380806218 Books

Download As PDF : The Assassins of Tamurin S D Tower 9780380806218 Books

The Assassins of Tamurin S D Tower 9780380806218 Books

I just love this book! I read it a few times when I was younger, then lost track of the book. It took forever trying to find it again. very glad I was able to find it finally. It has a good, engaging story line and love-able characters. Grammar and punctuation is 100%


Tags : The Assassins of Tamurin [S. D. Tower] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. She was only eleven years old and an orphan, yet the people of Lale's village hated her and drove her into the wilderness. Cast out,S. D. Tower,The Assassins of Tamurin,Harper Voyager,0380806215,Fantasy - General,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy

The Assassins of Tamurin S D Tower 9780380806218 Books Reviews

Instead of waiting its turn patiently on my "to be read" pile of books, this novel set up a hue and cry that was not to be ignored. However, after recently finishing the new Thieves' World novel, I was uncertain as to whether or not my view would be colored where further fantasy novels were concerned. Thankfully, I was not disappointed with S.D.'s efforts. This is a tale that will launch a strong career for this author.
When I was reading this I thought it was too good to be a first effort, the story flows along effortlessly, drawing you further and further in. Much like a good espionage thriller, although the elements are somewhat different as it is a fantasy setting. A very believable world was created, and is the perfect setting for this epic masterpiece. From beginning to end it flows like the very river that carried a babe to safety, starting her on a new path in life.

Lale, whose name means "lucky" grew up anything but. Found in the company of a corpse in a boat that floundered ashore, the tiny foundling was given a home by the superstitious river folk. They believed that since the river god saved her, it would be blasphemy not to offer her shelter. Sadly, that is all that they gave her. Lale grew up as the epitome of an abused child. Her life was loveless, emotionless, and filled with impatience and beatings, an existence that really might have been better not to have.

That all changed one dark and fateful day. Lale lost the valued possession of the women, she lost the silver needles needed for sewing. This caused her to be cast forth from the hearts and eyes of the village. She didn't exist in their eyes, no shelter was given, no food, and no contact at all. Lale dealt well with this at first, after all, it wasn't so bad, nobody was beating on her anymore. In short time, she turned her sight to far places and a chance for happiness, a one-time grab at the gold ring.

This could have had disaster written all over it, but fortune indeed smiled kindly upon this young woman, and guided her footsteps to safety. It didn't hurt that she had one of the most powerful women in all of Durdane searching for her, the Despotana Makina Seval, also known as Mother Midnight to her students. Makina has one thing on her mind, vengeance against those who slew her infant son, the son who was to be the next ruler. A long time has she woven her web, patience is one of her many gifts, and it is about to pay off.

Lale is the unwitting tool of Mother Midnight, an assassin who will be put to the utmost test of her loyalty and her skills. Will the arts of assassination that she learned at Three Springs school be called upon to kill the man who has given her life a new meaning and focus? Must she sacrifice current happiness to repay the women who offered her love and a home? Lale is deeply embedded within a web of lies, and time is running out as she fights to discover the truth.

This is a great read, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from Canada's mysterious S.D. Tower!

[...]
The Assassins of Tamurin is a fantasy novel about politics and love. More than twenty-four centuries ago, the "Durdana came in ships from a snowy land far across the sea and sailed far up the Pearl River until we found the place appointed for us ... There we built our first villages in what was to become ... our realm, Durdane." Thirteen centuries ago, the Founder established the chief city, Seyhan the Luminous. Then, a century ago, the Exiles came through Jugen Pass, fought for a warring Emperor, and then turned against him to conquer half of Durdana. The remainder is split into an imperial successor state, Bethiya, and ten Despotates. When the leader of the Exiles died, the conquered part of Durdana is divided into six Exile kingdoms.
Bethiya is ruled by the Sun Lords. Several years previously, the two great bloodlines in Bethiya, the Danjians and the Tanyelis, fought at the Water Terrace of the Sun Lord's palace and killed off most of the males in both families. The Chancellor at that time, Halis Geray, persuaded the Council of Ministers to select someone from another bloodline as Sun Lord. Terem Rathai was choosen because he was from a distinguished military family which had dwindled to a very few; in order to reduce favoritism, one condition for receiving the throne was that all his relatives, except his mother, would be banned from Kurjain, the capital city.
In this novel, Lale is an eleven year old orphaned girl living with foster parents in Riversong, a small village at the end of the road. One day, she is sent with the communal sewing needles to the Bee Goddess's priestess, but loses them crossing a creek. When she returns, she is almost killed by her foster parents and neighbors before the village priest can stop the beating. They sentence her to Negation -- i.e., everyone acts as if she does not exist -- but food and water is left out for her use. At first she enjoys the rest and freedom, but later she begins to feel lonely and disassociated from village life and realizes that she must leave or die. She announces her intentions and needs to the village and they just happen to leave a few supplies lying around for her to take.
On the road to elsewhere, she briefly encounters Master Lim, who is a traveling bard, and renews their acquaintance, but he is killed by bandits. After they steal almost everything and leave, she lays out Master Lim and continues on her way. She soon meets a party of soldiers escorting a woman and three girls. The woman is Makina Seval, the Despotana of Tamurin, and she invites Lale to join her school for orphans in Chiran. There the Despotana adopts her, gives her the surname Navari, and assigns her a birthday, as she has done for each orphan in the school. Moreover, she assigns a tutor to teach her to read and then places her in classes.
Part of her training has been the history of Durdana, taught by the Despotana, with emphasis on the death of the Despotana's child at the Water Terrace. She explains to the girls that the wicked Chancellor encouraged the evil Tanyelis to butcher her husband's family and her child, the future Sun Lord. She also points out that the current Sun Lord is a usurper. She encourages them to hate the Chancellor and the current Sun Lord, but ensures that they will never to tell anyone else how she and they feel.
Six years later, Lale completes her schooling and, even though exempted as a girl, takes the Universal Examination, on which she does very well. After the school completion ceremony, the Despotana gives each girl a choice of careers, but Lale has to choose between apprenticing with the Tradition Tutoress or serving the Moon Lady at Three Springs. Moreover, she cannot remain with her best friend, Dilara, if she studies to replace the Tradition Tutoress. Both resignly choose Three Springs, but find out after they arrive that it is really a school for spies and assassins.
After years of training at Three Springs, Lale is sent to Master Luasin's acting school in Istana. Months later, Lale travels as an apprentice with the Elder Company to Kurjain, where she has been ordered to gain the attention of the Sun Lord. She closely resembles his newly dead wife, so she makes the resemblance a matter of general gossip. Terem sends for her after hearing reports of her appearance. They spend a hour or two every few days just discussing a wide range of topics and gradually they fall in love. Eventually she becomes his Inamorata, less than a wife and more that a mistress.
In their discussions, Terem describes his plans to restore the former lands and unity of the old Empire. With her training in political affairs, she realizes that he may be the only one who can accomplish this and, without such unity, Durdana is doomed to either fade away or fall to the Exile kingdoms. Her love for her homeland is conflicting with her love for the Despotana. Then she discovers who her family had been.
This novel strongly resembles a classical Chinese tale of the Time of Troubles and the invasion of the nomad hordes, but it also reflects the landscapes and urban scenes of Renaissance Venice and the Netherlands. It is a tale of exotic places, with strange sounding names. It is a romance that doesn't dwell upon love, yet the various loves in Lale's life -- Durdana itself, the Despotana, and Terem -- produce her turmoil of conflicting emotions.
The story flows well, with most plot twists hinted well ahead of time. Even the actions of Nilang, the Despotana's sorceress, are consistent throughout the tale. The story is also filled with descriptions of sights and smells, so that the reader can easily imagine the surroundings. It is apparent that the authors are not rank amateurs at writing fantasy. I certainly hope that they continue writing in this field.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys tales of foreign climes, desperate adventures, and divided loyalties.
I just love this book! I read it a few times when I was younger, then lost track of the book. It took forever trying to find it again. very glad I was able to find it finally. It has a good, engaging story line and love-able characters. Grammar and punctuation is 100%