The Assassins of Tamurin FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The river god had spared the infant girl the villagers found drifting on a boat with a dead man and dying woman, so the superstitious townsfolk believed it would be a sacrilege to let the child die as well. The name Lale, meaning "lucky," is the last good thing they give her, and she grows up abused, unloved, and resented - until, at age eleven, she comes to the attention of Makina Seval, "Mother Midnight," the absolute ruler of the Despotate of Tamurin. Enrolled in Three Springs, the Despotana's special school for orphaned and unwanted girls, young Lale finally finds what she has always coveted: respect, affection, community...a home." "But Three Springs is an institution of dark and shadowy purpose, a place where the wards of Mother Midnight are trained to become perfect spies and cold-blooded, ruthlessly efficient killers. And Lale has learned her lessons well. At age twenty, she stands poised to play her role in the Despotana's grandest scheme: vengeance." "Years earlier Makina Seval's entire family - including her infant son, the rightful heir to the Bethiyan throne - was brutally slain through the plots of a devious chancellor, who then raised up a young usurper to be the Sun Lord. Now it is Lale's duty to insinuate her way into the court - and the bed - of that same usurper, Terem Rathai, no longer a child but a powerful and dangerous foe. And after she has earned Terem's trust, Lale is to kill him." "Bound by the blackest sorcery to remain loyal to her beloved Mother, Lale will suffer nightmarish torment - even death - if she fails. But once enmeshed in the web of deceit and treachery that has been spun around her, the young assassin begins to doubt the righteousness of her sworn mission. For not only will the Despotana's grand design bring doom upon the world itself, there hangs over Lale yet another appalling catastrophe - one that threatens all that she is, all she has ever believed." Lale has fallen in love with the man she must destroy.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In this well-crafted and absorbing romantic high fantasy debut, set in a land resembling ancient China, Lale, an 11-year-old foundling girl, is driven from her village of Riversong to take refuge with Makina, the ruler of Tamurin. Makina (aka the "Midnight Mother") runs the School of Serene Repose for the selected girls who are her adopted "daughters." At 17, Lale is one of the promising pupils dispatched to the School of Three Rivers, to be trained as a ninja, as part of Makina's longstanding plot for both personal and political vengeance on Terem Rathai, the ruler of neighboring Bethiya. Lale later arrives as an actress at Terem's capital, where she attracts the ruler's eye and is raised to the status of his established mistress, but she can't change sides completely or she'll die a horrible death by sorcery. However, her love for Terem grows, for he is attractive in both person and politics, and Makina's plots increasingly sicken. Eventually, the course of true love zigzags around invading armies, magic, misunderstandings and newly rediscovered ancestries to the expected happy ending. That ending may be somewhat rushed, with Nilang the sorceress acting like a dea ex machina and Terem being almost too forgiving, but even critical readers will have enjoyed the fine narrative technique, superior world-building and characterization. The author is also to be commended for heroic resistance to the temptation of turning the story into a trilogy. (Jan. 2) FYI: S.D. Tower is the pseudonym for a Canadian husband-and-wife team. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
VOYA
The debut novel by this Canadian husband-and-wife team vibrates with magic, intrigue, treachery, and madness. Young Lale is rescued from her lonely life as a village outcast to be raised as the adopted daughter of the Despotana of Tamurin. Lale matures from a bedraggled eleven-year-old to a stunningly beautiful twenty-year-old actress and spy. The Despotana seeks revenge against the Sun King, Terem Rathai, for the long-ago death of her young son. She has spent years building a spy network training the orphans she calls her daughters. The unsuspecting Lale is being molded into the woman who will seduce the Sun King. Using her acting skills, Lale becomes Terem's lover, sending the Despotana crucial information to thwart his attempts at reuniting his realm. Almost too late, Lale realizes she loves Terem and that the Despotana is quite insane and will stop at nothing to insure the Sun King's death, including helping the enemy, the barbaric Exile King, come to power. Nilang, the Despotana's sorcerer, reverses the death curse placed upon Lale, enabling her to break her allegiance to the Despotana. Lale sneaks into the enemy camp and assassinates the Exile King, saving Terem's life and proving her loyalty to him and his cause. Although the Sun Lord is perhaps more forgiving of Lale's treachery than expected and the story wraps up a bit too quickly, the reader enjoys the journey with Lale through this Asian-like fantasy realm populated by a cast of fascinating characters. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2003, HarperCollins, 454p, Cox
Library Journal
Cast out from her village for losing the precious needles needed by the townswomen, 11-year-old Lale finds a home with Makina, the ruler of Tamurin, who trains the girl as an assassin and sends her to the land of Bethiya to destroy its ruler, the Sun Lord, Terem Rathai. In Bethiya, however, Lale finds herself drawn to both the country and its ruler, and she begins to question her loyalties and her devotion to her cause-despite the danger to herself for disobeying her mistress. This fantasy debut by Tower (a pseudonym for a Canadian husband-wife writing team) features a determined young heroine who struggles to retain her honor in the face of conflicting allegiances. A good choice for fantasy and YA collections. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Debut fantasy from a pseudonymous Canadian husband (writer) and wife (artist) team. Cast out from her village, young foundling Lale runs into Makina, the ruling Despotana of Tamurin on the Pearl River. Surprisingly, the Despotana adopts Lale and enrolls her in school; all Mother requires in return is utter loyalty, which Lale happily gives. As the years pass, Lale grows into a young woman of striking beauty. Mother sends Lale to a special school in the mountains, where she learns the arts and crafts of spying and assassination; a magical binding will bring terrible wraiths down upon Lale should she reveals Mother's secrets. Mother, it seems, is plotting to destroy Terem, the young, charismatic ruler of neighboring Bethiya, whom Mother blames for the death of her son and family during an internecine conflict. Under Mother's orders, Lale develops her acting talents and joins a troupe that will perform before Terem. Lale fascinates Terem because of her uncanny resemblance to his dead wife. Subtly, Lale beguiles the young king, learning his plans and reporting everything to Mother, even Terem's ambition to drive out the hated Exiles, the barbarian horsemen who sacked the old Empire and since have brutally repressed the conquered territories. Lale begins to question her loyalty to Mother, wondering if indeed Mother is mad. She resolves to tell Terem everything, intending to take poison rather than face the wraiths. Glum, predictable, and ordinary.
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