Spring returns to the Plains, and with it, the Time of the Challenges, when warrior fights warrior in a contest for rank and status. For Simus of the Hawk, now is the time to raise his challenge banner, to fight for the chance to finally become Warlord. But his deadliest challenge does not come from other warriors, or even the sundered Council of Elders. For on the first night of the Challenges, … Challenges, a mysterious and deadly pillar of white light scorches the night sky—instantly changing everything for the People of the Plains.
Now a warrior-priestess, Snowfall, stands before Simus, who dares to speak of peace, of reconciliation. Her knives are sharp, her tattoos alluring, and her cool grey eyes can look through Simus and see…everything.
Now Simus and Snowfall must solve the mystery of the pillar of white light, and protect their people from all the destruction and chaos it brings. Snowfall fights for her place beside Simus, despite resistance from friend and foe.
The warrior-priests have abused their power for many years. Can Simus face the challenge of trusting Snowfall with his honor? And perhaps . . . with his heart?
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In April (2017), Elizabeth Vaughan released WARDANCE, another installment in her Warlands (and related) series, which began with 2005’s WARPRIZE. I didn’t realize it was on the horizon — in fact I kind of thought the series was over — and am posting this review for others in the same boat. The Warlands series has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. It reminds me of an old desert swashbuckler movie, like I ought to be munching on a big bowl of popcorn when reading it. That said, Ms. Vaughan made the USA Bestseller List and, as every cover tells us, Anne McCaffrey liked it. However, the Warlands series, which is up to 8 books now, has had a somewhat complicated life which bears explaining. WARPRIZE is the story of Lara, an underappreciated princess and plucky masterhealer in the mountainous (and sort of midieval-ish) kingdom of XY, who is given by her scheming brother-the-king as a “warprize” to Kier of the Cat, the tall dark and handsome leader of the People of the Plains (think Mongols crossed with Native Americans), who have been raiding Xy for generations. OK, so the first 3 books (WARPRIZE, WARLORD, and WARSWORN) follow in pretty quick order, all involving the same cast of characters. Then, in 2008 comes DAGGER STAR, a more sword-and-sorcery take on 2 female mercenaries who wander into a corrupt kingdom. DAGGER STAR and its follow-up WHITE STAR is set on the same planet as XY but in a completely different country with completely different people. So it seems like a whole new series. But, wait, next comes DESTINY’S STAR (#6 by my count), which begins when the hero and heroine who were sucked into a magic vortex in the last book are dropped from the sky to land — hold onto your popcorn bowls — in the middle of the Plains and not only back with characters introduced in the first 3 books but picking up right after WARSWORN (#3) ended. Then, in 2011, WARCRY is released which is set in XY with the characters from the first 3 books but takes place (unbeknownst to them) at the same time as everything happening on the Plains in DESTINY’S STAR. And then nothing. But now, now in 2017 we’ve got WARDANCE, which continues the story of SImus of the Hawk, an important and charming side character in the first 3 books, picking up on the Plains right after the events of DESTINY’S STAR and overlapping a tiny bit with WARCRY. (I told you it was complicated.) So, yes, I recommend this series. It’s a fun read with entertaining world-building and, yes, there’s good-looking heroes and heroines, politics, humor, mild sex, not-graphic violence, and — surprisingly – some pathos when nice characters actually die, but it skips the gritty and depressing vibe of, say, Game of Thrones. I enjoyed WARDANCE, but I would recommend reading WARPRIZE first and moving through the series in order. Also, I have to warn you that, just like the earlier books, it ends with a cliffhanger scene that just screams “to be continued”. However, I believe Ms. Vaughan is self-publishing these now and hopes to put out another book next year.
This is 6th book in series. Vaughan first book is Warprize. She does such a good job of world building and development of two very different cultures. The authors that come to mind for worldbuilding are Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey. come to mind She has 2 spinoff in the same world that might tie in later. Each book stands alone but they tie together. Vaughan is good at including the darker elements of real life without letting the overall story become overly dark and menacing.