Forging the Sword

Book: Forging the Sword (book three of the Farsala Trilogy)
Author: Hilari Bell
Audience: Teen to Adult
In a Nutshell: the fighting gets desperate, spiffy new swords and magical lightning enter the picture, and will the real Sorahb please step forward?

Soraya, Jiann and Kavi are back for the action-packed conclusion of this historical fantasy trilogy. I made up that sub-genre, do you like it? I think it fits. The lands of Farsala and Hrum are fictional, but Farsala seems a lot like ancient Persia or another proud old culture, and the Hrum seem a lot like Romans. I could call it high fantasy, but there's not a huge amount of magic. So I'm going with historical fantasy. Take it or leave it.

Anyway, the story so far is that the mighty Hrum empire has already conquered 28 other lands, and now it's Farsala's turn. To avoid costly, drawn-out wars, the Hrum give themselves a self-imposed time limit: if they can't conquer a land in one year, they stop fighting and make peace. There are now only 3 months left, and even though the Farsalan nobility (called deghans) were almost all wiped out, the scrappy peasant army led by Jiann is holding its own. With the help of the mysterious desert people, the Suud, they've finally figured out the secret to the Hrum's nearly unbreakable swords (hence the title). Soraya has also gotten a much better handle on her shilshadu, a kind of elemental, nature-based magic. And Kavi is still making amends and doing vital work for Farsala's war effort, but Jiann still intends to kill him when it's over for betraying lots of innocent nobles, including he and Soraya's father, so that's kind of a killjoy for Kavi. Then there's the question of whether there is a real Sorahb, or if he's just a mythical hero invented by peasants.

It all comes to a head with lots of battles, tricky guerilla fighting, spying, working with the enemy, noble sacrifice, and a bit of magical thunderstorm control. If you like a healthy dose of political intrigue with your action, magic, and battle scenes, the Farsala Trilogy is a good one to try. Actually, everything I've read by Hilari Bell is consistently good, so try it out.

Bella at Midnight

Book: Bella at Midnight
Author: Diane Stanley
Audience: Grades 5 to 8
In a Nutshell: girl saves prince and country in this fairy tale style story

Isabela, called Bella, is the daughter of a knight, but since her crotchety widowed father has no interest in raising her, she lives with a loving adoptive family, the blacksmith and his wife Beatrice in the village of Castle Down. It happens that Beatrice was nursemaid to Prince Julian, one of the younger princes, and Julian is constantly spending time in the village visiting them. He and Bella were raised almost as brother and sister, but as you might guess, that relationship changes as they get older, although neither quite realize it at first.

When the father she never knew she had remarries, he calls her back to live with the family (which, of course, includes two stepsisters). She is treated like a servant and actually prefers the comfort of that role, which is more like her peasant upbringing.

Not so long ago, their kingdom had a long and costly war with neighboring Brutanna. To avoid repeating history, Julian is being required by his family to become a hostage in Brutanna, and being a dutiful prince, Julian is willing to go through with it. Even though he snubbed her last time they met, Bella still worries about her friend; even moreso when she hears that his brother, now the king and not the most upright candidate for the job, is planning on attacking Brutanna in secret, even though it will mean the death of his captive brother. Villain! Bella sets out alone on a journey to Brutanna in the hopes of somehow warning or rescuing Julian. To help her, she has a magical emerald ring that shows her people she wants to see. Then there is the legend of the Worthy Knight, a character who is supposed to return and bring peace.

Bits of various folk and fairy tales show up, most obviously Cinderella, but this is more of a mash-up than a cover, an original story that feels very familiar. A lovely tale with lots of heart, honor and bravery, not to mention battle action and romance.