Dayton, Gail
THE COMPASS ROSE
Gail Dayton
Luna 2005
Trade Paper 454 pages
ISBN#
0-373-80216-1
The "Luna" book mark means fantasy with romance, usually with a strong female protagonist. To me it also means the "Walt Disney" flavor: Good verses evil, and good always wins. Expecting that, COMPASS ROSE offers a fun venture into a magical world of two continents connected by an isthmus where the northern continent is a patriarchy and the southern a matriarchy. And of course they are at war against each other.
Captain Kallista Varyl is a warrior mage, a position known as naitan in the land of Adara. When faced with a losing battle, Kallista calls upon the aid of her goddess, the One, and is granted a magic stronger than any in history, a magic so strong it even frightens her own people. The Adarans win and Kallista discovers her goddess has marked the back of her neck with the symbol of a compass rose. Others have been marked as well, though it takes Kallista time to discover this and find these others who are likewise marked by the goddess to join Kallista on a journey into enemy territory to destroy the demon that rides on the shoulder of the king of Tibre.
The fun part about COMPASS ROSE is the societal set up in Adara. Marriages there aren't between two people but a minimum of four, up to twelve sometimes. So, for Kallista's magic to be effective against the demon, she must join in marriage with the other people who have been marked by the goddess. Four men and two women--not as much sex as you would expect, but there are three good love scenes in the book, not counting the orgasmic magic that often passes between these marked people.
COMPASS ROSE doesn't have the best copy-editing I've ever seen, but it reads well, and if this is the kind of story you like to read, I do recommend it. The world-building is intricate and the characterization is well balanced with the plot. There's some light humor, and the action is well woven with tension. Read COMPASS ROSE and learn with Kallista what it is to love other people and to have faith in the One.
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