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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN num: 9780765348678
ISBN number: 0765348675
Label: Tor Fantasy
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 536
Printing Date: June 13, 2005
Publishing house: Tor Fantasy
Release Date: May 31, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 313053
Studio: Tor Fantasy
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Product Description:
In Medalon, Book One of the Hythrun Chronicles, Tarja Tenragen and his half-sister R'shiel were forced to lead a rebellion against their power hungry mother, who ruled Medalon as the First Sister of the Blade. But their mother's defeat came at great cost: not only does it leave Medalon vulnerable to invasion, R'shiel is mortally wounded.
As Treason Keep begins, R'shiel is on the brink of death. Her only hope is the healing powers of the Harshini--magical beings long thought extinct. Even they will be hard-pressed to save the Demon Child of prophecy . . .
On Medalon's northern border, Tarja and the Defenders are far too few to stand against the invaders from Karien, even with the new fortifications built onto Treason Keep. The only thing that can save them is an alliance with Hythria, with whom the Medalon have been skirmishing for generations. But can Tarja trust Damin Wolflblade, warlord and heir to the throne of Hytrhia, with whom Tarja has personally crossed blades upon the field of battle?
Meanwhile, King Hablet of Fardohnya weds his eldest daughter, the stunningly beautiful but shrewish Princess Adrina, to the Karien Heir. Hablet hopes to place his grandchild on the Karien throne. But the wayward and rebellious Adrina has her own plans, and the fate of three nations dangle upon her insolent whim.
Featuring a heady blend of political intrigue, war, and one of the great love-hate relationships in fantasy fiction, Treason Keep is sure to please the many fans of epic fantasy.
(09/06/2004)
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Rated by buyers 
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I'm a big fan of these books, if you liked Medalon, you won't be disappointed by Treason Keep or Harshini. Both an enjoyable read.
Rated by buyers -
Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon is the second novel in the Hythrun Chronicles. The very first novel is Medalon (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 1) and the third is titled Harshini (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 3). For American readers, there may be some confusion surrounding this series. It was very first published in Australia as The Demon Child trilogy and another trilogy titled The Wolfblade Trilogy; Wolfblade, Warrior, and Warlord. However, when these books migrated to America they were combined to create the Hythrun Chronicles. So, if you see this myriad of names and titles, they are all talking about the same novels.
The plot of this novel carries over from the very first novel. The Demon Child has been revealed and there are various deities and factions trying to influence the Demon Child's choices and destiny. That is the main solidifying plot point of this novel; however there are a variety of sub plots mixed in as well. There are several multi-layered political sub plots, involving the Sisterhood, the Defenders, and the King of Fardohnya. The Demon Child's story, and purpose, is further explained with just the right amount of detail as to explain some questions from the very first book, but also to add a few questions for the subsequent novel as well. There are a couple minor plot elements that I am hesitant to discuss due to potential spoiler material. When all is said and done, this novel is packed full of large scale plot items, as well as smaller more intimate plot points and the balance is near perfect. It really leaves me wanting to read the subsequent book and find out what happens.
The characters in his novel are largely the same ones that appear in the very first novel. The main two make, as expected, return appearances. Tarja and R'shiel are the two who the novel focuses on. Readers are also drawn into a couple other character's stories; Princess Adrina, and Damin Wolfblade. The addition of more characters takes away from some of the limelight the `main' characters, but that may be a good thing with this book. At the start of the novel I felt myself becoming somewhat disinterested in the two main characters after they somewhat dominated the very first book. With the addition of the new characters in relation to the central characters, Ms. Fallon takes some of the pressure away from the main characters while fleshing them out at the same time. R'shiel's character is really developed in his novel, as is Adrina's. However, once I finished the novel I felt myself being underwhelmed by the cast of characters. This could very well be a matter of the very first book being so good that this one had unfair expectations to live up to. Simply put, aside from a minor character in this book, Mikel, the rest of the characters just didn't do overly much for me. They were well written, I just had difficulty really connecting with them and thereby by not really caring about them. Like I said, maybe I was hoping for too much.
A couple criticisms about this novel:
1 - Some of the dialogue seems really out of place. There are a couple of passages in particular where once I read them they simply did not seem like they belonged in the book. Nor did they feel like they came from the characters they were supposed to come from.
2 - Much like the very first book, some parts of this book felt entirely too predictable for me. I would have liked to seen the classic archetypes/clichés changed up a little to feel fresh and new. Instead, more often than not my assumptions of what was going to happen proved true.
Some positives about this novel:
1 - Ms. Fallon's prose is very good. It's tight, crisp, and flows easily. I don't believe there was ever a time while reading this book that I stumbled over the prose and had to reread a sentence or section. Being that this is only her second novel, I am looking forward to seeing how she refines her prose further.
2 - I appreciated the changes in point of view during the story. They were almost always placed exactly where they should be. Meaning that once a section had served it's purpose, Ms. Fallon had no qualms about switching to another part of the story. I have read a few authors that seem to become infatuated with a certain point of view and have it run too long. That's not the case with this novel.
Overall, when all is said and done this is certainly a very good addition to the Hythrun Chronicles. It's a solid story, with solid characters. I do not thin it reaches the greatness that I felt with Medalon, it just misses on that account. But, this is certainly a book, and series I will be recommending to others. I am looking forward to the last book in this trilogy to see how it all plays out. Hopefully, there are some surprises in store.
Rated by buyers -
Treason Keep, the sequel to Medalon, is more of the same: a fast pace and fun characters overshadow the not-so-tight plot.
Jennifer Fallon keeps things interesting by expertly developing a couple of characters who were briefly introduced in her very first book: Damin Wolfblade, an intelligent barbarian warlord (always a good thing, in my opinion), and Adrina, a spoiled princess whose daddy wants to marry her off because he's tired of paying for her escapades -- she just demolished the city's wharf while trying to dock a nobleman's yacht while she was drunk (the yacht sank). I was impressed with how Ms Fallon gave us very short but meaningful glimpses of Damin and Adrina in the very first novel -- their personalities in Treason Keep were completely consistent with what we had previously learned about them, and it was clear that Ms Fallon had consciously prepared that. I noticed this sort of preparation for the future in this novel, too. For example, at one point, Tarja tells Damin that he'll owe him a big favor, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a reminder of this in a later installment.
So Damin and Adrina join Tarja and R'shiel, the established main characters who we already know and love, and several other old and new characters, making this novel both familiar and fresh. Fallon effectively uses different characters' points of view to tell the story (Adrina's point of view is particularly entertaining) and there is enough humour and romance to counterbalance some of the disturbing and violent events.
There were a few things that just didn't make sense to me, however. For example, Joyhinia is now out of commission and a large group of the Defenders have broken off from the Sisterhood and gone north to defend Medalon from the Kariens without permission of the Sisters. There is a lot of fretting about how to trick the quorum into making Mahina First Sister so that she can sanction their plans and send more Defenders. An elaborate and unreliable scheme is contrived when it seems safer, and more likely to work, to just go to the quorum and tell them the truth: "Hey sisters, look at Joyhinia. She's lost her mind and there's a bunch of our enemies massed at the border. Could we appoint a new leader and send some troops to defend the country?"
Also, the religious and magical systems seem arbitrary and convenient. It's not quite clear what gods and demons can do (and when), why R'shiel can call them to help her sometimes but not other times, what kinds of powers she has, and how the magic works. And why does she wear Harshini dragon rider leathers but never rides a dragon?
The plot of Treason Keep is not drum-tight, but the characterization and pleasant writing style make this an enjoyable read nonetheless.
~ FanLit.net
Rated by buyers -
Jennifer Fallon continues to provide a robust and entertaining world. Each book in the series simply wets the appetite for MORE! I'll be sad when I read the last book, because there isn't another after :(
Sam
Rated by buyers 
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I loved Treason Keep just as much as I did Medalon. I can't wait to get Harshini so I can finish the trilogy. I am excited to start reading Fallon's many other trilogies.
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