The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima

A student (thanks Stephanie!) recommended this to me.  I'm hooked!  In fact, I had to exert a great deal of self-discipine to drive past the library this morning.  I badly wanted to pick up the next book in the series, but have four other library books stacked up that I need to read first.  (As well as mountains of papers/projects to read.)

I figured out much of the plot as I was reading, but Chima's story telling skills got me through to the end.  I now want to know what happens next as the two main characters, Han Alister, and Raisa ana'Marianna are drawn together toward what appears to be a disastrous attempt to escape the dangers facing them.  The characters in the book are given enough depth to move this book beyond the simple popular series format into something substantial that can be read as a parallel or entry level book into more classic books.  It will appeal to readers who like the Lord of the Rings.  I would use it as a companion piece to The Odyssey.

I think I had best wait until the end of the semester to pick up the next title in the series.