The Exiled Queen, by Cinda Williams Chima

I continue to enjoy this series, The Seven Realms.  It is fantasy with a medieval setting.  Lots of horses and a feudal sort of society.  Political intrigue and a struggle to retain/grasp power in the Seven Realms is the unfolding story.  Although the plot line is familiar to fantasy readers, Chima does a nice job of making the story fresh with engaging characters who have enough development to keep sophisticated readers engaged.

The queen-to-be, Princess Raisa, has gone undercover to escape a planned marriage (I'm going to try and avoid spoiling the plot line of the first book, The Demon King.  Meanwhile, the other major characters Han Alister, Hayden Fire Dancer, Amon Byrne, and Micha Bayar all end up together with Raisa (in disguise as Rebecca Morley) at the magic and military schools at Oden's Ford. 

The love triangle (or is in a quadrangle?) between Raisa, Han and Amon continues with "doomed" love between them all.  The fourth in the mix is Micha Bayar and he continues to play a part in the connection between the young protagonists in the book.

Of course there is magic involved.  Han, Fire Dancer, and Micha are gifted magicians while Raisa  and Amon are not.  Much of the plot that keeps the reader going is how Han is learning about his magic and dealing with other magicians who would like to use him for their own purposes.  Han has the Demon King's amulet as his magic "piece."  The implication is that he is the heir to the Demon King's great powers.  The Bayar's would like to regain the piece and its power.

While Han is learning about his magic, Raisa is learning about fighting and how to lead her country.  There is a sort of "King Arthur" flavor to her learning about her kingdom in the role of a citizen rather than leader.  

I will be finishing the series and will let you know if it falters.  Otherwise, assume that I still find it worth recommending to young readers who enjoy fantasy.  I think it would be a great recommendation to young adults who play World of Warcraft of League of Legends.  The plot/settings will resonate with the video games they play and will encourage some reading.

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.  

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

The second book of in the Kingkiller Chronicles is almost as compelling as the first.  We get two stories in one--the current tale of Kote, the inn keeper at the Waystone Inn, his assistant Bast, and the Chronicler who has come through looking for good tales.  In this "real time" story the world is a dangerous place with some sort of impending doom.  Kote and Bast have what appears to be some secret roll in fighting off the forces of evil.

In the other story, Kote is narrating his history as Kvothe to the Chronicler.  In this book we take up his story after his first years at the University (a school for magicians).  During this portion of the story we learn more about his education, the political intrigues at he University and in the world at large, and travel with him through various adventures.  The story told is indeed worthy of an epic.  There is one rather lengthy episode that I might have edited for "mature" content.  As it stands I will hesitate to recommend the series to high schoolers--at least not in an official capacity.  I might recommend it to students outside of school who I know are mature enough to handle some mature content.  Rothfuss' decision to include this is unfortunate.  I don't think it was necessary for the story.  (I worry that I'm becoming a prude--or just old, but I become impatient when a good story is spoiled by unnecessarily explicit sex/romance.)  Sometimes it feels as if authors believe they need to include it to get market share.  It could also be that I'm underestimating the importance of sex/romance to the average reader.  I'd love feedback on this.

That aside, the book kept me reading devotedly--missing sleep and neglecting other duties.  I should know better than to pick up a 1,000 page book at the beginning of a semester.  There is a twist at the end that would have me going out for the next book, but Rothfuss hasn't published it yet.  I'll have to be patient and fill in the time with other books.  If it were available I would be buying it.