Pros: Wonderful world; entrancing exploration of romance/friendship/attraction within the context of war and racism; good characters
Cons: Somewhat predictable; the book is slower than implied by the back cover text
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com.
Varian is the leader of the Na’Chi—the half-bloods nobody believed existed—who have come seeking sanctuary among humans. The Na’Chi came to the Light Blade council because in the world of their demonic Na’Reish parents, their existence alone is a death sentence. However, while the leader of the Light Blades and the Lady’s Temple Elect are willing to offer the half-breeds an alliance, many others aren’t so sure. The Na’Chi need a certain amount of blood to survive. They also possess physical attributes that make them quite dangerous to the average human, which angers and frightens many of those around them. It doesn’t help that there are years of racial hatred to contend with.
Varian and Kymora, the blind Temple Elect, spend a lot of time together. Everyone else can see what Varian wants to deny—that there’s no stopping the feelings developing between them. He’s afraid that if he allows himself to care for Kymora, she’ll become an even greater target for those fomenting discontent against his kind’s presence in the city. It doesn’t help that among the Na’Reish, anyone with such a physical imperfection as blindness would have been killed for the defect, and the Na’Chi on the whole have picked up a few Na’Reish prejudices. It isn’t only the humans who aren’t entirely unified.
Of course, Varian won’t have time to handle everything carefully and slowly. There are those determined to drive the Na’Chi away, or preferably, kill them all—even the small children. And they don’t care if their own Temple Elect stands in the way.
