REVIEW: The Warrior's Path by Catherine M. Wilson

The Warrior's Pathby Catherine M. Wilson
Publishing information: eBook(Kindle Edition)
Publisher: ShieldMaiden Press, 1^stOctober 2008
ISBN 10: 0981563619 (Paperback)
ISBN13: 978-0981563619 (Paperback)

ASIN:B001MBU7EK
Series: WhenWomen Were Warriors
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer:Kathryn

Blurb:“In Book I of thetrilogy, Tamras, our hero, arrives in Merin’s house to begin herapprenticeship as a warrior, but her small stature causes many,including Tamras herself, to doubt that she will ever become acompetent swordswoman. To make matters worse, the Lady Merin assignsher the position of companion, little more than a personal servant,to a woman who came to Merin’s house, seemingly out of nowhere, theprevious winter, and this stranger wants nothing to do with Tamras.

Tamras’s journey begins with the smallest ofsteps. She sets aside her disappointment and performs as well as shecan the humble tasks given her, and eventually she succeeds inwinning the trust and then the friendship of the cantankerous warriorto whom she has been assigned. 

 

In the first year of her journey, Tamras willmake a series of choices that often seem insignificant, but they willflow from her character and from her good intentions, and they willdetermine her destiny.”

The Warrior's Pathis the first book in Catherine M. Wilson's WhenWomen Were Warriorsseries, a historical fiction-cum-fantasy set in Bronze Age England.In it, we follow Tamras as she follows in her mother's footsteps totake her place as a warrior. However, before she is given her shield,she must rise through the ranks from a lowly companion to theposition that is rightfully hers, and to do that she must makefriends, learn the ways of the world and serve the Lady Merin in anyway possible. Yet, to earn what is hers, Tamras must discoverherself, find her warrior and overcome her doubts, worries andnaiveté.

Ihave to say I found this book to go beyond my expectations. It's froma small press I'd never heard of, and instead I was greeted with abook that surpasses the quality of even some of the bigger genrepublishers. I was gripped from the start, reading for two hours inone night and then finishing it off the following morning, somethingvery unusual for me. The writing is absolutely superb, it's neveroverindulgent nor hard to understand, and the pacing is beautiful. Ialso liked how the characters interacted and whilst some were alittle hard to tell apart or simply dropped in without too muchcontext, it never took away from the story as it echoed what Tamraswould have felt.

WhilstI normally gloss over or shy away from intimate moments in books, Icouldn't turn away from them in this one. Tamras sleeps with anothergirl a couple of times, and each time it's beautiful, erotic andsensual, yet never pornographic or something along those lines.Wilson creates this amazing feeling around those scenes, and I mustconfess I was left pining for such experiences myself. That's howpowerful Wilson's writing is with this book, you can feel theemotions and the way the characters interact with each other.

Inormally have faults to pick at, but with this book I'm failing tofind many. Any faults with it are by far made up for by how touchingand intimate it can be. There are times when it feels a littlerepetitive in that some phrases are often used frequently in a shortperiod of time. For example, at one point a ritual occurs and acharacter seems to change. From that point onwards, they're referredto as “the person who was not...”, and this opens a number ofparagraphs that follow, but taken into context it could be the resultof Tamras being a little overwhelmed. I also felt the more spiritualor magical moments to sometimes be a little disorienting, but again,it seems to fit in with the character's experience. Whilst it seemsto close fairly nicely, it's definitely left open for a sequel andthe plot itself isn't particularly visible. Rather than having a firmgoal set, instead Wilson takes us through the events of Tamras' life,and this is a refreshing break from a protagonist being destined tosave the princess/world/cheerleader.

Tome, this book is everything I've been looking for in fantasy lately.Great characters, beautiful moments of intense yet not disturbinglygraphic eroticism, a fairly diverse cast and an ability to grab me.It's like what would have happened if Jane Yolen had dropped thegender politics and pseudo-historical sections from the GreatAltaseries, and had injected it with a dose of passion. We're alsotreated to Aesop'sFables-esquestories from time to time, each of which fits in with the sorts oftales that would have been passed around at camp-fires, and each hasits own lesson. One of the most memorable ones was a story of threebrothers and a stone giant, and they really add to the world thatWilson has created.

Highlyrecommended to everyone, but especially those looking for a tastefulgenre read with a lesbian protagonist, a fantasy/historical fictionhybrid or just a great story with an emphasis on female characters.Fans of Jane Yolen, Robin Hobb or Elizabeth Moon's initial Paksworldtrilogy may also wish to check this out.

Plot:8/10
Characters: 8/10
Style: 10/10

Overall:9/10