Warrior

by Marie Brennan

Book Overview

Mirage, a bounty hunter, lives by her wits and lethal fighting skills. She always gets her mark. But her new mission will take her into the shadowy world of witches, where her strength may be no match... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316027057
• ISBN13: 9780316027052
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Orbit
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

A Breath of Fresh Air

I have to say, I am so glad that I read this book. I can't take books where you can figure things out. Or where an author decides that creating a new world doesnt require a lot of detail, or that they shouldn't even bother creating new language and words. But Marie Brennan does. She may not create a new landscape, but the world is amazing. It's not about vampires and witches or werewolves. It's about the Hunters and Witches. There are ranks and different aspects of being a witch. I was very intrigued by the book, and completely engrossed. it's not your typical story of a poor girl coming of age and finding she's the answer to the end of times. But regular girls, well not regular per se, but girls who figure things out that could change. Not that the world is about to end. It's a nice spin on the Goddess aspect, and I really recommend it to everyone. sorry to be vague, I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Review

Eclipse and Mirage are bounty hunters. They will track down whomever their job requires them to follow. Their latest assignment has Mirage and Eclipse being commissioned by some witches to go after an extremely powerful witch. For Mirage this will be an interesting journey as she too is a witch. The Primes, a high counsel informs Mirage that the witch she is after is unique. The Primes tell Mirage that when witches are born, a doppelganger is formed. A doppelganger is the witch's twin. Every doppelganger is killed so that the witch can master her powers. If the doppelganger was to survive then the witch would need to kill her/his doppelganger or their magic could consume the witch and eventually destroy them. It will be a battle to the end when Mirage comes face to face with her doppelganger, Miryo. Warrior by Marie Brennan shocked me by how good it ended up becoming. I expected and hoped that it would be good but not this good. I am so happy as it made reading Warrior an enjoyment and not a chore. The elements Ms. Brennan incorporated into the story of Good vs. Evil in the forms of Mirage as good and Miryo as evil was cool. I would consider Warrior to fall into the fantasy category. Fantasy books and I are slow to build a relationship because of the fact that most of the early fantasy books I read were a little too out there for me but with Warrior it was different. Warrior consisted of witches, bounty hunters, and magic; which I enjoyed Warrior not because of all these things but for the reason that Marie Brennan had a good balance between fantasy and reality.

In a word Phenomenal

What a refreshing spin on the world of magic! I loved every minute of reading it! As soon as I was done, I went out and bought the sequel at a bookstore so I wouldn't have to wait for shipping. Just in case you're not aware of it, there are 4 books similarly related. "Warrior" is the first in the series, followed by "Witch". "Doppelganger" is the same as "Warrior", and I'm assuming that "Warrior and Witch" is the same as "Witch" they seem to have renamed the books. On the back of the book cover are a couple of sentences that caught my eye and made me want to purchase "Warrior" It reads: "When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. Until now..." This book is not what I would call a non-stop fast paced book, but it kept me enthralled just the same. Marie Brennan breathes life into her characters that gives them substanance. Although some of her "side-line" characters aren't as developed as her core, they are still believable and "warm." Welcome to a world of magic and two strong-willed women. Mirage is a Hunter (think more like a bounty hunter for hire, sometimes a detective, assassin, or even a bodyguard). She has worked and trained all her life to become the best in her trade, and she is. With speed and reflexes beyond her counterparts she hates magic and distrusts the Witches who wield it. Her year-mate (school-mate) has offered her part in a commission. What Hunter assassinated the Witch Tari, and who is behind the assassin and why? Will she survive the commission? If she does, can she survive who's behind it? Miryo is a the daughter of a witch. She has studied since she was 5 to become a full-fledged Witch. Finally on the day of her testing, she passes, only to find that she is incomplete. Her doppleganger lives! While Mirage still lives she does not have the control or focus to wield her magic. Try a spell as simple as lighting a candle and she could succeed or she could turn into a human torch! She is told to become whole again she must find and kill her doppleganger, but can she do it? She has never killed before. Will she stay with centuries of tradition and kill her doppleganger to make herself complete, or will she see Mirage as a person and not an "it" and search for the Goddess' help for another path? In the end, "Only one can survive..."

A Promising Beginning

This novel takes an ancient concept, that there are five elements not four, and uses it for the basis of an original magic system. This concept is from several ancient cultures, all of whom agreed on what the first four elements were, but varied in what constitutes the fifth element. Marie Brennan choses the Void, or that which negates the other elements, as the fifth element in this book. The original part of the concept is the creation of a Doppelganger 5 days after the birth of a magic child, always a girl for reasons explained at the end of the book. This is a splitting of the baby into two separate bodies, one with the ability to perform magic of the four traditional elements, and the other without the ability to perform magic but holding the control of the fifth element, the void. This seems to be done so that the magic channel can be blocked until the child is old enough and trained enough to handle it. If the fifth element cancels other magic it is probably necessary to remove that control until that time to allow the magic channel to be blocked. Leaving it available might allow the block to break before time. Somehow this concept has been misunderstood and the doppelgangers are killed during the ritual before the child is exposed to starlight and gains a soul. After that time the doppelganger can only be killed by her other half. For this reason baby's are kept away from starlight until after the ritual so that the doppelganger can be killed by someone else before getting the protection of a soul. We learn that there are two groups who are trying to prevent this tragedy later on. Miryo's problem is that she can never use her magic unless she kills her doppelganger Mirage. The action is well paced and original, which is promising for the series. It is a refreshing change from the usual magic swords/stones/etc of the average Fantasy novel. The use of magic is consistent and believable, including a believable origin for how such a system could come about, and why there are consequences. Pitting the Witch Miryo, who can't control her magic and has no advantage, against the Warrior Mirage actually leaves the advantage with Mirage, also a departure from the usual run of fantasy fare. Although the ending is one of several obvious possibilities, it is well written and highly believeable. Still, I won't ruin it for you - Enjoy!

Great new twist on the world of witches and magic....

Marie Brennan has created a new twist on the world of magic. Miryo is a young witch who goes through her testing to obtain her powers with magic only to find out that she can't use those powers until she kills her doppelganger. Apparently, all witches born are split in two at birth- one is the doppelganger and one is the witch. Generally, the doppelganger is killed at birth but because Miryo's doppelganger obtained a soul (by being exposed to starlight), her doppelganger can only be killed by Miryo herself. Miryo is therefore told that if she ever wants to use her magic (which now calls to her and is difficult to restrain from using), she must kill her doppelganger. Meanwhile, the doppelganger, Mirage, has become a Hunter and accepted a commission to find the murderer of the witch, Tari. Sha and her partner in the commission, Eclipse, become suspicious that other witches are behind Tari's death. Mirage and Miryo meet and both are unable mentally to kill the other so instead they begin searching for a way to set things right. The story is very complex but well worth reading. The glossary at the end is helpful with keeping up with the characters and the terminology of the world. It is particularly useful for understanding the structure and hierarchy of the witches in this world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended!