Priestess of the White: Age of the Five Trilogy Book 1

by Trudi Canavan

Book Overview

In a land on the brink of peace--watched jealously by a ruthless cult from across the sea and beset by hidden enemies--five extraordinary humans must serve as sword and shield of the Gods. Auraya is one. Her heroism saved a village from destruction; now Auraya has been named Priestess of the White. The limits of her unique talents must be tested in order to prove her worthy of the honor and grave responsibility awarded to her. But a perilous road...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060815701
• ISBN13: 9780060815707
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Another first-rate book from Canavan

This is an interesting clash-of-cultures novel, with almost all of the POV characters being from one of two sides (the White, who follow a set of five gods who they believe are the only survivors of a war among gods a few centuries past, and the Dreamweavers, who think all gods are nasty sorts who want to keep humankind in subjugation), but with the third side, the Pentadrians, gradually emerging from an apparent mist of evil to become a set of followers of new gods who may or may not actually exist, but who are probably not any worse than the ones worshiped by the White. Certainly there are enough moral ambiguities drifting around at the end of the book that I want to read the rest of the trilogy to see whether there's any real good-vs-evil conflict, or if there are just different opinions as to which gods are worth following (if any).

Her best book yet

I must say that I read Ms. Canavan's earlier Black Magician Trilogy and enjoyed it thoroughly. This book, however, blows the earlier ones out of the water. You can tell this was written years after her first Black Magician novel, the writing is that much better. It is a wonderful combination of variuos themes in fantasy literature that culminate in a lively, fast-paced tale. I too felt at times there was a lot of exposition setting up the scene for the future books, but this was kept to only the necessary minimum and it really did not bog the story down. If you liked Canavan's earlier books or if you even enjoy the Dragonlance series or anything remotely like it, you will enjoy this solid cast that is set in a magical and theological setting. I couldn't put the book down and I can't wait for the next in the trilogy.

a great start to a trilogy

Based on my experience with Trudi Canavan, I immediately expected for the book to be great. What I was surprised at was that it was almost a different type of writing style from the Black Magician Trilogy. Often writers fall into the habit of maintaining a similar writing style throughout their books, but the similarities ended in that it was just another good book. The book itself is written well, and you find yourself sympathizing with various characters, or despising others, and it's in a way that makes you think it's what Canavan intended you to feel towards the character while she developed them. I was caught unawares when the book ended, and expected there to be more. I can hardly wait for May when the second book comes out!