In Legend Born by Laura Resnick

Sileria, an island nation in the middle of a vast ocean, has toiled under the yoke of foreign conquerors for a thousand years. The key to control of the waters, it was first controlled by Moorlanders, then the Kintish Kingdoms, and is now controlled by the Valdani. However, though ruled by conquerors, a group of elites, the waterlords, are in fact in power, as they control the water supply via water sorcery. The only ones that could compete with them are the Guardians, who wield fire magic, but they have nearly been driven into extinction. This is the setting of In Legend Born.In this kingdom, an outlaw named Josarian is causing havoc on the Valdani, attacking supply trains and riling up his fellow natives. He is joined by a shatai (blademaster) named Tansen, who has a blood feud with Kiloran, the strongest of the waterlords. Together, the two begin a quest for the independence of the nation. They are joined by a Guardian named Mirabar, who has visions vaguely telling her of what she should do. Together, the three meet with an aristocratic woman, Elelar, with whom Tansen has a history with, and create an alliance with the waterlords in order to drive out the Valdani. After countless complications (one of which is Josarian jumping into a volcano and having an affair with the fire goddess, Dar, fulfilling a prophecy), the Valdani are driven out, but at the price of Josarian’s life. The aristocrats and waterlords had made a deal with the Valdani, without the consent of the other members of the alliance, to trade the life of Josarian for a full withdrawal of all of the Valdani troops. The alliance then fractures, and Sileria stands on the brink of a civil war, the Society of waterlords and their dangerous assassins versus the bloodthirsty shallah (farmers). This ends the first book in the series. In Legend Born is by far my favorite book. It starts off my favorite series, The Chronicles of Sirkara. Currently there are three books, with a fourth and fifth in the works. At just over seven hundred pages, it may seem like the story would be boring, but it keeps you hooked for the entirety of the novel. The series is quite original, and has a deeply involving plot, with countless twists and turns. The characters are very colorful, with the author giving the background of each. The conflicts between the characters vary, and are many in number. As one gets resolved, two more spring up. Also, there are quite a few characters, and the names of the characters and the relationships between all of the characters can get confusing at times. This confusion can cause problems understanding the book, because the Silerians are very family oriented, and nearly everyone is related. However, these minute details connect everyone too, which is another thing which makes this book an amazing read. The problems are very small, and easily overlooked. in proportion to all of the books positive attributes. I would recommend In Legend Born it to anyone looking for a good book.