This unusual and powerful romantic fantasy focuses on a
land ruled by an Empress and her three daughters. The middle
daughter, Kindar, fights to prove herself worthy of respect,
for she has a chesty cough called choke lung which worsens
steadily. KINDAR'S CURE may have to come from the wizards if
she is to be betrothed - or if she is to survive.
Empress Eugenie dismissed her husband Lord Andrex from
court, so the resentful man plots against her with the
generals. They seem all bluster, but one of them comes up
with the idea of using the Empress's daughters as leverage
against her. The eldest daughter is being wed for a
political allegiance. Kindar is suspected of jealous
plotting and is sent away from court, supposedly for her own
safety. The determined princess knows that she might as
well be in jail, and secretly arranges to travel with wizard
Maladonis, who thinks that the smoke emanating from a
volcano in far off Cushwair may heal her lungs. Her maid of
honour takes her place in the carriage, and Kindar rides
off in plain garments with her sword by her side. Soon she
has to fight to protect herself.
The land is beset with troubles, for the mines that provide
prosperity are worked out, leaving impoverished miners.
Neighbouring lands are aggressive. The illness besetting
Kindar appears the same as that which kills poor children,
but the wizard begins to suspect that some agent has been
worsening -or causing- the symptoms. Who would wish a
princess harm?
I liked the well-drawn characters, foibles and all. Kindar's
imperious coldness isn't her fault; it's how she was raised.
Once she leaves the palace, learns who she can trust and how
deprived the ordinary folk are becoming, her attitudes
change. Wizard Mal admits he works for whoever pays him,
but his heart is in the right place. Magic is not common,
and the users are suspect. The Empress is a hardhearted
bully, in a reversal of the gender role. By searching for a
cure, Kindar undertakes a far greater journey, becoming
twice the princess she had been. Imagery is potent in this
novel, and violence is almost the norm. KINDAR'S CURE is the
first book from author Michelle Hauk, and I look forward to
reading many more fantasy romances now that she's hit her
stride.
Princess Kindar of Anost dreams of playing the hero and
succeeding to her mother's throne. But dreams are for fools.
Reality involves two healthy sisters and a wasting disease
of suffocating cough that's killing her by inches. When her
elder sister is murdered, the blame falls on Kindar, putting
her head on the chopping block. A novice wizard, Maladonis
Bin, approaches with a vision-a cure in a barren land of
volcanic fumes. As choices go, a charming bootlicker that
trips over his own feet isn't the best option, but beggars
can't be choosers. As Mal urges her toward a cure that will
prove his visions, suddenly, an ally turns traitor,
delivering Kindar to a rebel army, who have their own plans
for a sickly princess. With the killer poised to strike
again, the rebels bearing down, and the country falling
apart, she must weigh her personal hunt for a cure against
saving her people.
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