Amanda has once again been ripped from a life that she knew into one that is unknown, but this time not by her own choice. Reduced to a mere possession, her independence seems doomed to be crushed by the Urisi slave system. Yet even far from Oceanus, events conspire to draw her into the fray once more, as the Inonni realize that bringing "Enlightenment" to Oceanus is not as easy as they had hoped.
Size: 1338 KB (243,852 words)
Genre: Fantasy
Sex Contents: Some Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Ma/ft, Fa/ft, Magic, Slavery, Fiction, BDSM, DomSub, MaleDom, Oral Sex, Masturbation, Sex Toys
Review by Deepnight Reader [other reviews by Deepnight Reader]
Reviewed:
The Narlass stories by A Strange Geek have all the elements of top quality story telling. There are characters you care about deeply, and characters you distrust, dislike, become impatient with, and just hate. The novels tell a tale of love, espionage, politics, intrigue, war, betrayal and suffering, centred around the central character Amanda, a teenage girl from our version of Earth. Amanda gives up her freedom to become a slave so as to remain with her lover, but ends up becoming both a catalyst and a stumbling block to the developing intrigues on the world of Narlass. The stories are set in a detailed and coherent alternate Earth where magic is studied similar to the way our world studies and researches science, and the 'technology' relies on the laws of magic laid down by that 'science'.
'Tempest of Lies' is the fifth novel in the series. It follows on from the stunning conclusion of Merchant of Chaos (a conclusion where I wanted to strangle the author for his refusal to make it a fairytale ending. I hate endings that don't conform to my romanticized views. Problem was, it was entirely appropriate to the storyline and an excellent ploy.)
Amanda is sold into a slave system that is far removed from her idyllic life as a slave under the Oceanus Overlord's system, a system where she had found happiness and contentment.
'Tempest' covers the next stage in Amanda's life, and the continuing struggle between the nations on Narlass and their belief systems. A resistance to the occupation of Oceanus by the Inonni is slowly developed, the bitter rivalry between two Urissi ambassadors is finally resolved, a weakness is revealed among the victorious Inonni, and the Oceanus mages finally intervene to resist the occupation of their country in the most dramatic manner. The merchant, spy, subverter and agent provocateur, Jollis, comes to the realization that all he has done to advance the success of his country over Oceanus, and its plans in the future, may be based on elaborate deceit. Added to this is a mutinous Oceanus fleet that flees to a Urissi port and plays a major role in the unfolding storyline.
Amanda's struggle to cope with the Urissi slave system reaches moments of deep despair in 'Tempest', yet she still influences events in a major way. We get the sense she is growing into a very strong young woman.
The sex is more laid back compared to the earlier novels. Under the Urissi system it is grim, soulless and comes close to defeating Amanda.
Technically as near perfect as possible, with a wonderful, expansive plot, well drawn characters and an edge of your seat ending, 'Tempest of Lies' had me eagerly reading as each set of chapters were posted. I usually wait until a story is close to finished before I start, but I couldn't wait to find out what was happening to Amanda and other characters.
If you have not done so I urge you to try the Narlass series. As with 'Tempest of Lies' each story is a very good read.
