Can Mr. Donaldson write?  Yes!  Is this a good book or good start to a series?  No! or at least Not for me.  It reads like some guy's rape fantasy and our "heroine" remains surprisingly unsympathetic.  Throughout the novel, she's portrayed as psychologically damaged (with good reason) and weak...  No heroism, no nobility, no ferocious strength... you do not root for her or any other of the main characters.  After she accidentally kills her entire loving family and then is repeatedly brutalized and raped by a fugly sociopath, our heroine's reaction is to manipulate another jerk (but a hot one) with her sexuality... her primary motivation and state throughout the novel is fear... often weepy fear.  As a female, I could not relate, i.e. where was the burning rage and absolute hunger for vengeance?  Or if not the rambette route, how about cunning & intelligence with some strategic or poetic justice? I wanted to admire Morn (or someone), but there is nothing here.
Can Mr. Donaldson write? Yes! Is this a good book or good start to a series? No! or at least Not for me. It reads like some guy's rape fantasy and our "heroine" remains surprisingly unsympathetic. Throughout the novel, she's portrayed as psychologically damaged (with good reason) and weak... No heroism, no nobility, no ferocious strength... you do not root for her or any other of the main characters. After she accidentally kills her entire loving family and then is repeatedly brutalized and raped by a fugly sociopath, our heroine's reaction is to manipulate another jerk (but a hot one) with her sexuality... her primary motivation and state throughout the novel is fear... often weepy fear. As a female, I could not relate, i. e. where was the burning rage and absolute hunger for vengeance? Or if not the rambette route, how about cunning & intelligence with some strategic or poetic justice? I wanted to admire Morn (or someone), but there is nothing here.