Winter's Orphans - Elaine Cordivae Book Review

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Review Summary

Winters Orphans

Novel, 2001, 228 pp.
ISBN: 1931696934

In the land of Niurne, Mina Cole hides her femininity by dressing and working like an indentured boy toiling at the mills. Mina is unaware that she possesses strong magic inherited from her Unseelie father. She is oblivious until an accident at the water powered mill where she in disguise works forces Mina to inadvertently use her innate power.

In the city of Dere, a paralyzed from the waist down Duncan RiDahn is the mentor of the feylings (half-breeds). He teaches his charges how to hide in plain sight because if exposed the Seelie Court will hunt them as they did him thirty-five years ago. Mina's display of magic comes to the respective attention of the Seelie leadership and Duncan. Out of control, her magic could cause devastation, but will Duncan save the frightened Mina not just from the hunters, but from the first stirring of his heart since he lost his beloved when he lost the use of his legs?

The powerfully descriptive WINTER'S ORPHANS is a wonderful fantasy tale focusing on an underground movement of a hybrid race trying to survive while purebreds oppress them out of fear. The strength of the tale resides in the belief that the Seelie, Unseelie, and Feylings exist on the real world of Niurne. Elaine Corvidae accomplishes this difficult feat because the cast, regardless of racial makeup and in spite of the classic romance between Duncan and Mina, seem bona fide so that the audience visits an orb that serves as the center of a fabulous fantasy thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Winter's Orphans

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Romance Yes
Romance plotlets: - general romance
Repressive society story Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's a slave/repressed? - discrim against people with mental powers

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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