Memer is a siege brat, a child born out of rape and devastation of her beloved city, Ansul. In her life, she has only known their regime; one in which women aren’t able to go out of their houses without fearing being raped, and books are completely forbidden.

But in her house, Memer can get books, which are in a hidden room. The Master of the house, the Waylord of Ansul (a democratic title, mind you) teaches her to read in that place. So Memer grows up between her books and her incursions to the city to do the shopping for the house (dressed as a boy, of course).

The Alds look at the people of Ansul with distrust. They don’t understand their gods, and think that books and writing are the work of demons, which is why they destroyed all of them. Considering that Ansul was a university city, you can imagine there were lots of them. The Alds’ destruction of the books also helped to their bigger purpose: controlling the city. Keep the people ignorant, keep them afraid.

But Memer’s life changes when Orrec and Gry (from the previous book, Gifts) arrive at Ansul. They provide a channel of communication between the Waylord (who offers them his hospitality) and the Alds, especially their leader, who appears to be more open than his men. But there’s still repression and fear for the people of Ansul and a revolution is coming.

This book deals with several of the topics found in Gifts. For example, we have knowledge as a freeing agent. Memer’s learning and studying of the books n her house set her apart from the scared people of the city, who had been forbidden the same knowledge. While at first the knowledge is confined to the little room, when it is finally released, the city can be free of their invader.
Memer’s development throughout the book is also cool. When it begins, she both hates and fears the Alds, because they have actively enslaved and captured her fellow citizens. But as the novel progresses, she’s able to see that not all of them are that bad, and that understanding another culture is important for relations. And she doesn’t fear them anymore, as well.

At the beginning of the book, Memer’s status as a girl only allows her to go outside in disguise. She has to hide in order to be able to elude being attacked or raped by the Ald soldiers. By the end of the novel, not only is she able to go out in her own skin, but she’s also well-known as helping the Waylord. Her physical liberty implies a mental one, as well. And seeing her being empowered was brilliant. She clearly has the power to influence her people greatly.

I also liked learning about Gry’s and Orrec’s fates. I loved them together in Gifts, and here as well. Though it broke my heart a little when they said

that their daughter died a baby

. They both appear to complete each other, they work together as a team and are amazing altogether.

I’m loving this series, so I’m already reading the final one (lovin’ it so far).