Blood Ties is the first book in The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman. Ms Freeman's world is superbly crafted: eleven Domains ruled by Acton's people: the conquerors who stole the land from under the tribes who lived there. Those tribes are now called 'Travellers' , and are reviled and mistrusted wherever they go.
Three people are set to make a huge difference in the world, and at a very opportune time: One of the warlords ruling over the Domains is getting greedy- wanting to fulfil Acton's dream.
-Bramble, a headstrong part-Traveller girl raised by her crafter parents flees her village after an encounter with a warlord's thug.
-Ash, a Traveller teenager whose parents make wonderful music on the Road, but who can't sing himself. He is being trained to be a heartless killer, but has his doubts.
-Saker, an enchanter who has discovered a way for his people to have their revenge on the descendants of the man who stole their land and their peace.
Along the way important bits of history and the cultures of the different peoples are conveyed with a sense that you have always known it. There is no feel of a history lesson, more an idea of "oh, yeah, I think I knew that". The supporting characters are as fully fleshed out as the main characters: most of them have first-person chapters with their story so far. In a few cases Ms Freeman manages to engender sympathy for a character I had deemed completely heartless. The magic and idea of the 'local gods' are very well portrayed, and seem completely plausible.
If anyone wants to start reading fantasy, I would actually recommend this book - the magic isn't too 'in-your-face', there are no big scary monsters, it reads mostly like a well-written historical novel.
*review first published on LibraryThing*
