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HIVE
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An ENE Review of the novel
Hive by Ischade Bradean
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| Do you like political upheaval? Palace intrigue? A varied cast of good
guys and villains who twist and turn through a maze of a plot? Then you'll
like Hive,
by Ischade Bradean. Be warned - this isn't your grandma's kind of fairie
tale (of course, I don't know your grandma). |
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| Hive
takes place in an intricately built fairie society that seems an awful lot
like a beehive, or perhaps an ant colony. The females run the show, of course;
the males work to serve them, whether as laborers, soldiers, or with a dose
or two of the Queen's milk, as drones in a harem. As the book opens, the
old Queen is murdered - and right away, plans are hatched for the seizure
of power, the rule of the strong at the expense of the weak. Soon the battle
is down to two Queens, which is one too many to assure the stability of
the hive. Aynia, beautiful and good-hearted, is nevertheless unsure of her
power at first and must grow into her reign. Carman, on the other hand,
is already convinced that she's the rightful Queen, if only she could get
rid of that pain-in-the-ass Aynia and her court! Behind both pretenders
to the throne, we find entourages filled with the well-meaning, the wicked,
the treacherous, and a few who are swept into the tide of madness just by
being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meanwhile, as this power struggle
mounts, trouble looms on the horizon as the hive itself proves to be too
small and weak for its inhabitants, and wouldn't you know it - it's in the
way of some human armies, too! Who will the power struggle between the throne,
the temple and the people? And who will be trampled to death along the way? |
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| I won't even begin to tell you, because I wouldn't want to deprive
you of the pleasure. Despite its length, Hive
kept me turning pages right to the end. The cast of characters is a delightful
collection of good and evil, each character having a bit of both, of course
(no two-dimensional fairytale stereotypes here). Just as their fates had
been decided, or so I thought, we'd come around another bend in the hive
and all bets were off! The intricacy of this book is amazing; a lesser author
would only confuse the reader, but I flew straight through it all the way,
and loved every second of it, too. Oh, and did I mention the sex scenes?
There are plenty of those, too, in plenty of erotic configurations, and
each one essential to the story, too. |
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| This book is impossible to categorize, so don't even try. Hive
is a fantasy, to be sure, but it's also an political thriller, with plenty
of sensuality throughout. If all the books you've been reading lately have
started to sound alike, then this one will renew your faith in originality.
I haven't read anything this creative and unique in ages - and I highly
recommend it! |
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| About The Author: |
| Raised in a family that moved constantly,
the author, Ischade Bradean, studied the local lore and legends of each
place she lived. She always preferred the darker, older versions of tales
that were meant as much for adults as they were for children. Special favorites
were the haunting tales her Romanian Grandparents told her late at night.
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| A social chameleon, Ischade learned how to appear
to be a native as quickly as possible. Her ear for accents and ability to
adapt to the people around her make her nearly invisible to the naked eye,
which is what she prefers. |
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| Ischade currently lives at thirty-three degrees
north, her favorite latitude no matter which continent she's on. |
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HIVE
by Ischade Bradean is available for purchase at Amazon.com
The Queen is assassinated, touching off a fierce
battle for the crown between her five daughters. Treason, betrayal,
political intrigue, and murder are only part of what it takes
to ascend to this Throne.
But when the apparent winner fails to deliver
the final death blow to one of her sisters it exposes the Hive
to the possibility of civil war. Using her power of seduction
the new Queen persuades the powerful High Priestess to bow down
before her and share the forbidden secrets of the Sisterhood
of the Temple. She dares to use her harem of males in ways that
stun the conservative established powers. But its all up to
her to lead the Hive to victory or death in a confrontation
that proves that sometimes sex is the ultimate weapon.
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All Text, Codes, Graphics © 2002 ENE. All
Rights Reserved.
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