Steerswoman Rowan, sworn to seek and tell the truth, travels through the lethal prairies beyond civilization with Bel, a barbarian warrior and poet.

The Steerswoman was acceptable and inoffensive, but its sequel is excellent. It's chockablock full of things that I like: culture clashes, nomadic peoples, and intelligent protagonists. And while the series is not grim or depressing, it never sugarcoats the terrible choices made by its characters. In The Steerswoman, our heroines engage in violence for reasonable and intelligent reasons, and that serene brutality is continued in The Outskirter's Secret as they encounter a traitor with magnificently divided loyalties. ( )

I've read reviews of The Outskirter’s Secret, that criticize it for being too long, I didn't feel that way at all. I loved the details that we get on Bel's homeland tribes. I hated to hear that they gave up

writing, and had instead an oral tradition. But when I thought about it, it makes complete sense. The last time I moved the worst, heaviest part of the move were the books, and the cases to hold them were light in comparison. If your tribe is constantly on the move, in tents, books would be almost impossible to protect from the elements and too damn heavy. Aside from that unless the red grass could be turned into papyrus where would the paper come from without any trees. Aside from the lack of books the Outskirter's knowledge of poetry is vastly superior to mine.

It's little throwaway details like this that make the worldbuilding in this series first rate.

I liked Fletcher and had no idea that he was with the wizards until it was revealed. I knew him as a mysterious character and thought his name out of place for the son of a baker and not the camp's fletcher.




I about to start the 3rd book in the series, I can't wait to see where this one takes us. ( )

3.5 stars, only because this one was structured as "journey through new and interesting lands" which is not a narrative structure that appeals to me ( )

I read the first book in this series, The Steerswoman because it was recommended by Renay.

This book follows on from book one, so I would highly recommend that you read the first book first. I mean, you could pick this up and follow along with no clue as to what has gone before, but why would you do such a thing? You’d miss out on all the backstory and you wouldn’t know how Bel and Rowan came to meet. Go read The Steerswoman first, things’ll work much better that way.

Determined to learn the truth about the Guidestars–two points of light that hang motionless in the sky–Rowan sets out into the Outskirts, where barbarian tribes and the land itself could destroy her. (blurb from Goodreads)

I will admit that it took me a while to get my head into this book. It seemed like Bel and Rowan were just wandering, wandering, wandering. But that could’ve been because I was reading in 5 minute bursts, and infrequently. So it probably didn’t take up too much time in the book, but in my head it seemed to go on forever.

I didn’t mind it too much, because I like both Bel and Rowan, I like the way they approach the world. They have similarities, but in many respects they are very different. Of course they come from different backgrounds and cultures so they should be different. So while I was enjoying spending time with them I was also wondering when exactly the story was going to kick off properly.

But kick off it did, and soon enough I was totally engrossed. I didn’t even mind my insomnia on a few nights as I took the opportunity to read a few chapters while waiting for sleep. And I’ll admit, I read more than I had intended, so that’s a sign of a good book.

The main plot revolves around the quest to discover where the fallen Guidestar is, and what it is, but also to discover is it part of a wizard’s plot. And if so, why?

But in the course of that quest we get to spend a lot of time among the Outskirters, the “barbarians” of the blurb above. And they have a really interesting culture and outlook on life. They are constantly on the move, the land cannot support them if they stay in one place. And the land they travel through is actively hostile against them, plus they often come into conflict with other tribes. So they live a lot of their life under threat. A fact which makes some of their laws and practices seem a bit harsh, but they have to deal with the realities of their land.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend the series for anyone who enjoys science fiction/fantasy. ( )

It wasn't until book three that I understood these books to be individual studies of a particular moment and place in time, with the central characters serving as a path connecting one to the other. This second book seems to get bogged down in one particular time and place until you realize that the bog is the point, and perhaps pushing the primary conflict along isn't something that needs to be done despite cultural conditioning. So if you're wondering when the main characters leave the place the second book starts in, the answer is - they don't. And that's fine. ( )