review 1: I really had issues with this book. I fought to even like the characters presented and even now that I have finished it I cannot even really say that I enjoyed the book. There was so much back story that was hinted at but never explained that I finished the book more frustrated than satisfied. Every character in the book seems to be abused and used by everyone around them with little to no support. It makes for a depressing read. review 2: I wanted to like this book more than I did. In the end, I just could not connect with either of the main characters. I found Jarrett to be intolerable and Sjenn to be extremely frustrating. I did not understand Jarrett's complete prejudice or intolerance. His complete resistance to actually listening and dealing with what was... more happening nearly drove me insane. Sjenn was equally frustrating in that the reader was most often given as little information as her captors. We know what is alien and disturbing to her about the culture in which she finds herself, but we don't ever get the whys. For example, she refuses to eat cooked meat and finds it disgusting. We learn through casual mention by another character that her people eat raw meat. Why? Especially why if the reason is soo strong that she as a warrior and spiritual leader of her people refuses to eat it, even if it means she becomes more and more malnourished. In the end, I don't feel as if I have any grip on what her people and culture are actually like. Finally, I was also disappointed that, other than the first chapter, the book did not take place in the arctic, but rather in the temperate area of the colonies. The culture that was described is one that is well known and imaginable - colonial, frontier North America. We don't even get descriptive memories of her life before her capture. Instead she seems to be sadly forgetting and losing as much of her heritage as she retains. less
