Every now and then a book just sneaks up on you. You start the tale thinking it's not bad, and at the end, you're left sitting, staring at the last page, thinking "wow." That's what happened to me with Anthony Ryan's "Blood Song" ($27.95, Ace).Vaelin al Sorna, known to his enemies as the Hope Killer for reasons you'll discover in the story, is on his way to a battle to the death arranged by two lands that seek vengeance against either Vaelin or his family. His only companion on the journey is a scribe that detests him. Still he listens as Vaelin lays out his tale.
Born to a life of promise, Vaelin al Sorna was the son of the Battle Lord of King Janus. For reasons that the boy doesn't quite understand, his father gives him over to the Sixth Order, one of the divisions of his realm's religion, the Faith. The Sixth Order dedicates itself to defending the Faith through force, and with grueling and harsh training, Vaelin finds himself transformed into a warrior, one of the finest the order has ever seen, and bonded with a new family, his brothers in arms.