Hidden Truth – Dawn Cook

I finally found the second book in the series about Alissa Meron, the young girl who, with piper Strell from the plains, was drawn to the Hold. FSF is a difficult genre to in which to begin reviewing mid-series, especially when the world the series takes place in is as involved as this one. I shall do my best at setting up the back story before summarising this instalment.
In Cook’s Truth universe the planet is populated by three distinct groups of humans – the people of the plains, the people of the foothills and the people of the coast. There is an intense hatred of the people of the plains by the people of the foothills, and vice-versa: they are physically dissimilar in colouring and culture. The costal dwellers do not make an appearance in this novel or the first, but (reviewing this book after I devoured the entire series) they are a less homogenous and somewhat more tolerant population. All humans have traces – a network, visible by practitioners, of the individual’s mental makeup and ability. Most are insignificant, but some humans are, with guidance, able to perform magic, in the form of wards – for healing, warmth, and defence, among a myriad of others. These gifted few can become Keepers, and are taught by Masters – strange, long-lived, golden-eyed people whose fingers have an extra segment and who wield great power. The Masters evolved differently than the humans – they are raku, sentient flying reptiles who are able to change forms to humanoids. The first transformation is the most difficult – there is a risk that the joy of flight will overwhelm intellect, and the raku will become feral, a possibility that terrifies all raku.
In the first novel, Forgotten Truth, Strell Hirdune and Alissa meet and, despite their inherent hatred of one another’s origins, work together to make their way to the Hold, the massive, castle-like home of the Keepers and Masters. They discover that the Hold is deserted except for a student Keeper named Bailic who, a cross between plains and foothills, has never fit in anywhere. Destroyed by lack of acceptance, Bailic is determined to wreak vengeance on the peoples of the plains and the foothills by waking the ghosts of the deserted city of Ese’ Nawoer. To do so he needs the secrets held safe in the book of First Truth, which only Alissa can open, though Bailic believes Strell is the One. Bailic has killed the Keepers (including Alissa’s father) and has imprisoned the only remaining Master, Talo-Toecan (also known as Useless), in the Hold’s equivalent of a dungeon; led by Talo-Toecan’s wife, Keibdis, the rest of the Masters left two decades earlier during a leadership struggle. Alissa managed to free Useless and he has promised to leave Bailic alone until the book that contains the secrets to Masterhood, is opened.
Alissa is drawn to the book of First Truth – Hidden Truth tells the story of how she manages to open it, defeat Bailic, save the lost souls of the gated town of Ese’ Nawoer, allow Lodesh - the Warden of Ese’ Nawoer – to redeem himself, acknowledge her love for Strell (and his for her), and discover her identity as a transeunt – a human-born Master with the ability to take raku form.I am unable to do justice to this novel, in part because the series is so intricate and tightly bound. Suffice it to say that I went straight from Hidden Truth to Forgotten Truth, with very little time for sleep. – Alex