Blood’s Pride

This hefty fantasy, first in a series from debut author Manieri, presents the tangled dynamics of two cultures at war with each other and within themselves. The peaceful fisherfolk of the Shadar were overrun by albino, telepathic Norlander warriors, who forced the Shadari to mine the local dark ore necessary to forge the Norlanders’ deadly, thought-sensitive black metal weaponry. A generation later, the Norlander governor has placed the mines and garrison under the control of his eldest surviving daughter, Frea. Frea’s brother, Eofar, is upset about the treatment of the Shadari slaves and worried about his younger sister’s obsessive concern for old-fashioned traditions that have little place in their new land. Meanwhile, the Shadari scheme to overthrow their oppressors with the help of the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary leader whose real motivations are hidden. Plot twists, romantic entanglements, and political rivalries make for lots of melodrama in this dense, complicated series setup, which leaves many plot threads dangling for later books. Agent: Becca Stumpf, Prospect Agency. (Feb.)