Eyes of Truth
By Linda Suzane
Reviews, Reader Comments and Interviews
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 | Elaine Corvidae, Author |
| Eternal Night, Reviewed by Lesley |
| Pat Fredeman, Author |
| Cathy Krusberg, The Mad Bibliographer for Vampires Crypt |
| Molly's Reviews, Reviewed by Molly
Martin |
| Shadowkeeperszine.com, Reviewed by Bob Yosco |
| Suite 101 - Vampire eBook Author - Linda
Suzane, Fantasy Author |
| Twisted Tales, Reviewed by Annette Gisby |
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EYES OF TRUTH is a remarkable fantasy with a unique setting and memorable characters. It breaks every cliche of both fantasy and vampire novels without hesitation, and the result is sheer brilliance.
--Elaine Corvidae, award-winning author of WINTER'S ORPHANS and WOLFKIN
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Ebook Reviews Weekly, reviewed by Nicole Givens Kurtz
In the Kingdom of Naj, in the Funara Province, exists Dak-moon where a particularly gruesome murder has been committed. One that has been elevated to the attention of The Dyamu, ruler of Naj.
Appointed to investigate this murder, Insu-ha Dar, a man with a past and a reputation for violence, must locate the murder at his brother's request. Coupled with Waulo, a gambler and former assassin, the two make an unlikely pair. The Dyamu's own secretary believes it to be a mistake to send the two out to investigate the murder of a common peasant.
When Dar and Waulo reach Dak-moon, there's more in store for them than just the routine investigation of a murdered gardener. Dar meets his childhood bully, Shoki, and opens old wounds of pain and frustration.
With realistic characters that draw you into their world of betrayal, loyalty and heroism, "The Eyes of Truth" is a must for lovers of fantasy fiction. The theory that all Inshu-has have the ability to tell if a man lies is an added excitement.
Suzane's attention to detail has crafted a tangible world with characters and lore that makes "The Eyes of Truth" much more than mere fiction, but more like ancient mythology.
Nicole Givens Kurtz, eBook Reviews Weekly
Author of A COMPLETE WOMAN
Booklocker.com/bookpages/complete.html
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Set, unusually, in a pre-Samurai world, Eyes of Truth is essentially a murder mystery story. With a difference. When the body of a gardener is found hanging in a storeroom, drained of all his blood, the Dyamu (the leader of the province) sends his brother Dar, an Insu-ha, to investigate. According to the mythology of this world "the god Insu was not like the others, for he could tell when a man spoke the truth. His sons and their sons, the Insu-has, had the gift and wore the Eyes of Insu tattooed across their foreheads". Very quickly after arriving in the town of Dak-moon Insu-ha Dar finds that something is very wrong. If that were not enough he also find that the High Magistrate of Dak-moon is Insu-ha Shoki, a man who bullied Dar throughout their time at Temple school.
Eyes of Truth is a well written enjoyable tale that flows easily and keeps the tension right to the very end. It is good to read a story that is not set in the usual pseudo-medieval world that is favoured by so many other authors. I particularly loved the use of Japanese honour and ceremony.
--Reviewed by Lesley
February 2002
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"In the exotic Kingdom of Naj, the dynastic rulers of divine
descent, the Insu-has, have the gift of metaphysical insight, a gift the
power of which is attested to by the number of eyes tattooed across their
foreheads. In the city of Suterama, Dyamu Insu-ha Coiji rules because he
has won in the Trials of Truth, a competition that his older brother, Insu-ha
Dar, should have won but purposely lost.
Dar is the unorthodox member of his family. A subject of much gossip
because he is blamed for the death of a man he trounced for having beaten,
raped, and disfigured Dar's favorite so-ree at the local water house, he
is also known as a champion of the poor and the disadvantaged. He is a
well-traveled exile of many trades and much experience, so when trouble
arises in Dak-moon in the border province of Fanara, administered by
Magistrate Insu-ha Shoki, an old antagonist to Dar, Dyuma Coiji chooses
Dar as his Hand to investigate.
Dar accepts the mission but takes with him a retired member of the
Assassins Guild, a tough and canny older woman named Waulo, who has the
singular ability to lie successfully even to an Insu-ha. In Dak-moon, they
discover gruesome murders; numerous mysterious deaths from an
undiagnosable ghost sickness; a negligent and reclusive magistrate who
sleeps by day and walks by night; cryptic seers and gorgeous femme
fatales; town talk of dangerous night creatures, the Wo-nurs, and the
inexplicable Dolzi, supposedly long dead but now seemingly alive and
looking for new recruits or new victims; numerous myths and superstitions;
and bugling watch dragons who are sensitive to impending dangers, both
bodily and spiritual.
Ms. Suzane has woven a richly complex tale, teeming with intrigue and
danger, peopled by distinctive characters with unusual motives, strange
appetites, and a thirst for deadly pleasures...."
-- Pat H. Fredeman, author of PARADISE REGAINED. |
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Good Read: Highly Recommended
The Insu-ha, a dynasty of divine descent rulers in the Kingdom of Naj are blessed with metaphysical insight. The eyes tattooed to their foreheads attest to the power the Insu-ha possess. Playing cards with an Insu-ha probably means you will lose. Not so when Insu-ha Zomo plays nu with former assassin Waulo. Insu-ha Dar is sent as Dyamu Hand for his brother to check out a recent strange murder in Funara Province. Dyamu Cojii tells Dar to take Waulo along. Not so much because her specialty is needed as he hopes to protect his people from her card playing skills.
Dar who is known as a champion of the poor and oppressed along with the again Waulo soon are embroiled in a wild rollicking adventure in Dak-moon in the border province of Fanara. Dar's old nemesis Magistrate Insu-ha Shoki rules Dak-moon with an iron hand. Waulo's second specialty, the ability to lie undetected to the Insu-ha will prove to have great value as Dar and Waulo unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of a servant. The esoteric Dolzi, Shoki who sleeps by day and is seen only at night, ghost sickness no one can explain all figure in the enigma Dar must untangle. The answers he discovers horrify and nearly kill him. Bugling watch dragons are kept busy as their sensitive natures realize impending dangers.
Writer Linda Suzane has again produced a work of monumental facility. The mythical world Suzane has created in "Eyes of Truth" is filled with a broad spectrum of characters, localities, morés and situations. All are designed to carry the reader along on a wild ride of excitement. From the opening line when Insu-ha Zomo confronts Waulo right down to that last paragraph as Raku the young clerk for Funara province reads through his report of activity in the region the reader is presented with dynamic dialogue, powerful action and potent predicaments.
Writer Suzane wisely offers a list of characters, along with explanation of the various localities found in her created world. The morés of the land are interwoven within the well wrought tale author Suzane has crafted. "Eyes of Truth" is sure to hold enormous appeal for those who enjoy thrilling adventure interwoven against a well developed fantasy background.
-- Molly Martin
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Shadowkeepzine.com Issue 57 March 2002,
Reviewed by Bob Yosco
* Shadowkeepzine does not archive its newsletter, so
this is the only place the review is.
Eyes
of Truth, by
Linda Suzane.
Prolog
(Made
available with permission from Ms Suzane)
The
gods looked upon the world they had re-formed and on the creatures they
had placed within it and were concerned their work would be destroyed by
the barbaric, unknowing ways of their creations. So they sent the god Insu.
Insu
brought order with his wisdom and his laws, uniting many of the battling
tribes into the Kingdom of Naj.
Insu
was not like others, for he could tell when a man spoke the truth. His
sons and their sons, the Insu-has, had the gift and wore the eyes of Insu
tattooed across their foreheads.
When
Insu’s time was fulfilled, his sons came together in a great Trial of
Truth to choose the one who had the clearest Eyes to rule Naj as the Dyamu,
for the eyes were stronger in some than in others. And so down through the
centuries, the Insu-has ruled the people of Naj.
But
despite their great talent, they were just men, some good men, some not.
This
book is one terrific piece of work; part whodunit, part fantasy thriller,
part Adventures of Marco-Polo-ish, and all interesting. Insu-ha Dar is the
brother of the reigning Dyamu and is sent to Dak-moon, the capital of
Funara Province to investigate a murder. His longtime friend, Waulo,
accompanies him, and Waulu’s skills as a former assassin turned legal
advisor come in handy when confronted with the Machiavellian goings on in
this far away Province. The characters are vividly brought to life with
interesting and diverse personalities, good, bad and ugly, and the search
for the killer snatches the reader along at a lively pace.
I
couldn’t put this book down and cannot say enough good things about it.
The Asian (to me the culture leaned more towards Chinese) yet alien theme
is as rich as Asian cultures are supposed to be, exotic, daring and a
little frightening at times. Dar cannot be lied to, but the killer may
very well be another Insu-ha that can mask his lies so cunningly as to
confuse the Eyes of Truth, and when Dar arrives in Dak-moon the killings
don’t stop, they accelerate... and the bodies are drained of blood...
Enough.
I agonized over including some additional juicy tidbits but I don’t wish
to give any of the intricate plot away. Suffice it to say there are
twists, turns, and bloodsuckers galore.
Eyes
of Truth by
Linda Suzane: Four Shadowstars, and Twilight Times Books can be reached at
www.twilighttimesbooks.com.
If
for any reason that link doesn’t work for you then email me and I’ll
forward the info to Ms Suzane, I’m that emphatic that you should get
into her stuff. And I’m dying to read the sequel because there simply
must be further chronicles of Dar, Waulo, and this delightful land.
Writers like this deserve your support, they deserve it big time people,
so don’t fail them or we’ll be forced to send the Fanboys around at
Holiday times to sing outside your house.
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This time I get to focus on one of my favorite authors, me. I debated whether or not I should have someone else write the column, but I decided it would be fun to interview myself.
Linda Suzane is the pen name for L. S. Melin. She has been writing for over thirty years, but only in the last couple of years has she been able to turn to writing full-time. The Internet and eBooks have provided her opportunities that haven't been available before. Her first eBook, THE MURDER GAME, was published by Kudlicka Publishing and is available from http://www.playmurder.com. THE MURDER GAME is a romantic mystery about a mystery game designer whose game goes murderously wrong and makes use of Linda's own experiences designing murder mystery games. Her second eBook EYES OF TRUTH is now available from Twilight Times Books. http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com This book combines all her passions--murder, mystery, blood, and vampires. Linda has just finished the first in her Darkhour Vampires series, BLOODY CAPTIVITY, and is currently looking for a publisher.
Linda lives on the beautiful Oregon coast with her husband of some thirty years, four domineering cats, and an office full of dragons. She is the proud mother of one daughter, and even prouder grandmother of one almost three-year-old grandson, Draven. When she isn't writing or working on her web sites, she can be found playing with him.
You can find Linda at her official homepage http://www.lindasuzane.com.
Her murder mystery game site http://www.playmurder.com.
Midnight Blood, Home of the Darkhour Vampires http://www.midnightblood.com.
e-Vampires.net Where to find the best bloodsucking fiction on the web http://www.e-vampires.net.
Vampire eBook Authors at Suite101.com, books reviews, author profiles, and interviews. http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/10636
INTERVIEW
How did you come to write Eyes of Truth?
Actually, I didn't set out to write a vampire novel. I was looking to write a mystery novel in a fantasy setting. Even when I described the finding the gardener's body hung over a cook pot drained of blood, I wasn't thinking about vampires. They sort of crept in. I tend to describe Eyes of Truth as a fantasy mystery with just a touch of vampirism.
Tell us about the vampires of Naj.
First, they aren't actually vampires. There are no vampires in Naj. But the word vampires can describe either the very specific Eastern European vampire of Count Dracula ilk or it can be used to describe the myriad of other legends of bloodsuckers that occur around the world.
I've always been fascinated by the superstitious fear of witches, demons, vampires, and how that fear can cloud reasonable minds. The wo-nur is just such a creature, whether it is merely superstitious nonsense or is real is a question perhaps to explore in a later story, but for some of the people of Dak-moon the wo-nur is very real and threatening. The wo-nur gave me a chance to explore what happens when superstitious fear takes over.
Then there are the Dolzi. The Dolzi are very real, but they aren't the evil fiends of the vampire legend. To the Dolzi, it is not a curse, but a gift from the god Zi. This gift comes with a heavy price tag. In fear of their neighbors, they have isolated themselves. When Shoki chooses to become a Dolzi, it is for one reason, his own fear of death.
Tell us about the Kingdom of Naj
When I was in college I took a class on Japanese history and was really fascinated by the early history, so when I started building my world, I looked to that as a source rather than usual European or Tolkien roots. The first Naj story was called "Sarn's Dragon." I originally wrote it for Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series. She sent me a devastating rejection letter, calling my work hackneyed. I didn't let it stop me, and when she was reading for the next book in the series, I submitted a much rewritten and greatly improved version. Although it didn't make the cut, she sent me a letter praising the story, saying it was really good, but she had too many of that length. About that time I read Marta Randall's A SWORD IN WINTER, which is a great fantasy mystery. I started thinking about writing a fantasy mystery novel, about what kind of detective I wanted and what kind of powers he might have that would make him interesting, and Dar was born. Since I had already created the world of Naj, I decided to set Dar's story there.
You consider yourself a Vampire writer. How did you come to write about vampires?
The first short story I ever wrote, over thirty years ago, was a Science Fiction story about a race of telepathic vampires. Over the years I played with several ideas for vampire stories, although I never really finished them. When my daughter was a teenager, a rather traumatic time for her mother, I wrote a short story called "Mother's Love", which was about a mother of two typical teenagers who just happens to be a vampire. You can read what you would like into the Freudian meaning of that story. Anyway, a few years later, a character from "Mother's Love" stepped out of the story and demanded that I tell the tale of how he was first bitten by a vampire. That was the beginning of the Darkhour Vampires. You can learn more about my experiences at http://www.midnightblood.com. After years of trying out different formats, subjects, I had finally found my voice, that special something that I really wanted to spend my time writing about. I have rough drafts for five of the books in the series and plans for two more. I started doing market research on vampires, which led to writing book reviews and into the whole wonderful world of vampires on the Internet. I just finished serializing the first book of the Darkhour series on my web site. That was quite an experience. With six more to go, I have plenty to keep me busy.
What else are you working on?
I am working on the second novel in the Darkhour Vampires series. I am also playing around with a couple ideas for a vampire romance series. While the Darkhour Vampires are rather mundane, I want these vampires to be a bit more magical.
"Daughter-in-law," another Naj story will appear in Twilight Times eZine in April. That got me thinking about collect my Naj stories into a short story collection and maybe writing a few more stories. There is definitely a story in how Dar and Waulo saved the Dyamu's life.
Also, e-Vampires.net has taken on a life of its own. It started out as a place where I could create a book list since I didn't really have room in my Suite101.com column Vampire eBook Authors. Now it has its own domain. Not only an eBook list, but a zine list. Lots and lots of vampire links. Shortly, I will be starting a newsletter full of reviews and information.
BOOK REVIEW
Eyes of Truth
ISBN: 1-931201-36-6
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com
http://www.midnightblood.com/eyes.htm
In Dak-moon, in distant Funara Province, the body of a gardener is found hanging over a cook pot drained of all blood. Through a series of circumstances, the matter comes to the attention of the Dyamu, ruler of the Kingdom of Naj, and he decides to send his brother, Insu-ha Dar, as his Hand to investigate.
Dar has the power of that all Insu-ha possess, the ability to tell if a man is lying. With this power, you would think it would be simple to discover a murderer, but Dar learns it isn't so easy when he and Joran, Guard Master of Dak-moon, set out to save the three innocent men accused of the crime by discovering the murderer and learn why Dak-moon's magistrate, Insu-ha Shoki, condemned them to death.
Meeting Shoki does nothing to answer Dar's questions, for Shoki is behaving very strangely, shirking his duty as Magistrate, refusing to see anyone during daylight, and eating bloody raw meat. Dar wonders if the rumors of Shoki's blood fetish and sexual appetite might have something to do with the gardener's murder.
The people of Dak-moon are dying from a mysterious plague. Some believe it is caused by a wo-nur, an undead creature summoned by magic to attack the living, and their fear and paranoia threatens to explode into violence.
Through Shoki's beautiful winter wife Arra, Dar finally learns Shoki's dark secret. She tells him of the hidden village of the Dolzi, where the villagers live incredibly long lives, shun the sunlight, and exist by drinking blood, and how Shoki, seeking to extend his own life, became one. While the Insu-has are blessed with the Eyes, they are also cursed with short lives. She tells Dar of Shoki's plan to become Dyamu by offering the other Insu-has the gift of the Dolzi. Dar realizes that Shoki's plan to use the secret of the Dolzi to gain power could lead to the destruction of all of Naj.
When the Physician Chismu, dead gardener's employer, is found dead and his winter wife missing, it begins to look like the town Soothsayer, Opelle, might be the murderer. But Dar has his doubts. The question is, will he remain alive long enough to find the truth and to stop Shoki?
What others are saying about Eyes of Truth:
"...Ms. Suzane has woven a richly complex tale, teeming with intrigue and danger, peopled by distinctive characters with unusual motives, strange appetites, and a thirst for deadly pleasures . . . " Pat H. Freedman, author of Paradise Regained
"... a well-wrought and overall satisfying detective novel in a world of a lot less technology and a little more magic than our own." The Mad Bibliographer Cathy Krusberg
There is a bit of everything in the book, adventure, romance, horror, mystery, but closely woven together into a coherent whole.... This is a great story, well crafted and a bit more unusual than most fantasy books I've read. There are no goblins and trolls here, but different entities just as interesting, if not more so. The world comes alive and the characters are well drawn, jumping right out of the page.... A fantastic read." Annette Gisby, author of Silent Scream.
To read the complete reviews http://www.lindasuzane.com/eyesreviews.htm
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The Vampire's Crypt 25 (Spring 2002,
Reviewed by
Cathy Krusberg, The Mad Bibliographer
A version of this review will appear in _The Vampire's
Crypt_ 25 (Spring 2002). The Vampire's Crypt web site is:
http://members.aol.com/MLCVamp/vampcrpt.htm
Insu was not like other gods, "for he could tell when a man spoke
the truth. His sons and their sons, the Insu-has, had the gift and wore
the Eyes of Insu tattooed across their foreheads." The Kingdom
of Naj is ruled by the Dyamu, who proves through the Trials of Truth
that he has the clearest Eyes among the Insu-has. "But despite
their great talent, they were just men, some good men, some
not."
So begins this novel set in an otherworld a few centuries behind ours in
technology but where magic, elementals, and even ghosts play their part.
Dar is an Insu-ha with a strong gift of the Eyes
and a dark past that prevents him from making the most of it even
though he has the favor of the Dyamu, his brother Coiji. Three
circumstances bring Coiji's attention to Dak-moon, capital of
Funara Province. A gardener dies drained of blood; a strange
illness is a matter of disagreement between healer Torren and
physician Chismu; and the Insu-ha ruling in Dak-moon, High
Magistrate Shoki, lost a large contingent of his household during
a recent trip to the mountains and has not sent in a report for the
past four moons, which that hints he is up to something. Coiji
sends Dar as his personal representative: of all the Insu-has, only
Dar would consider a mere gardener worthy of his attention. To
assist him, Dar takes Waulo, a woman in her fifties, once an
assassin and legal assistant, now a card sharp and possessed of a
rare ability: she can lie to an Insu-ha and pull it off.
The plot thickens when the duo arrives in far-off Dak-moon: Dar's
Eyes tell him that the man convicted of the murder is not guilty,
and Insu-ha Shoki is keeping a mostly nocturnal schedule and
clearly hiding something. Interviewing possible suspects and
persons who might know more about the crime seems to take Dar
further and further afield; rather than finding likelier suspects
or hard evidence, the investigation reveals Shoki's interest in
blood, the infidelity of one of Chismu's wives, and that a plague
is proving fatal to all the pleasure girls who entertain at the
High Magistrate's. Shoki may well know something, but for Dar to
learn what is another matter. Shoki has always been adept at the
game of Truth and Lies; even an Insu-ha of great perception can
tell only whether a man's words are the truth as he sees it -- not
whether they are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth.
Dar's motives and background get more exposition than anyone
else's, but _Eyes of Truth_ doesn't shortchange on development of
other characters. Guard Master Joran, finagling orphan Cam, Shoki's
half-breed wife Arra, and even Shoki himself get their share of
screen time. The narrative incorporates insight into both the
culture and the characters through Dar's sometimes self-
flagellatory reflections on his past. Other members of the upper
class generally look askance at Dar because of his sympathy for the
common people, but Dar's lack of pretentiousness leads him to the
places where answers are to be found -- a jail, a humble healer's,
a house that is truly of ill repute.
And are there vampires? Of course, although not by that name. Dar
realizes that Shoki's plan to offer a doubled life span to other Insu-has -- for the right price -- could spell the downfall of Naj
itself. Dar's adherence to principle leads to an attempt on his
life, and suspense mounts when he must fake his own death and leave
the remainder of the investigation in the hands of his allies.
The novel gets its color not only from the more distinctive
characters -- tough-tender Waulo, her old friend Rorn, and lively
Cam -- but from the setting and even the time of year: it is Ram- sho, the festival of the dead, and the population is very ghost-
conscious. To augment the mystique of a universe of exotic language
and customs, many terms go undefined: there is, for example, no
direct explanation of the significance of spring versus summer
versus winter wife. I didn't find this bothersome, but a reader who
likes a firmer grasp on a fantasy world might. The universe-
specific words give an Asian ambiance (wo-nur, Dolzi, shubon) as
does the feudal-like social structure and the common practice (at
least among the upper classes) of polygamy. And for those who find
the large cast confusing, there is a list of characters and peoples
at the end.
Although Dar solves the various mysteries without divine
intervention, the meting-out of justice is another matter: Even for
a universe of ghosts and gods, the ending is something of a deus ex
machina, though very satisfying in terms of who at last numbers
among the living or the dead. But this is the only too-facile
aspect of what is otherwise a well-wrought and overall satisfying
detective novel in a world of a lot less technology and a little
more magic than our own.
-- Cathy Krusberg
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Read my author interview in Annette's Twisted
Tales zine.
In the fantasy land of Naj, an oriental kingdom prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, murder and sickness stalks the streets of the backwater province of
Funara, especially the city of Dak-Moon. The descendents of the god, the
Insu-ha, have been given the gift of knowing when people are lying, the gift is known as the Eyes of Truth.
The ruler of Naj, Cojii, appoints his brother, Dar as his Hand to go and investigate the murder of a gardener found with his body hung over a pole and drained completely of blood. Even with Eyes as strong as Dar's, it is difficult to find the murderer. Other things are happening too.
There is a sickness and the healer Torren is convinced there is a plague of some sort, and Dar discovers that all the victims had one thing in common. They had all been to the magistrate's palace for his entertainments...
There is a bit of everything in the book, adventure, romance, horror, mystery, but closely woven together into a coherent whole. Dar is a well rounded character with shades of grey and incidences in his past that haunt him still, the ideal tortured hero.
This is a great story, well crafted and a bit more unusual than most fantasy books I've read. There are no goblins and trolls here, but different entities just as interesting, if not more so. The world comes alive and the characters are well drawn, jumping right out of the page. You care what happens to them and I for one would like to read more adventures set in the world of
Naj.
A fantastic read.
-- Annette Gisby, , author of Silent Screams
You can also read my short story A Woman's Game in Twisted Tales
http://twistedtales.bravepages.com/awomansgame.htm
And my Interview with Annette Gisby
http://twistedtales.bravepages.com/lindasuzane.htm |
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