Talyn

This tale by Holly Lisle is one of those thick fantasy books, with the usual fantasy-lands, violent action, great heroes doing deeds that at first everyone reviles them for but in the end rewards and cheers them on, magic and magicians, and very nice horses. Talyn is a magical soldier in a permanent war; when the ceasefire is declared, she’s suspicious. She gets involved with one of the Peacekeeper race, finds out they’re bent on mind control and destroying everyone, and joins up with a former enemy to take them down. It reminded me a lot of Farscape, and also of a sort of justification for xenophobia and the US imperialist policy. Better the war you know than the peace you don’t, is the theme; but there’s also the idea that while you’re fighting the familiar enemy, several more unfamiliar ones are lining up unexpectedly at your border. It was fairly well-written and made me want to read to the end, but without that real depth that would lead me to seek out more by the same author.