This is really one and a half stars. Glenin, Sarra and Cailet are all grown at the start of this book, and they stop being pawns and start actually moving pieces themselves. Some more successfully than others.Okay, here's where Rawn lost me: for some unknown, incomprehensible reason, Sarra and Cailet come over all stupid for plotting purposes. And not just for brief moments - for entire stretches of the second half of the book, I was muttering "you're supposed to be smarter than that". And the w...

As much as I love this series I would almost suggest not picking it up at all. This book was written around 15 years and the author apparently has no intention of finishing the series. Her husband died sometime after she wrote this book and she fell into a great depression and stopped writing for a while. Though she has started to write other series, I've read that she can't bring herself to work on these books because her late husband played such a huge part in their development of them. Sad fo...

Although I LOVED this book and the firstone in the series, I do NOT recommend that anyone read either of them, YET. The third book has never been written and it has been over 12 years since the last one was published. If and when the final book comes out I will change this rating, but so many unanswered questions/cliff hangers really spoil the first two books.

Like many fantasy readers of my generation, I was a big fan of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince and Dragon Star series back in the 90s. And when The Ruins of Ambrai, first volume in the Exiles trilogy, was published in 1994, I bought the hardcover edition as soon as it hit the shelves. Did the same when its sequel, The Mageborn Traitor, came out. Daunted by the proliferation of big fantasy series on the market, like I did with many other SFF sequences, I decided not to read them until the entire tri...

11/29/17: AAGGGHHHHH THIS BOOK. --------So good. So, so good. There are many valid criticisms to make - for example, this review cracks me up because she is not wrong! But there is so much else to love that I'm willing to forgive the bits that don't make sense as well as the scads of little inconsistencies, some of which can be chalked up to as-yet-unsolved mystery but some of which are just sloppy writing. Overall, though, these books still own a huge piece of my heart and I will never stop lov...

Now if only she'd pretty please finish the series!

I am giving this book 4 stars, not because it's bad (it's actually one of the best Melanie Rawn ever wrote, in my opinion) but because after twenty-five years we're still waiting for her to finish and publish the third book in the trilogy, "The Captal's Tower."Now that that mini-rant is over, I can proceed.Stylistically and in terms of narrative, The Mageborn Traitor is a superior book in Rawn's crown. Many of the pacing issues I took issue with, as well as some of the world building complexity,...

An excellent followup to the first book, but very plainly the middle of a trilogy. I continue to enjoy Rawn's creation of a matriarchal society in a fantasy setting. It's unfortunate Rawn's never written the third book. The characters are so rich and the overarching plot unresolved that readers deservedly have begged for completion. On the good side, both books are still complete stories unto themselves, with satisfactory if not fully happy endings in both cases.SPOILERS:The only two quibbles ar...

I want to give this five stars, but since this is currently the last book, and it ends unresolved, and the third book will likely never come out, I'm only handing out 4 stars. This is actually a great opportunity for some fan fiction, a series with great characters and a great start that just needs an ending.

I enjoyed the book but was disappointed by some of the plot twists. Makes me wonder if those plot twists are the reason she can't get the last book written. 12 years and counting between books is a bit ridiculous.

Just as good as the first book if not better. Waited for 9 years for the 3rd book. Its fine if it don't ever come out I understand the circumstances that the author went through.

Just really wish she'd write the third one already.

I struggled through the”Ruins of Ambrai”, half the time lost, not amongst fallen stones, but in the irrelevant genealogies of innumerable family "webs" and relationships. But it had the grace of a flowing storyline with excitement, adventure and good personalities developing that captured one and overrode the extraneous stuff.My personal grip is with the meaningless, formless weakness of this the second book of the series "The Exiles". The interesting protagonists slid into mediocrity, losing mu...

I love the characters, each one is clearly on their own quest or mission with their own thoughts and feelings and opinions. The problems practically begin on the first page and continue through the last page. Just when you think you have it figured out the author brings to light more complications and problems. The plotting of this novel had to be a nightmare because it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what else could possibly go wrong.The setting is given to you as it's needed and w...

The second book of a trilogy that was never finished, and you know the middle book is more reaction and set-up than action or resolution, so that’s what this is. I might give it 5 stars if there were a third book and I could fully appreciate the second act for how it fit into the entire act, but until then, 4.

Dont start this series until book 3 is actually released. That being said, this series is in my top 10, ever. Handsdown, hence the 5 stars. However I have been waiting for almost 20 years for Captals Tower. I wont read another of her work unless completely finished until Captals tower is completed.

Ugh, I've read this book a dozen times and I STILL cry. Every time. God I hope Melanie remembers what she was thinking about and writes The Captal's Tower! I can't think of a book I'm waiting more anxiously for!

I fear she has written herself into a corner she can never get out of so she will never finish the series. Which is sad because it's one of my all-time favorites.

Heartbreakingly good. Ending to throw the book over and then go rushing to pick it back up.

Not a bad sequel but slow. Still hoping for the third and final book 20 years later

Pity the trilogy will never be finishedBut still a good book

After I had reviewed the first book in the series, Ruins of Ambrai, I had pretty much thought that I had discovered my Achilles Heel of blogging. After trying to review this second book in the series, I'm positive that reviewing epic fantasy is not my strong suit. With epic fantasy there are so many story lines all vying for your attention and such a large (though brilliant) cast of characters, that it's hard for me to separate out what I should tell you and what is safe to leave out of a review...

I don't really give proper reviews so I'm just going to throw it out there with not style or order. I'm really hoping she writes the third book. I want to know why Collan was Warded, I want to understand his revelation, I want to know who his family was. I want to see Cailet come to accept Joss romantically, I want them to have a chance at happiness together. I want to see Sarra come into her magic. I want to know how Sarra's (and Cailet's and Glenin's) Ambrai Grandparents met. I want to under...

I loved this book as much as the first one. I loved how the three sisters grew into themselves and their various roles, although Glenin had already been prepared to take over. I loved how this book spanned years and held my attention throughout. I loved watching Caliet come to terms with who she was, is and will become. She went from a nervous child to a confident woman but still not the all powerful mage captal that she portrayed to her world. Sarra has been by far one of my favourite character...

I read this series when Rawn first started it 12 years ago (OMG it's been that long?? Right in the childhood and dear Christ I'm getting old :( ) I was in tears when Collan died and Cailet lost so many loved ones - pretty much devoured the book and eagerly anticipated the next book. And I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I had no idea what had happened but assumed things would eventually be resolved. It took Tolkien 12 yrs to finish his masterpiece after all.Imagine my fury when 10 yrs

An absolutely fantastic novel continuing in the years after the first volume of Exiles. The characters are engaging, the plot complex, and the politics amazingly relatable. There are only three flaws with this book. 1) The third book has not been, and likely will not be written. 2) The phrase "truly told" seems to be the only way that people are capable of expressing honesty. Truly told? That gets old when you see it every other page for 700 pages. 3) The system of magic is not very codified. Ma...

For once, the second in a series is better than the first! The plot is more definite and intertwined, the characters more memorable, and a much clearer goal is outlined. True, it is slow in starting - the entire first section, though interesting and developing for the remaining characters in the previous novel, contributes little to the general plot. In the main body of the book, the Captal knows one of the Prentice Mages is a Malerrisi and traitor - as well as her own nephew - but she cannot fi...

Reread this too, changed rating from 3 to 5. Story holds, don't know what bothered me about it before, maybe just that Captal's Tower wasn't likely to be written. Started rereading not knowing that it's due - eventually.Even with a cast of hundreds, Melanie keeps them real and interesting. She doesn't get lost in her story, or lose her characters to the plot. Which was set up from the very beginning of Ruins. She thinks the /very/ long game better than any I recall.Is being older what changed my...

I have been told the author never finished this series. I am very saddened by this as this book ended on a much different note than I had hoped. However, there is little I can do about it. Therefore, I would not recommend this book, or series, to anyone. Though the first two books are great and worth reading, it broke my heart to find out the series was unfinished with no plan by the author to finish. This is one of the reasons I don't read series until their finished.With that said, I fell in l...

Melanie Rawn is an incredible storyteller, with her intriguing characters and exquisite world-building. While the "Mageborn Exiles" series is not as compelling as her "Dragon" series, this is one that fantasy fan should miss. Granted, I didn't like this book as much as the first "Exiles" book, but it's still a worthwhile read. Everything that one loves about Rawn's work is present here. And though it's true that we've all been waiting for a final book that may never come, I don't think anyone sh...