Review

Summary: Lady Firebird is destined to die for her people, and she knows it. When the time comes, she chooses to do her duty and die...but an enemy interveins. 

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Notes: You might think from that summary that this world is a very harsh one, but it isn't. At least, not as much as some other books I could name. The whole suicide thing is disconcerting and just wrong, as we all know, but it is a major part of the story. So, not for younger readers. When the book begins, you don't know everything. Kathy Tyers lets you figure things out, which I don't mind at all, but some readers might be frustrated. You do get the sense that there is something very wrong with Firebird's people. And there is. They openly worship the Powers, a collection of character traits. They don't realize that they are made up to give authority to the government. (The Powers, that is. The traits are real) It's something like Communist China mixed with the Divine Right of Kings. Firebird does meet someone who tells her about the Eternal One. 

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Age of main character: twenty-ish

Violence: Think Star Wars. So, yeah, plenty. Blaster fights, torture sessions, suicidal attempts, assassination attempts, executions, nuclear weapons, large battles, the creation of an ecological weapon, interrogation by reading someone's mind, etc. More descriptive in spots than The Starlore Legacy.

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Romance: Yes. Not mushy...more unsettled. The girl can't decide if she should like the guy, if he's trustworthy, etc.

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Scary themes: One society enforces a ritual suicide, and the main character is marked out to die. She's a wastling, an extra heir, and is destined by her people to die for their planet. (Think Shiite extremist/ Samuri) Also, there's is a terrible lady who wants to destroy the main character and torments her. Also, the whole of the main character's society is warped in some pretty big dystopian ways.

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Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera