General Winston’s Daughter

General Winston’s Daughter (2007) Sharon Shinn

Averie is headed to Chiarrin, where her father and betrothed are with the army, which is currently seeking to make the area part of its empire.

On the trip over Averie makes friends with Lieutenant Du’Kai, a Xan’tai member of the Aerberelle Army. This means only that as a member of a conquered territory he can gain only the rank of Captain, but is otherwise an acceptable dinner companion for Lady Averie, although Averie’s chaperone Lady Selkirk is at first unsure as to the propriety of this. But the journey is long and Du’Kirk is a charming companion, so they soon all end up looking forward to the dinners.

That’s Averie.

The book, however, is very much more than Averie’s life and love. Her father and the man she is set to marry are both soldiers, and although she grew up a soldier’s daughter, never truly considered what it was her father did–and what her husband would be doing.

THAT said, this is NOT a diatribe about war. But it is a young woman’s discovery of what war and conquest mean. And no, she doesn’t join the war or anything dramatic like that–she is a young woman who has lead a protected life but who also seeks to learn more about those around here.

Is this a fantasy? Only in that the world in which Averie lives does not exist. I find it odd that books such as this (and many written by Guy Gavriel Kay) end up classified as fantasy despite the lack of magic–simply because the world in which their characters live is not one that ever existed. It’s a strange thing to ponder.

Despite not being a magical fantasy, it is a romance, and like everything else I’ve read by Sharon Shinn, a well done with. Averie is young, and makes mistakes, but she isn’t stupid, and her mistakes are typically made because she is kind hearted and trying to help and understand others.

I can’t say that I ever found myself emotionally involved with the characters, yet I also could not stop reading, and devoured the story in two sittings (had to stop to go out to dinner), so it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just is.

It’s also a very surprising book, where nothing turned out as I was expecting. All in all, highly recommended.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Viking

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