Tribute Trail by Terri Beckett & Chris Power

Review from: Fantasy Reviews
Reviewed by:Charles Williams

Kherin, the Goddess' Chosen, and Rythian, The Sun Stallion, are both heroes, both proud, both warriors, but they are men from different cultures and from different lands within the world envisioned and executed by the two authors. Their meeting is part of their destiny, foreordained to return the Sun God to his people, the Shi'R'Laen. This is not an easy task in as much as Rythian does not believe in his own god--or in any others. Kherin is a believer--but he has had ample proof that the Goddess exists, even in the strange land.

Betrayed by one of his own, Kherin is drugged, kidnapped, and made a slave by the enemy of both heroes. As a slave, he is a part of the tribute paid to Rythian, who has just killed the previous Sun Stallion and has become the new ruler of the Shi'R'Laen. The Shi'R'Laen are a semi-nomadic people who value their great horses and their freedom (and the freedom of all men). The warriors, both male and female, by treaty, guard the trade caravans from attack and the tribute is given in payment. Rythian names the four slaves, Kherin and three others of varying importance to the work, hearth brothers and sisters, effectively making them members of the tribe and Kherin part of his own household. This isn't strictly true because now that he is the Sun Stallion he doesn't have a household. The Goddess' Chosen becomes the man of Rythian's former household and the husband to his former wives.

The world created in TRIBUTE TRAIL includes life, death, gods, civilizations, wars, and a cast of very believable characters. The heroes, villains, women, and gods are very believable. With the exceptions of the deities, they are flawed, filled with doubts, and well motivated for their parts in the unfolding drama. The plot is straightforward, but includes more than enough twists and turns to keep even a jaded reader turning reading faster and faster. The setting, the magic, and the cultures are all credible.

I hope the two authors are planning a sequel--I would like to visit this land again.

Review from: Cresent Blues
Reviewed by: Patricia White

Not Utopia or even Erehwon, the world of Tribute Trail includes life, death, gods, civilizations, wars, and a cast of very believable characters -- some likable, some detestable, but all very well-conceived and executed. Despite a few cultural similarities to other books I've read, this book is in a class by itself and heralds the arrival of two new voices in the world of high fantasy.

Drugged and enslaved by a man he considered his dearest friend, the warrior mage Kherin becomes part of the tribute to Rythian, the new Sun Stallion (and ruler) of the semi-nomadic Shi'R'Laen. Assuming the duties and obligations of the Sun Stallion entails separating oneself from one's family and household. Rythian, a devoted family man, finds this aspect of rulership especially difficult. And it becomes even more difficult when he accepts Kherin as a tribute gift, effectively making the outlander a man of Rythian's former household and husband to Rythian's former wives.

Different lands and different cultures shaped Kherin, the Goddess' Chosen; and Rythian, the Sun Stallion. To fulfil their shared destiny, the two men must return the Sun God to his rightful people, the Shi'R'Laen. But many obstacles stand in the heroes' way -- obstacles raised by man, nature and by Rythian's refusal to believe in his own god or any others.

Rythian must battle his deepest instincts in order to do right by his people. Meanwhile, Kherin must contend the distrust of the Shi'R'Laen and the need to fulfil his destiny before the Goddess calls him home.

The straightforward but occasionally surprising plot of Tribute Trail held my complete attention from beginning to end. Beckett and Power know how to set their scenes and how to keep their world building from taking over the story. However, although this book contains no graphic sexual content, some readers may find the cultural and sexual mores of the Shi'R'Laen offensive.

Patricia White is the Sapphire Award-winning author of A Wizard Scorned. Her current book, the western Edwina Parkhurst, Spinster, is available from Hard Shell Word Factory.

Reviewed by: Aaron Bodor
Rating: * * * stars

Prince Kherin of Khassan, Chosen of the Goddess and warrior, is betrayed and sold into slavery. Rythian is a scout and warrior of the D'Shael, a tribe of horsemen and women, who reluctantly rises to be their Sun Stallion, tribal chief and avatar of the Sun God. Kherin is included in the tribute given the D'Shael by the traders of Tylos. Both men find themselves on hero's quests as they respond to their individual circumstances. One clings to his ideas of free will while the other struggles to understand the divine will.

Wheels turn within wheels as powerful opponents try to grind the D'Shael into something malleable, and factions within the tribe strive for power. Kherin seeks home and retribution but finds that his Goddess has other plans, plans shared by the Sun God. Between the two deities, the two heroes have trials aplenty as they are forged into stronger weapons. Individual subplots involve supporting characters who genuinely change and grow, a rarity in any genre.

Both main characters are well thought out and developed. Subordinate characters are better developed than usual. The book is peopled by a believable cast, including the wise and the foolish, the beautiful, the ordinary and the ugly, with appearances not always determining role. There is no real villain, per se, but several antagonists, all of whom act from believable motivations, even noble ones.

The deities act, but do not appear, and their motivations are never made clear. The enemy finally struck by the weapon the gods forge seems unworthy, like using a stick of dynamite to destroy a wasps' nest. Even with that quibble, the book is well written, involving and worth the time spent in the reading.

Review from Affaire de Coeur
Reviewed by: Rickey Mallory

Tribute Trail by Terri Beckett & Chris Power "An eloquent and beautiful depiction of an alien, but somehow familiar, way of life is evident in Tribute Trail. Lovers of traditional fantasy will delight in this new source for well-written fiction."

Review from SF Romance, January 2000.
Review by: Jennifer Dunne

This was one of the launch books from new small press Speculation Press, so I examined it quite carefully to determine their standards. Attractively packaged as a trade paperback with a glossy (and securely attached!) cover boasting visually pleasing cover art and graphics, the inner pages are crisp and bright white, with well-edited text laid out in an easily readable mix of fonts and sufficient (if not overly generous) white space. I found the names somewhat confusing, due to a host of similar sounds and spellings, and would have appreciated a glossary, but the characters were such well drawn
individuals, I recognized each within a few sentences anyway.

Tribute Trail is the story of Kherin, goddess-consort and military leader of Khassin, who is betrayed and sold into slavery by a jealous cousin, and his efforts to reunite himself with his goddess and enact his revenge. The multilayer plot is complicated first by evil spellcasters who prevent Kherin from using his powers, then by a jealous fellow-slave who does everything possible to keep Kherin from gaining the freedom promised to all four tribute slaves by the new Sun Stallion. Rescued by the Sun Stallion's wives and sisters (marriage is a malleable concept having to do more with living arrangements and providing for children than devotion -- that kind of pair bonding is reserved for a different relationship that can be either homo- or
heterosexual), Kherin sets out to win over the Sun Stallion and his warriors so that he can return to Khassin with an army. Of course, his task is anything but easy, especially since he's made a number of very powerful enemies in the Sun Stallion's court.

If that had been the book's sole plot, it would have been an entertaining sword and sorcery excursion. But while Kherin is making his physical journey to a spiritual destination he is sure of, the Sun Stallion is making a spiritual journey to acknowledge the cause of the physical reality he accepts without question. His path is no less fraught with dangers than Kherin's, and filled with betrayals, slavery, and death-defying battles of a different sort. The two stories, each capable of supporting an entire book, intertwine and mirror each other to create a truly exceptional work. Although it's a stand alone novel, I hope it's the first of a very long series by these authors set in this delightful world. There are still many people and places I want to explore.