Braided Path

Heavily influenced by Asia, the Braided Path is a long, but very rewarding read. It’s loosely categorized as Young Adult, but a read through this series had me seriously questioning that classification. The series features a pair of strong female characters who get caught up in some Empire-changing events. The ancient empire of Saramyr is ruled by evil, controlled by a group of sinister magicians who kill off any child with magical talent who may challenge their shadowy rule. But change is in the air when the empress herself gives birth to a child of magic, and the seeds of a revolution are born. This is sort of a pseudo-Star-Wars tale set in an Asian landscape, with one of the characters a female version of Anakin Skywalker dealing with her developing magic powers. No lightsabers, but plenty of dark magic abound. Be warned, this is no kiddie fantasy tale - explicit sexual and child-abuse scenes do occur during the story. It may also take a while to get the story rolling (the second and third books are when the plot and story really start to pick up). Overall, an excellent tale for the adults; not so much for the kiddies.