THE MASTER
by Kate Aaron
Pages:
178 approx
Date:
24/11/2014
Grade:
5++
Grade
for series: 6
Details:
No. 3 Free Men
The
blurb:
“Being
rescued was only the start.
Otiz lies in ruins. As underlord of the region, Lysander knows where his responsibilities lie. He has an obligation to the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives. But what about his home, his life?
Kai needs help. The damage inflicted on him goes beyond the marks left when he was tortured, but healing him might require more from Lysander than he’s capable of giving. Of one thing he’s certain: Tam and Kai will never be endangered again because of who he is, even if saving them means setting them free.
All Lysander wants is to be left in peace. To recover from the horrors of his experience at the hands of his enemies. But with pressure piling up from every angle, peace is the last thing he’s likely to find. Suffocated by guilt, Lysander begins to spiral. How can he hold everything together, when inside he’s falling apart?”
Otiz lies in ruins. As underlord of the region, Lysander knows where his responsibilities lie. He has an obligation to the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives. But what about his home, his life?
Kai needs help. The damage inflicted on him goes beyond the marks left when he was tortured, but healing him might require more from Lysander than he’s capable of giving. Of one thing he’s certain: Tam and Kai will never be endangered again because of who he is, even if saving them means setting them free.
All Lysander wants is to be left in peace. To recover from the horrors of his experience at the hands of his enemies. But with pressure piling up from every angle, peace is the last thing he’s likely to find. Suffocated by guilt, Lysander begins to spiral. How can he hold everything together, when inside he’s falling apart?”
My
thoughts:
Have
you ever felt torn between wanting to finish a book as quickly as you possibly
can because you really need to know how the story ends, and wanting to draw the
reading out for as long as possible because you don’t want to ever stop spending
time with these characters in their world? Well, THAT.
Also...
Do
you ever get so involved in a story you want to jump into it and scream at the
characters that they’re getting it wrong, that if only the paid attention
they’d know everything they wanted, everything they dreamed about and
everything they thought they couldn’t have was right in front of them? Well,
THAT too .
To
say this trilogy captured my imagination would be a gross understatement. The
moment I read the first few lines of The Slave I was happily and
completely lost in the story. My obsession with the tale and the three
characters staring in it only became stronger while The Soldier ripped my
heart apart and put it back together. I counted down the days until the release
of
The Master, planned my writing schedule so today would be free and even
put aside a book I would not have thought I’d be able to ignore for any reason.
Lysander,
the Master, is the narrator in this book and at last we get explanations for
actions which appeared inexplicable in The Slave, Tam’s story and The Soldier,
Kai’s book. We discover that Lysander is not quite the in control Master he
appears to be.
“Kai
thought me a strong man, a master he could look up to. He had only ever seen me
in my own house, in control. He had no idea how out of control I truly felt.”
We
learn that Lysander’s actions stemmed from love; that his sacrifices as well as
his seemingly harsh decisions were made out of selfless concern for others
rather than misuse of power, even if Lysander himself can’t see it that way.
Before
bed we bathed in the pool, and I scrubbed my skin raw but nothing removed the
guilt which had eaten its way into my flesh, as thick and cloying as smoke.”
And
“I
trembled with the effort of keeping everything inside, of keeping tears at bay.
If I let them out, they’d consume me, and I needed to be strong. Needed to be
the master everyone expected me to be.”
And
yet the author didn’t portray this character as a saint anymore than she did
the other two men. All three of them are recognisable in their humanity, their
doubts, their jealousies and their occasionally petty actions. This doesn’t
make them lesser characters, quite the opposite. It brings them to life and
makes you love them all the more because they are beautiful and admirable
despite and because of their faults and the manner in which they fight and overcome
them.
Kate
Aaron shows us things are rarely how they appear at first glance. Slaves aren’t
ignorant or weak, Masters don’t always get it right and aren’t necessarily the
strongest personality in the contorted relationship. The master, the slave and
the soldier all have their strengths and weaknesses they complement each other
even if they are slow to recognise the fact. All three need to be seen and
loved for who they are rather than the role society has thrust upon them.
“Of
everyone, only Tam and Kai cared about Lysander, the man, rather than what my
position of power could offer them.”
I’m
not going to say anything about the revelations in this book. Doing so would be
a huge disservice to those who haven’t read the book(s) yet. Suffice to say it
all worked beautifully and made for a powerful, at times heartbreaking, and
ultimately beautiful story. Kate Aaron created characters and a world in such
vivid clarity the pictures and voices are vivid in my head and safely lodged in
my heart. I won’t forget the slave, the soldier or their master anytime soon
and know without a doubt a smile will brighten my face whenever they pop into
my thoughts.
I
want to end with a quick note on the rating as shown above. Each story on its
own was a solid five star read for me. The three books as a whole – the story
in its entirety – warranted more than just the average of the three scores. Free
Men is an exceptional trilogy and more than deserves the six star
rating I’ve given it. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on what will, without a
doubt, be (one of) the best reading experience(s) you’ll have this year.
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