Passion Play

by Beth Bernobich

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Tor Books (2010), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 368 pages

Description

Ilse Zhalina is the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants. She has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege.nbsp; Many would consider hers a happy lot.nbsp;But there are dark secrets, especiallynbsp;in the best of families.nbsp;Ilsenbsp;has learned that for a young woman of her beauty and social station, to be passive and silent is the best way to survive.nbsp; When Ilse finally meets thenbsp;older man she is to marry, she realizesnbsp;he is far crueler and more deadly than her father could ever be. Ilse chooses to run. This choice will change her life forever. And it will lead her to Raul Kosenmark,nbsp; master of one of the land’s most notorious pleasure houses…and who is, as Ilse discovers, a puppetmaster of a different sort altogether.nbsp;nbsp;Ilse discovers a world where every pleasure has a price and there are levels of magic and intrigue she once thought unimaginable. She also finds the other half of her heart. nbsp;… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member allthesedarnbooks
I found this book, the start of a new fantasy series, rather uneven, at times boring, distasteful, and, rarely intriguing. Our heroine Therez (later called Ilse) is not very likable, especially at the beginning of the book. She runs away from her pampered rich girl life because her father has
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promised her in marriage to a rich older man whom she has heard rumors about. Unfortunately, this section passes very quickly. Therez/Ilse makes a snap decision to leave the very night her father announces her engagement; our view of her home life is so limited that, although we're told her father is difficult and oppressive, we don't really get to see it so her actions don't make a lot of sense.

She then joins a caravan traveling to the capital city where she is gang raped (not depicted too graphically, thank God) and held captive. This was a difficult section to read as she is degraded more and more. Eventually she ends up working as a secretary for a mysterious brothel owner/lord/spy and is able to come into her own. The "hero" is also rather cruel to her at some points, although he never rapes her, he does keep her in solitary confinement as a punishment at one point.

The worldbuilding is rather confused. The magic system is run of the mill but the political and cultural world Bernobich attempts to insert her characters into is very convoluted and not fully explained.

The book gets much more interesting toward the last third or so, as the plot finally starts to pick up and Ilse starts to become more aware. It wasn't enough however, to make me want to read the rest of the series. Not recommended. Two stars.
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LibraryThing member temporus
Passion Play is a strong start for a new fantasy series by Beth Bernobich. It kept me up to the wee hours of the night, compelling me to see how events turn out. As any first book in a series, it ended with some major plotlines open, making me wish that I could click “BUY NOW” and get book two
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right away. However, there was a measure of completion to one journey for the main character. Living a privileged life of a wealthy merchant’s daughter, Therez Zhalina finds herself suddenly a bargaining chip in the hands of her severe, and demanding father. Set to be married off to an man she just met who sets off every intuition and instinct in her that there is something cruel and dangerous, she instead flees the situation. Taking on the name of Ilse, she joins up with a caravan leaving at first light, and lives through a harrowing set of experiences, distancing herself from her past. She manages to make her way into the service of Lord Raul Kosenmark, where she begins the process of rebuilding herself into someone new, amid a world of intrigue and court politics.

This introduction to the world of Erythandra doesn’t tread softly. Bernobich impressively gives her characters license to fail, and to suffer the consequences of their failures. These are not the members of a stereotypical fantasy cast, who sweep onto the stage, defeat their enemies at every turn and walk away bumped, and bruised, but none-the-worse for wear. This is a world where characters may find themselves beaten, raped, emasculated, or murdered because of the choices they have made, and the situations in which they’ve found themselves. Despite all obstacles, the heroine turns events to her favor and gains control of her destiny. No longer just running from her past, or managing to survive in her present, she eventually reconciles her two selves and goes forth as Ilse Zhalina.

The writing is both rich and exacting, the details make Erythandra at once both familiar enough that a reader doesn’t feel lost, and at the same time gives a strong sense of how much more there is out there in the world to explore, if only there is time and enough books to do it. The real magic in the tale is in the layer upon layer of intrigue and detail, it slowly unfolds before a reader, drawing them deeper and deeper within the realm of the story.

I can’t wait for book two.
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LibraryThing member alexdallymacfarlane
Passion Play is quite different to a lot of the fantasy books that are on my radar at the moment. Perhaps I need to expand my radar, because I'm glad I read this one.

Its tone is most akin to historical fantasy, though it's set in a secondary world (which, pleasingly, is not yet another version of
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Western Europe). It includes elements of political fantasy and romance, but ultimately it's a very personal story: it documents the difficulties and growth of its main character, a young woman called Therez/Ilse (there's a name-change partway through) who flees an arranged marriage and has to find her own path in life.

Trigger warning: this book contains rape. I did not read it; from bits I saw when flicking past, it's raw and unpleasant. But not, I note, in a skeevy way.

Because, in a rare and wonderful twist, Bernobich doesn't depict rape and its survivor in a way that makes me want to pitch the book across the wall. There is no sexualisation, no random tacking-on of abuse in a vague bid to make the character sympathetic, no extended victimisation. On the contrary, Passion Play is a book about a survivor surviving. The rape is early in the book. The book is about Ilse growing as a young woman whose life has a lot more going on than being a rape survivor.

The fact that I have to actually applaud this makes me angry. Still, it pleases me that not everyone who writes about rape is a terrible person.

Ilse comes into the employ of Raul Kosenmark, who is embroiled in state politics - in which she begins to involve herself. The pace is slow, with a fairly long section about Ilse's life as a maid and her interactions with the other maids, which invokes many of the standard 'new girl in a boarding school / other close-knit environment' tropes. It gets more interesting when she expands her role away from being a maid. But what makes this readable and enjoyable rather than dull is following the growth of Ilse in confidence. She's intelligent and thoughtful - and resilient, and interesting. I have a soft spot for tough, well-written women in fiction. For all the pace, I was utterly engrossed. I cared about Ilse and wanted to find out what she did.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, and ultimately it feels very much like Book One in a series. This is annoying on one hand, but on the other it makes me keen to read the next book, Queen's Hunt, which is due out in 2012 and looks like it will contain a lot more of the politics than really began brewing by the end.

If character-focused fantasy with a historical flavour is your kind of thing, I definitely recommend checking this book out.
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LibraryThing member KarenIrelandPhillips
Passion Play, Beth Bernobich
This was one of two books I read this week which shared some underlying themes, including the effects of war, class conflict, personal growth, and the power of love. (Don't scoff at that last.) Despite some very dark moments, the protagonist grows and changes, on a
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journey that's worth your time to follow.
Our young heroine is a naive but not particularly spoiled merchant's daughter. When he summarily arranges her marriage to a man that she fears, she flees. On the road, the worst happens, and the young woman is forced into a mockery of complicity in her own near-destruction. She finally flees on a nightmare journey which ends in a town that rejects her - in part because she is ragged and unwashed: poor. Deathly ill, she washes up at a whorehouse, where the proprietor takes her in.
I know what I was expecting at this point. Ha! At every turn, the author teasingly denies (or does she?) the conventions of the romance plot. There is a whiff of fairy tale (though perhaps not the fairy tale you thought you were reading), but nothing of magic in this fantasy.
Bernobich's characters work hard, whether in the kitchens or the counting rooms. The proprietor has larger and more dangerous ambitions than running a house of ill repute. Trust is hard come by, and attachments are chancy at best, yet the redemptive power of love – of others, of oneself – weaves powerfully through this story, which in the end is more light than darkness. Bernobich’s world building includes no comment on the genders of people who are in relationship, and she quietly comments on the inequities of class and gender, and the dislocations of war and politics, in an understated way.
Listen. I’m glad I did, and I look forward to more of this story.
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LibraryThing member CatHellisen
This was exactly the book I was in the mood for.

In a way, I'd been avoiding Passion Play. I've known Beth online for a number of years, and while I knew she was a good writer (I'd read short stories of hers), I also liked her as a person, and that generally makes me antsy about reading someone's
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novels. There's always that awkward "oh god but what if I hate it?"

I'm so glad Tor finally made the ebook available in Africa, and that I took the chance. Because yes. This is the kind of fantasy I love - gorgeous worldbuilding, fluid sexuality, slow-burn romance, political and courtly intrigue, the simmering of potential war contrasted with a girl rebuilding her life and discovering who she is and what she wants.

I'm so glad that there are people still writing this kind of fantasy - Bernobich and Monette spring to mind - and I plan to go dig up some more because reading this made me realise just how much I love these kinds of stories. I will definitely be buying the rest of this series

And now for the slightly weird part of my not-a-review. (Ha!) If you enjoyed When the Sea is Rising Red, then go read this book. It's the kind of thing I *wish* I could write, and what WtSiRR could have been if I was a better write
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LibraryThing member theepicrat
I had hoped that Passion Play would be similar to Troubled Waters, but instead the beginning quickly dissipated that thought! What happens to Therez may leave you queasy when she gets horribly taken advantage of, but after that point, the story takes a turn for the better as Ilse dives into Lord
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Kosenmark's political agenda. All in all, Passion Play is the most realistic fantasy that I have encountered that dares to tackle the worst-case-scenario of what happens to a naive daughter from a wealthy merchant family, but thankfully in the end allows her to recover in an inspiring manner.
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LibraryThing member Shadowrose96
First off I'm sorry I didn't read this sooner, it's an absolutely delightful book. I was a little hesitant to give this a full five star rating but when it came down too it I just enjoyed it way to much to give it a mere four. The beginning is a bit slow and I had a hard time getting into it but
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once I got around chapter three I realized that this was going to be a fantastic story and couldn't wait to read more.

The title is a little misleading I think. When you pick up a book named Passion Play and read the description they give you get the picture that this is going to be one of those novels with a lot of elicit scenes and romances with some sort of noble and sexy scoundrel. That's not really the case, there are some parts that warrant that this be read only by adults or mature enough to handle it's not a erotic novel in the least. It's more about intrigue, there is a good deal of politics as well, and of course Ilse's progress in making a life for herself. Therez, or better known as Ilse (guessing it's pronounced similar to my middle name e-lease), is the sort of main character that does what she has to in order to survive her situation. It may not be pretty and she may not like it but if it means she can get one step closer to the freedom she so craves she'll do it. Early on you want more for her character, you feel horrible about her situation and when she does get a better opportunity you hope it only gets better. I connected with her pretty quickly thanks to the fact that the story starts off right before everything gets kick started. There is no long explanation of things or backgrounds because the way the author writes there is simply no need. I adored Raul and while his situation calls for pity at times he is a worthy counterpart to Ilse. The chemistry between the two comes off as genuine and progresses at a believable rate, as does the character development. It takes the time to explain things when needed but doesn't bog you down all at once, unlike so many other fantasy novels that involve political unrest and threats of war.The ending however is going to kill me until the next book in the series comes out. It's not an actual cliff-hanger but it's fairly close to one. I can't wait to find out if the choice that Raul and Ilse made was the right one and if it will turn out in their favor, I hope it does.

I do highly recommend this to fantasy lovers, and for those who enjoy romance novels I'm sure you'll enjoy this too if you into with the knowledge that this does not solely center on their relationship. It's a big part but it's not the only important aspect. I really hope the next on comes out before I go insane with worry.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I won this book through the First-reads program on Goodreads
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LibraryThing member bookgal123
I was honestly drawn to this book because of the cover. I'm always looking for good epic fantasies featuring strong young women, and the cover copy promised just that. I really wish I had been more prepared for what lay inside...

The story begins with a pretty standard tale -- a young woman of
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means faces a very undesirable marriage, so she runs off to find her own fortune. Unfortunately, she's not long on the road before her grand adventure takes an awful turn.

If you have the stomach for some graphic rapes scenes and you don't mind reading about a young woman's rapid descent into sexual slavery, then have at. Otherwise take a pass and count yourself lucky. I'm now stuck with some horrifying images that I won't soon be able to shake.
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LibraryThing member emcnicho
The title and the cover are VERY misleading. This is not Urban Fantasy although there are elements. This is high fantasy. That being said it is not bad and I will probably read the next in the series.
LibraryThing member Isana
At first I was really interested. Actually, I'm still interested because the story in an interesting one. However, I abhor every single character. The decision are ridiculous and they don't feel like real people. They feel like characters. You can feel Bernobich bending them to her will instead of
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it seeming like lived playing out. I had to stop several times to just laugh because what in the world were they thinking? The writing in terms of style wasn't too bad. If you don't mind terrible characters then this is a good book.
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LibraryThing member wunder
Um, this would be four stars for a fundamentally sound romance/fantasy crossover, but it has to lose a star for the underage sexual violence. Essential to the plot, but I just can't endorse that. And she just kinda gets better, no real trauma, which doesn't seem right. Plus a half star for all the
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other creative, unusual stuff, but I'm rounding down to three.

And the cover really does have a ripped bodice, which is true to the story, though she would have been wearing lower class clothes at the time she was raped.

I'll keep a watch on Ms. Bernobich, because I read a short story set in the distant backstory of this world which was very good.
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LibraryThing member lexilewords
I read Passion Play through in one sitting. I saw the book advertised for an author signing at Book Expo and knew I had to have it. The cover is gorgeous, the synopsis sounds tailored for my interests and most importantly, I wanted to read it.

The book starts out giving us a a good sense of what
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home life is like for Ilse (and to avoid confusion, her name is originally Therez, but she changes it when she runs away). An imposing restrictive household, a society that doesn't leave young women many choices and a restlessness to leave and do something more. To find a path in life that she can be happy with. If her father hadn't pushed her hand, I truly believe Ilse would have run away regardless. Her father's ideals and her own were vastly different and with no allies to back her up, I still think she would have run away. Her plan may have been less hasty however and more thought out.

Ilse's journey from her city is...traumatizing to say the very least. She's young (not yet 16), sheltered and has no idea what the real world can be like. The stories she has heard from her father's friends and her brother don't prepare her and her naivety is almost painful to read about. Choices she makes haunt her throughout the rest of the novel; plaguing her dreams and making her fretful during waking hours. Bernobich's handling of the post-traumatic stress Ilse feels is subtle and heart-wrenching. Everyone she meets is suspect and she's scared of revealing too much lest they turn out to be like those before.

Kosenmark, and his household, is a unique place. A pleasure house for certain, but it seeks to pleasure not just the body, but the mind as well. His courtesans are singers, dancers, board game players and musicians. They tell stories and charm with more than their bodies. Raul himself is enigmatic for the better part of the book. Pieces of his backstory filter out, at times when the information is completely necessary for Ilse to know, but we don't see a true Raul until near the very end. Gaurded, clever and quick to judgments, he's also a paranoid man with good reason to fret for his life. His bantering with Ilse seem to bring him as much pleasure as the games he plays with his long time lover.

In the last third of the book something transpires between Raul and Ilse that I'm a little uncomfortable with. Its not their relationship, but accusations made that made me a little leery of the deepening affection between the two. I could just be a naturally suspicious person however.

The other characters are, for the most part, well developed. I wish we had learned more about some of the serving girls (Lys and Rosel, for example) and I hope we see more of the courtesan Nadine and certain misconceptions are remedied. The second book is due out in 2011 and the third is due out in 2012 (according to the author's website). I'm looking forward to learning more about Erythandra and the hinted at destiny for Ilse.
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Awards

Otherwise Award (Long list — 2010)

Language

Physical description

368 p.; 9.3 inches

Other editions

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