MAIA

This is an absolutely amazing novel about a beautiful peasant girl, Maia, who is sold into slavery and becomes a concubine in the household of the High Counselor of the Leopard regime. The Leopards are the upper ruling class of the semi-barbaric Beklan empire, an ancient, beautiful, and sometimes deadly city. Along the way, Maia is befriended by Occula, an exotic slave girl, and unwittingly becomes involved in a plot to overthrow the Leopard regime. This book combines political intrigue, a quest for identity, a struggle for freedom, and this remarkable girl's search for her one true love, Zen-Kurel. Richard Adams is a master storyteller, and reading one of his works is like "being woven into a tapestry". His descriptions of the Beklan empire, his intricate plot lines, his attention to detail, and his use of subtle humor, all make this a story worth reading, and one you'll come back to time and again. ( amazon customer)