Clan Daughter-Morgan Howell

Clan Daughter
Morgan Howell
Del Rey, Sep 2007, $6.99
ISBN: 9780345496515

Dar has a strong reason for not loving for the human race; her father sold her into the King’s army and he is not a king who takes female servants when he is needy. After a battle, Dar convinces five orcs to defect Kovak-Mah, who loves her, follows her wherever she goes and where he goes so do the other four orcs..

On the journey to their home in the wasteland part of the Urkhert Mountains , Dar and Kovak-Mah realize they love each other, but he knows their life together is doomed as the Orcs hate humans and only fight for them because their queen, who lives near the human king, orders them to do so. While living with the orcs, Dar partakes in a ceremony in which she is reborn with the spirit of an Orc. Because of this and that she still looks human, she is chosen to talk with the queen, who refuses to allow female orcs to come near her; her objective is to learn why they kill for a human monarch.

The second book of this trilogy (see KING’S PROPERTY) is a fabulous fantasy due mostly to the intricate Orc culture that is vividly described in detail which in turn provides the tale with a seemingly powerful authentic anchor. Dar is a dynamic independent woman who follows her own course when it comes to races and love. Her fiery spirit along with the insightful Orcan lifestyle and some more typical battle scenes make CLAN DAUGHTER an entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner