1983 fantasy, second of the very loose Lyra series. Ranira is a bond
(more or less indentured) servant in Drinn, which is ruled by the
Temple of Chaldon. Then some foreigners take a room at the inn where
she works, and everything is turned on its head.
It is fascinating to see the progression from Shadow Magic to
here. There are still fantasy tropes, but the distinctive Wrede voice
is much more apparent.
For example, we have a classic Church of No Redeeming Virtues in the
worship of Chaldon: the priests swagger about and take anything they
want, their thugs assist them, and it's basically a police-state
dictatorship, with never a mention of what the actual belief system
might be or what spiritual comfort it provides to the rest of the
people.
On the other hand, when during the escape (no spoilers unless you've
never read a fantasy story before) Ranira and the foreigners have to
swim in a river, the city people have never had occasion to learn to
swim (quite apart from the lack of need, there are deadly water snakes
encouraged by the Temple) and she takes some care to consider the sort
of error they might make as people who are not just untrained but
barely familiar with the concepts.
All right, it can get a bit infodumpy at times (particularly where the
offstage Temple of the Moon is concerned), but all the principals are
distinct and interesting in their own rights, and manage to have
disagreements with valid points on both sides even as they agree on
their overall goal.
Well worth revisiting.