Priestess of the White

I hate to say it, but I am becoming more and more disheartened with every Canavan book I read.

The Age of Five focuses on Auraya, who in the beginning of the book becomes one of the White. The White is an order of five prophets who can communicate with their gods and preform miracles using the gods' power to protect their citizens. Auraya also has a complicated relationship with the Dreamweaver who saved her mother's life years ago, as the gods have always opposed the Dreamweavers. Using the Dreamweaver powers of healing on a non-Dreamweaver person is against the gods' will, and heavily penalised. Her new connection with the gods puts her love for Dreamweavers at risk of becoming the best weapon against the Dreamweavers.

Spoilers Ahead

This book sets up a strong plot concerning the White trying to establish strong allies in the countries surrounding them. They want to build a strong system of allies so they can take on hostile southern countries who believe in different gods. To do this, they need to reach out to remote races of flying humans and building the first positive relation they have with land-walkers.

However, as part of this plot the White suddenly decide to build bridges with the Dreamweavers partially due to Auraya's connection with Dreamweavers. This section of the plot quickly takes over and becomes a romantic story between Auraya and the Dreamweaver who healed her mother all those years ago. I barely knew Auraya at the point where this began, and therefore didn't care at all about her new forbidden relationship. It was boring to me, developed too intensely and completely put me off the whole story.