The Prize in the Game

Elenn and Emer ap Allel are sisters, and only a year apart in age. Whereas Elenn's beauty turns heads, Emer prefers to be known for her skill as the charioteer of Conal, the man she hopes to marry. That hope is unlikely to be fulfilled, though, as Elenn and Emer's mother Maga is a domineering woman whose only goal is for her daughters to marry as highly as possible.

Up until about a week ago, The Prize in the Game was the only book by Jo Walton that I had never read, which particularly galled me because it was set in the same world as her Sulien books, both of which I loved (of course, I loved her alternate histories, too, but they aren't related to this book). After finishing The Prize in the Game, I am left with the desire to go back and reread the Sulien books for the fourth time. Everything Jo Walton writes is amazing, but she handles a large cast of characters with great skill in her fantasy novels.

This book can stand independent of The King's Peace and The King's Name.