Rose of the Prophet (2) - The Paladin of the Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
To the next part of the astonishing series: The Paladin of the Night by Weis Hickman (in German Das Buch der Unsterblichen and Das Buch des Akhran (2 books). I read it in English where it contained 371 pages.
To save their husband, Zohra and Mathew have shamed him deeply. But that doesn't matter, not when they are captured by Auda ibn Jad. The mysterious, dangerous man is one of the few left of the evil god Zhakrin's order, the Dark Paladins. With the mission to bring the god back to the world, the Paladin takes the three to the isle in the "non-existent" sea. While Zohra and Khardan want to flee to join their people again, Mathew sees no other way than to play a game he can't comprehend: But the evil might just help him save lifes. In the meantime, djinn and angels begin to work together to save the immortals - and their gods.
I love Asrial. She's sooo sweet! As for Pukah, he makes me puke (Har har hardihar). No, seriously, I don't like him. He's a sound character and his schizophrenia is very well done, but he's an ass. First I thought he was funny, now I just don't like him.
The whole idea of where all the djinn are and how they have to be brought out of this was gorgeous. And Puka that idiot nearly ruined EVERYTHING!
The relationship between Khardan and Zohra is so unnecessarily complicated! Seriously, if they'd just stop sulking and opened their eyes, they actually would have been spared lots of pain.
As for the fishes... they are gorgeous.
The whole story is original, with nice details. The only thing that doesn't completely fit is Auda. His god is the god of evil, intolerance and reality. But Auda doesn't act this way: He tolerates outsiders and faith and honesty to vows are the most important thing for him - which stands in contrast to his god. But what is very, very well done is the following: Auda is evil, definitely. But he is also one of the "good". I know that seems confusing, but as you see: He helps the good guys, he is one of the protagonists - even though he's evil. These books aren't like many others good vs. evil period. This is very, very nice.
So, I give it stars for characters, ideas, style, content and the philosophy behind it, minus one for Auda's morality, which is very nice, but doesn't quite fit.