Buy used:
$31.99
FREE delivery May 17 - 30. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta US
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle app

Follow the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Sacrifice: The First Book of the Fey Mass Market Paperback – Dec 1 1995

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
See all formats and editions
Defying their Black King in order to rally an attack on the peaceful Blue Isle, warrior-prince Rugar and his fearless daughter, Jewel, do not suspect that the islanders, under young prince Nicholas, have prepared to defend themselves.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    688 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Spectra
  4. Publication date
    Dec 1 1995
  5. Dimensions
    10.16 x 3.81 x 17.78 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0553568949
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0553568943
  8. See all details
Next page

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spectra (Dec 1 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 688 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0553568949
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553568943
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 340 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.16 x 3.81 x 17.78 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.

Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award.

She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson.

She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith.

To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com and sign up for her newsletter. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com, fictionriver.com, pulphousemagazine.com).

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
16 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Kilmaruu
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
Thank you for this beautiful book
Helpful
 Report
Vickie Legere
3.0 out of 5 stars Faded Ink made Several Pages Unreadable
Reviewed in Canada on June 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
Just toward the end of the book, I encountered several pages where the ink was so faded that the page was unreadable. That was a real disappointment. Otherwise the book was in good shape.
Helpful
 Report
Myra
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fey series, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Reviewed in Canada on May 14, 2004
Ok, so this series is long (5 books 500-700 pages long, plus sequel series 2 books 500 pages long), but it's really good! My sister is even reading it, and she 'never' reads books I recommend. It's so interesting - this author, besides these books, only writes Star Wars books, which is really sad (for me), but that's OK.
These books are really good. They are fantasy.
The Fey are a war people who are also magic people - well, most of them. There are some Fey called Red Caps, who don't have magic (thus are short), and they are considered servants pretty much among the Fey. The Fey are tall, dark-skinned people, who are very proud, brave, and intent on conquering the world. The leading force of all the Fey is what is called the Black Throne. It's a line of kings and queens who have what is called Black Blood. And usually the heir is the oldest child of the throne, because killing among Blood is not good - for anybody. It causes what is called the Blood, where everyone turns on people. It happened once, and only a tenth of the Fey survived. They weren't a very large force then, and (around) 3000 people died. Now they rule half the world - preventing causing the Blood is on the mind of every Fey.
That's just killing them outright - if you send an assassin, that counts. But if you perhaps send him somewhere to fight when you know he'll lose and he dies - hey, it's not your fault. Which is what the Black King did.
His name is Rugad, and he sent his son to a place called the Blue Isle. He didn't think his son was worthy of the throne. But what he didn't want was his granddaughter, Jewel, going with him. Her brothers were absolutely not going to become the next rulers (Fey live a long time).
This is the Fey, who want to take over the world. They would probably have succeeded, with their Beast Riders, Dreamriders, Infantry, Domestics, Wisps, Echanters, and Spell Warders. Except for the Blue Isle. Rugad's son, Rugar, did get defeated. But to an extent Rugad didn't expect. The Islanders (as they are called) have a strange magic, that most of them don't know they have. Among them is a hidden place, a place of magic. And they are the most formidable force the Fey will ever encounter, with their Poison (Holy Water) and other religious relics.
I won't tell you any more, because - who knows? - you might read this series. And I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.
This series covers all things - religion, war, prejudices, love, mystery, and the true meaning (and wrong meanings) of family ties. True, it doesn't have much humor, but you will find yourself smiling at certain moments when something strikes you as funny. If you like fantasy, and long stories, I suggest you read the Fey books and the Black Throne books by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Be prepared to love them.
Helpful
 Report
Kayleigh
5.0 out of 5 stars An entrancing and truly exiting book
Reviewed in Canada on April 12, 2004
Originally, I had picked up the second book of the series by chance. I read the first few chapters and fell in love with the book. It was soem time later when I was browsing for a new reading book at the library and I reconized the title. My consensus is that the first book of the series is as great as any other. The characters are well developed and their personalities are mulit-faceted. Kristine Kathryn Rusch shows her ample capability of writing when she wrote the storyline. For most of the book she holds you in suspense and keeps you guessing at what will happen to the mysterious race known as the Fey. Even though the book skips around from person to person, most of the attention is centered on the Islander prince Nicholas and the Fey princess Jewel, yet Kritine doesn't leave her other characters underdevealoped. Overall, this was an excellent book with lots of plot twists, suspense, and imagination and it's only downfall is that the book starts off slow.
Helpful
 Report
Phome
1.0 out of 5 stars Badly written
Reviewed in Canada on March 27, 2001
The fantasy genre has some fabulously bad writing, and I'msorry to say that this is a good example. .... "TheSacrifice" lacks pace and does not grab the reader'sattention.
The consistent use of the pluperfect tense creates anunnatural distance between the reader and the characters. As a result,it's difficult to enter the characters' mindsets and establish acommon ground.
... introduces an entirely differentworld too quickly and without much explanation. Although not lackingin creativity (for once we get fresh ideas in the field), the newnessof the world needs proper and staged introduction. ....
Helpful
 Report
S. Bernard
2.0 out of 5 stars Hasn't ANYONE heard of ARROWS????
Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 1998
As I started this book, I had no expectations. I was in the need of a book to read and I found this one on my shelf. I started to read it and was instantly intrigued by the concepts, the worlds, the races. Unfortunately, as I continued to read, I was very disappointed by the shallow, stereotyped characters and the boring plotline.
I found myself unable to root for any character much less either side in the war between the Fey and the Islanders. None of the characters (except with MAYBE the exception of Silence) was the least bit appealing.
Granted, the religion vs. magic / religion = magic ideas were intriguing, but they were greatly overshadowed by the fact that the Fey were battling against something that a 10-year old could have beat with a simple BOW AND ARROW!!!! I will not ruin the plot for you who are reading this and are looking forward to the book (there are many worse books out there to read), but when you are reading it, try not to think about the fa! ct that arrows, much less throwing rocks at the Islanders, could have turned the tide in the war.
For anyone to read this book cover to cover and NOT think about using bows and arrows against the Islanders at least 1000 times, you would have to be truly unimaginative. I almost could have led myself to believe that bows and arrows were not yet discovered, but for two things: one society already had watches, and the fact that the Islanders were shooting arrows at the Fey!!!!!
Helpful
 Report
Bryan W.
4.0 out of 5 stars A good start to a great series
Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2000
I picked it up by chance, started it, put it down for a while...just couldn't get into it. Glad I picked it back up. Slow start but it "reels" you in! Kristine has woven a fantasic tale of love, magic, treachery...and sacrifice. I applaud the entire series mainly because she has taken the Fey formula (wispy, fragile creatures) and transformed them into a conquering race, quite brutal actually. Plus, the strong religious intolerance element make it strike close to home. I've almost finished Book IV: The Resistance and have Book V: Victory and The Black Queen awaiting my eager eyes on my coffee table at home. Kudos to Kristine!
Helpful
 Report