From Publishers Weekly
The Chancellor of Tielmark is bent on returning that small principality to the malignant Empire it broke away from 300 years ago. To do so, he kidnaps and holds spellbound the lovely sorceress Mervion, who, according to prophecy, may play a part in the Chancellor's treason. Mervion's twin, the young huntress and apprentice sorceress Gaultry Blas, must set out to rescue her sister and save the land. With predictable spunk, Gaultry withstands multiple injuries and indignities, including a near-rape and the allure of a wolf-eyed warrior bound to protect her. But before she attains full-blown enchantresshood, the narrative runs amok. Lacking the magic of convincing linguistic invention, first-novelist Reimann conjures up heavy-handed, contradictory plot convolutions that spill enough weltering male blood to blanch the die-hardiest feminist. Her prose shoots off the charts too, with phrases like "eyes agleam with suppressed frenzy." The fantasy is high here, but the execution of it is anything but. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In her first novel, Reimann creates a medieval-type world in which Gaultry Blas, a young witch, must tap into the unknown depths of her magic and embark upon a journey to rescue her twin sister from imprisonment by the chancellor of the realm. The adventurous tale of spells and castings, swordplay, a journey fraught with danger and challenges, and a fiercely independent woman who must rely on a man duty-bound to protect her belongs in most fantasy collections.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Hundreds of years ago, Prince Clarin of Tielmark made a pact with the land's patron goddesses, the Great Twins, that he and his heirs would marry only commoners; in return, the goddesses guaranteed Tielmark's independence from its powerful northern neighbor, the Bissanty Empire. Now, Tielmark's ruthless, part- Bissanty Chancellor, Heiratikus, has ensorcelled Prince Benet to do his bidding. If Heiratikus can force the young witch Mervion to marry Benet--her magic powers derive from the gods, so she isn't a commoner--not only will Tielmark become vulnerable to Bissanty, but Heiratikus will acquire all Mervion's magic. Mervion's equally magical twin sister, however--the huntress Gaultry--remains at large. Protected by a warrior with a magic blade, Gaultry attempts to awaken her own powerful Glamor magic while scheming to rescue poor Mervion. Still, Heiratikus finally captures Gaultry, who to her horror finds that Mervion has slipped so far under the Chancellor's control that she's no longer capable of resisting. Somehow, alone, Gaultry must save herself, her sister, and Tielmark. After that dubious initial setup, the plot articulates pleasingly enough. And though Reimann demonstrates no great originality, the narrative moves with a certain long-legged, coltish charm: a modestly encouraging debut. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"Katya Reimann is a very talented writer with a bright future."--Terry Goodkind, bestselling author of Stone of Tears

"Wind from a Foreign Sky is an exciting and evocative story set in a well-realized fantasy world."--Poul Anderson

"The adventurous tale of spells and castings, sword-play, a journey fraught with danger and challenges, and a fiercely independent woman who must rely on a man duty-bound to protect her."--Library Journal



Book Description
Gaultry enjoyed the simple, pastoral life of a hedge witch, where her most daunting task was to travel to the nearby village to purchase supplies. But her peaceful life is shattered when it becomes entangled in an ancient prohpesy--a prophecy which names her and her headstrong twin sister, Mervion, as their nation's salvation...or its destruction.



From the Publisher
"Katya Reimann is a very talented writer with a bright future." --Terry Goodkind, bestselling author of Stone of Tears "Wind from a Foreign Sky is an exciting and evocative story set in a well-realized fantasy world." --Poul Anderson "The adventurous tale of spells and castings, sword-play, a journey fraught with danger and challenges, and a fiercely independent woman who must rely on a man duty-bound to protect her." --Library Journal "Wind from a Foreign Sky is a thoroughly straight-forward and well-executed heroic fantasy that definitely follows in the footsteps of Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks, its narrative voice is very much its own...Katya Reimann could very well join the exalted handful of writers at the very top of the genre's bestseller lists." --Dragon Magazine

ANNOTATION

Gaultry enjoyed the simple, pastoral life of a hedge witch, where her most daunting task was to travel to the nearby village to purchase supplies. But her peaceful life is shattered when it becomes entangled in an ancient prophecy--a prophecy which names her and her headstrong twin sister, Mervion, as their nation's salvation--or its destruction. HC: Tor.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Three hundred years ago, Prince Clarin of Tielmark made a pact with the gods, winning his nation's independence from the old, corrupt Bissanty empire - provided each subsequent prince renewed the pact by marrying a woman of common blood. Now, Tielmark's Chancellor Heiratikus, himself of mixed Bissanty and Tielmaran ancestry, has conceived a vicious plot to break the pact while fulfilling an ancient prophecy that would return this pastoral nation to Bissanty's iron-fisted rule. For his diabolical plan to succeed, he must rely on a forbidden arcane ritual to create a bride of Glamour, forged from the blood and magic of twin sisters. Gaultry and her sister are the unknowing objects of this heinous plot. When she learns of her sister's capture, Gaultry becomes the linchpin upon which her nation's destiny will turn. As she learns to wield powers she hardly suspects she possesses, readers will marvel at the breathtaking adventure that unfolds in a spectacular succession of magical revelations and heartrending turns of fortune.

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA - Rebecca Barnhouse

Gaultry Blas is a witch. So is her twin sister, Mervion, who has been captured by the Chancellor of Tielmark. With the help of her own magic and the handsome soldier Martin Stalker, young Gaultry must rescue not only her sister, but the entire country of Tielmark. Her pilgrimage to her sister takes Gaultry on a journey of self-discovery; she comes to understand who she really is, how strong her magic is, and how closely she and her sister are likened to the Twin Goddesses, Emeira and Eliant￯﾿ﾽ, the Lady and the Huntress. Finally, Gaultry must admit that her tumultuous feelings about Martin Stalker-who is not what he at first seems to be-contain more fondness than anger. Gaultry is a strong and likeable character; readers will identify with her inner struggle for self-confidence and identity. This skillfully-written novel contains considerable violence, beginning with an attempted rape. The magic is believably presented and involves such practices as borrowing strength from horses. The first of the Tielmaran Chronicles, the book has a huge and sometimes confusing set of facts to convey about the three-hundred year history of Tielmark, and this kind of explication slows the pace in the beginning. But halfway through, the book begins to gallop along as Gaultry travels alone through hostile territory, using her hunting skills to save herself from attacks both human and supernatural. Reimann, who holds a doctorate in literature from Oxford University, has written an accomplished first novel and fantasy lovers will eagerly seize the sequel, although Book 1 stands easily by itself. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Will appeal with pushing, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Katya Reimann is a very talented writer with a bright future. — Terry Goodkind, bestselling author of Stone of Tears