ohmidmid's review against another edition
3.0
I wish we had a book from Occula's point of view. She's far more interesting.
corkycorcoran's review against another edition
5.0
I read the first half of this as a child - people aren't kidding about how unbelievably long it is, even if you are used to reading 1000+ page books, it just seems like it's not going to end. And for the most part, I think that was a good thing. Mostly I remember being sucked into some extremely foreign adventure. This book is out of print now as far as I know and I never finished it when I was a kid (the library finally demanded that I stop re-checking it out). A few years ago my parents surprised me with a copy for Christmas that they'd hunted down from some online used book seller. I have yet to reread it. I suppose it's a daunting thing to me. But I will read it in its entirety when I'm ready, and it should be a good time.
corkycorcoran's review
5.0
I read the first half of this as a child - people aren't kidding about how unbelievably long it is, even if you are used to reading 1000+ page books, it just seems like it's not going to end. And for the most part, I think that was a good thing. Mostly I remember being sucked into some extremely foreign adventure. This book is out of print now as far as I know and I never finished it when I was a kid (the library finally demanded that I stop re-checking it out). A few years ago my parents surprised me with a copy for Christmas that they'd hunted down from some online used book seller. I have yet to reread it. I suppose it's a daunting thing to me. But I will read it in its entirety when I'm ready, and it should be a good time.
justsayfit's review
5.0
Somehow, I had read this book as a teenager, choosing it after reading its flap description without understanding what a concubine is an confusing the word erotic with exotic. Needless to say, I was in for an eye-opener, not just because of the sex and all its facets, but also the violence and intrigues of politics, the clashes of cultures, religions and castes. The book lingered for years in my mind and influenced me profoundly, thus I must say that I feel this book has far more to offer than just the sexuality. The mark it left behind is comparable to the way the Mist of Avalon was influencial. But then again, I was also about 13 when I read it. I would love to try reading it again to see if I would still like it.
kailey_luminouslibro's review
1.0
A pretty awful beginning, and I kept waiting for it to get better, but it didn't, so I gave up around page 100. It starts with a girl being basically raped by her stepfather and then being sold as a slave to be a prostitute in the big city. Not exactly light reading. I'm so disappointed b/c I really loved Richard Adams' writing in "Watership Down." bleh.
mir_i_am's review
4.0
I liked this when I read it (for fun) in high school. I recognize that it's super sexist, but that doesn't mean I have to hate it. So it gets 4 stars, for the memories!
lmwanak's review
Wait...the guy who wrote Watership Down wrote this too? Man, I remember reading this when I was younger. Maybe college? Awww...now I'm not sure! Could've been late high school. All I know was that there was a lot of freaky deaky things which took up half the book, and the other half was weird political stuff that I couldn't wrap my head around back then. I'm almost tempted to put this on my to read list again, but seeing I'm already reading Watership Down, I think I'll hold off. Don't need Richard Adams messing with my head more than once per decade. But I did want to put down that I read it...hence the review, though I'm not going to rate it.
msjenne's review
Er, this just seemed kind of ick. In various ways. I didn't stick around to see if it got any better.
thehistoryteachersbookshelf's review
5.0
This is my favorite book of all time. I read it several years ago at the recommendation of my mom who also loves it. Since then, I have read it many times. Basically, Maia, a young peasant girl get sold into slavery by her jealous mother after her step-father seduces her. She is sold as a concubine into the big city where she is used as a pawn in the games of the wealthy and powerful. As she moves from bed to bed she learns secrets and becomes part of a bigger plot to bring down an empire. Espionage, love, war, friendships, family secrets and bad ass female characters- THIS BOOK HAS IT ALL. While, it is quite long and intertwined with a lot of background on the Beklan Empire and it's politics, it is well worth the read.
Also, it is worth noting that this book is out of print but you can buy decent used copies online. The e-book is RIDDLED with errors and is very frustrating to read through. Therefore, I stick to my tattered falling apart physical copy.
Here is my full review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoRmkeDyDaY
Also, it is worth noting that this book is out of print but you can buy decent used copies online. The e-book is RIDDLED with errors and is very frustrating to read through. Therefore, I stick to my tattered falling apart physical copy.
Here is my full review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoRmkeDyDaY
duplica123's review
4.0
Reading Maia was a very interesting experience. The book had many chapters that crawled by, but also many that seemed like a best-seller page turner. It was very hard to get into at first, especially because I had a copy without a dust jacket and therefore I had no idea what I was "getting into" at all.
This is the story of a young girl - in her early teens, who is sold into slavery and eventually bought as a pleasure slave in a very rich and prestigious household in the capital city.
She is very innocent, but in a simple sweet way and she has an amazing friend - also a pleasure slave named Occula who helps her adjust to the new way of life.
And then she gets wrapped up in the politics of her world, gains enemies and allies, affects a great war, becomes beloved by all the people in the country. She does all this without trying, and certainly without any scheming.
I found her kind of boring. She seemed so empty-headed most of the time, and Mr. Adams continuously wrote of her being so gay and joyous and troubles never settling on her for longer than a moment. Things seemed to simply happen to her, with neither her nor the author really sure why.
As Watership Down was the only other book by Mr. Adams I have read, I was greatly surprised by the sex scenes and how erotic they were. I shouldn't have been surprised considering Maia was a pleasure slave, but I just couldn't believe the same author wrote about bunnies trying to find a new home!
The style of writing was probably the hardest to follow and made the book even longer than it's 1,000+ pages. It was just too flowery and slightly paternal in tone. Often it felt like he was making up emotions for a young woman to have rather than what she would actually feel.
All that aside, the world was very interesting, and Mr. Adams has a great flair for writing stories within stories. In both Watership Down and Maia he comes up with believable and interesting fables and mythology which his characters tell in the books.
I would give Maia a try if you have a lot of patience, really like Mr. Adams' writing, and don't mind some erotic sex scenes.
This is the story of a young girl - in her early teens, who is sold into slavery and eventually bought as a pleasure slave in a very rich and prestigious household in the capital city.
She is very innocent, but in a simple sweet way and she has an amazing friend - also a pleasure slave named Occula who helps her adjust to the new way of life.
And then she gets wrapped up in the politics of her world, gains enemies and allies, affects a great war, becomes beloved by all the people in the country. She does all this without trying, and certainly without any scheming.
I found her kind of boring. She seemed so empty-headed most of the time, and Mr. Adams continuously wrote of her being so gay and joyous and troubles never settling on her for longer than a moment. Things seemed to simply happen to her, with neither her nor the author really sure why.
As Watership Down was the only other book by Mr. Adams I have read, I was greatly surprised by the sex scenes and how erotic they were. I shouldn't have been surprised considering Maia was a pleasure slave, but I just couldn't believe the same author wrote about bunnies trying to find a new home!
The style of writing was probably the hardest to follow and made the book even longer than it's 1,000+ pages. It was just too flowery and slightly paternal in tone. Often it felt like he was making up emotions for a young woman to have rather than what she would actually feel.
All that aside, the world was very interesting, and Mr. Adams has a great flair for writing stories within stories. In both Watership Down and Maia he comes up with believable and interesting fables and mythology which his characters tell in the books.
I would give Maia a try if you have a lot of patience, really like Mr. Adams' writing, and don't mind some erotic sex scenes.