Too often in this genre the various characters are off on their own adventures will little interaction. Not only do we learn a lot about the motivations of Touraine and Luca, but also the relationship between the two of them. This makes it one of the most character led fantasy books that I have read. Unbroken differs in that it has two leads, and the time is split just between them. Having read a lot of fantasy the structure can often follow a pattern of being a single protagonist, or several. These two vastly different people will determine the fate of Qazal and the Empire. Also among the flotilla of ships is Luca, the Balladairan Princess who must prove her worth if she is to ever rule the Empire, but how should she rule? An assassination attempt brings Touraine and Luca together. After years of being the vanguard for the Balladairan army, they must now police those that could be considered their own. Now Touraine and her company are returning to the land of Qazal, a place many of them never knew. Touraine was stolen as a child and brought up by her captures to become a conscript in their army. The world of Magic of the Lost is not for the faint of heart as only the strong and the lucky will survive. They are often thrust into an adventure not of their choosing, losing those that they love on the way towards an objective that seems impossible to meet. In C L Clark’s Unbroken, one of the protagonists is Touraine, a soldier who much overcome all the usual challenges that fantasy offers, but also struggle within the confines of a society designed to keep people like her down.

The life of a fantasy hero is never easy.

The unbroken book cl clark