The Door Into Shadow

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but I absolutely loved this one, for the sophisticated reason of DRAGONS. Segnbora is an amazing character, and I'm glad to see Diane Duane writing female leads again (not that her male leads are any less good, but she writes women so well in a genre that often slights them), and what's more, the supporting characters were fleshed out as well. Also, Herewiss! It's interesting getting an outsider's perspective on him. And did I mention DRAGONS?

As for the issue of her forgiving her rapist - I read it differently than a lot of reviewers, it seems. Instead of the Goddess having Segnbora raped to make her the way she was, I saw it as the Goddess showing Segnbora that it was a part of her past, something that influenced her life, and that she needed to make peace with it and with herself to progress as a person. I found that to ring very true, and it moved me.