One of my favorite books of all time is truly a remarkable piece of literature. I have been reading it repeatedly ever since I was young.

It's important to note that it's not my typical kind of reading material. However, Adams is such an outstanding writer that he could even make his shopping list into a great read. His use of language is among the best I have ever come across. The characters he creates are not only believable but also highly engaging. What's more, they are truly unforgettable.

Now, what else can I say about this book? If you are easily offended by sexual content, then this might not be the right book for you. Although it is written very skillfully and subtly, there is a significant amount of sexual content throughout.

Some might view it as being very much in the chick-lit genre, as it follows the adventures and exploits of a young sex-slave in a fantasy world setting. But it is so much more than that. It is a powerful tale of triumph over adversity, of hope and love in a world where both are in short supply and come at a very high price, if they come at all.

This is a quiet 'sleeper' classic that will always remain one of my closest and most beloved companions. It has had a profound impact on me and continues to do so with each reading.

A magic box that contains a plethora of elements such as fantasy, horror, romance, and much more, all within the pages of a very long book that you wish could last forever! It can be compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, yet in many ways, Adams offers a better reading experience. After reading Tolkien's work a few times, one often tends to skip a significant number of pages. However, Maia truly deserves to be read multiple times. It is a sadly overlooked classic that holds within it a world of wonder and excitement.

The rich tapestry of characters and the intricate plotlines in Maia draw the reader in and keep them engaged from start to finish. Each turn of the page reveals new surprises and adventures, making it a book that you simply cannot put down. Whether you are a fan of fantasy, horror, or romance, Maia has something for everyone.

So, if you are looking for a book that will transport you to another world and keep you entertained for hours on end, look no further than Maia. It is a hidden gem that is waiting to be discovered and cherished by readers everywhere.

I picked up this book to read because the author wrote "The Inhabitants of the Hills" (a work outstanding in all aspects), and I was severely disappointed.

Firstly, it is completely unclear why an elderly white middle-class man from British society decided to write about the life of a fifteen-year-old girl who was raped by her father and then sold into sexual slavery. To be more precise, it's not just that - it's why he decided to write about how a fifteen-year-old girl liked being raped by her father and then liked satisfying all kinds of men to whom she was sold or lent. What in Richard Adams' life led him to the idea that he knew what his heroine was feeling? What experience suggested to him the phrase "Maya was proud that she was able to please him", which he used more than once in his work?

Secondly, it is somewhat disturbing in 2021 (although I would have been disturbed in 1984 too, as I already dreamed of becoming an astronaut at that time) to read about such a stupid heroine that even the author himself calls her stupid. He writes, "If only she had been smarter, she would have made a different decision." What is this? Laziness? Fetishism?

Thirdly, it's a thousand pages of very slow storytelling. Only somewhere in the last quarter do the events start to move at a decent pace for an action, but most of the book is dedicated to how some man fucks the stupid slave girl again, and she likes it all, and they feed her deliciously, and the outfits are gorgeous.

(A reasonable question may arise as to why I read these thousand pages to the end, but I have no answer to that.)

A rich dive into a fictional world awaits. Maia, a peasant beauty, is unfortunately sold into slavery. However, through her remarkable charm and determination, she manages to rise and mix with the elite. Her life is a grubby reality, filled with hardships and struggles that she can only escape through her wishes and dreams.

Fate intervenes when Maia has the great fortune to meet Occula, an exotic bed slave who is well-versed in the ways of the world. Kindly disposed towards Maia, Occula is willing to go to any length to achieve her own goals. The two form an unlikely alliance and set off on a journey to Bekla, the center of the empire.

Bekla is a place rife with intrigue, betrayal, greed, and lust, all of which come hand in hand with power. As Maia and Occula enter this dangerous and captivating world, they must navigate the treacherous waters of politics and social hierarchy. Will they be able to achieve their goals and find the freedom and happiness they so desire? Only time will tell.

I picked up this book YEARS ago, probably not long out of high school. Little did I know that it was the second of a series. I read it and immediately fell in love with it!

I had never read a story that delved so deeply into the life of a slave. It was a truly eye-opening experience. Since then, whenever I come across another author's take on the topic, I often refer back to this story.

I thought this book was both tragic and beautifully realized. It stood on its own as a powerful and understandable story. My enjoyment of it wasn't reliant on having read the first novel in the series.

I somehow found this book secondhand, not knowing anything else that Richard Adams had written except for Watership Down. At that time, I came across reviews of his other works that were quite critical, comparing them unfavorably to Watership Down.

Despite the bad press, I wholeheartedly enjoyed this story. In fact, I would love to reread it, this time with the added context of the series. I'm sure it would offer an even deeper and more enriching reading experience.

Don't let the fact that this book has over 1200 pages scare you away.

I truly enjoyed the characters within it, especially Maia. She was such a captivating and well-developed character. Now that I've completed the story, I find myself really missing her.

The book is extremely descriptive, which can sometimes cause it to get a bit bogged down and confusing. There are just so many odd names, words, and descriptions. However, these areas can be easily skimmed over.

Despite these minor drawbacks, the story flows smoothly. It takes us on a journey through Maia being sold into slavery and her remarkable rise to the top. It's a story that keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a rich and detailed fictional world with a strong and memorable protagonist like Maia.

I first read this book within a year of its original publication. At that time, I was a much younger man!

It is an extremely gripping story, highly erotic and completely different from anything else I have ever read. The story essentially revolves around the adventures of a teenage girl who is sold into slavery in a mythical land that bears some resemblance to the settings in the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Game of Thrones books.

It encompasses a wide range of elements such as royalty, politics, intrigue, war, rebellion, slavery, cruelty, greed, wealth, poverty, riches, fame, and even some humor... and much more besides. So, it's no wonder that to fit all these elements in, the book is a hefty 1056 pages long.

I consider it a crying shame that the critics and the readers didn't take to it as I would have loved to have read more stories about the mighty Beklan empire. However, this is actually a prequel to Shardik (also by Richard Adams). While both books can stand on their own, there are a few overlapping characters that give the reader a warm sense of reminiscence.

Regarding the quality, 1056 pages is clearly far too long for most proof-readers. As a result, the book contains too many spelling and grammatical inaccuracies that might have made a less determined reader give up.

This is my all-time favorite book.

I read it several years ago upon the recommendation of my mom, who also adores it. Since then, I have devoured it numerous times.

The story follows Maia, a young peasant girl who is sold into slavery by her jealous mother after her stepfather seduces her. She is then sold as a concubine in the big city, where she becomes a pawn in the games of the wealthy and powerful. As she moves from one bed to another, she uncovers secrets and gets involved in a larger plot to bring down an empire.

This book has it all - espionage, love, war, friendships, family secrets, and badass female characters. Although it is quite long and filled with a lot of background information on the Beklan Empire and its politics, it is well worth the read.

It is also worth noting that this book is out of print, but you can purchase decent used copies online. The e-book, however, is riddled with errors and can be very frustrating to read. Therefore, I prefer to stick with my tattered physical copy.

Here is my full review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoRmk...

I picked up Maia in a tiny bookstore in Alabama a few years ago. The moment I set my eyes on the breathtaking cover, I couldn't resist snatching it up. The book had been sitting on the shelf for such a long time that the owner of the bookstore, with typical Southern hospitality, simply let me have it for free. How wonderful is that?

Although the size of Maia is rather daunting, it is truly well worth the investment of time and energy. Maia, our protagonist, is a divinely beautiful peasant girl. She is sold into slavery by her family, and thus her arduous journey begins. The story encompasses a wide range of themes such as sex, politics, feminism, war, domination, slavery, violence, class disputes, religion, and revolution. All these elements are intricately forged together in the lush fantasy world of the Beklan Empire.

Fantasy lovers are bound to be bewitched by this book. However, impatient readers might get bored and overwhelmed by the extensive cast of characters. Fortunately, there is a character guide included to help keep things straight. I highly recommend reading this book slowly, savoring the Dickensian descriptions and the rich fantasy elements while getting fully involved in the fascinating plot. It's important to note that this book is not for everyone, so don't be disappointed if you end up putting it down.

Probably Richard Adams' worst book. It truly isn't even worth my precious time to write a detailed review about it.

Read my review of the first book. If you were to exclude all the good things that were mentioned in that review, then everything that remains would describe Maia in this particular book perfectly.

Maia seems to lack the charm and depth that the first book had. The story development feels flat and uninteresting. The characters, especially Maia, don't seem to have much growth or complexity. It's as if the author just phoned it in with this one.

Overall, I was extremely disappointed with this book. I had high hopes after reading the first one, but Maia just didn't deliver. I would not recommend this book to anyone, especially if they were fans of the first one.

Freakin' A, this book took an incredibly long time to read, but it was truly worth it.

I started it when I was much younger. My mother had it lying around, and I can only speculate why as she doesn't much go in for fantasy or any other genre fiction. The fact was, I wasn't mature enough to care much about it back then. Recently, I bought it on iBooks as a bit of a lark, and WOW!

I think it's crucial to enter the dispute on the undoubted sexism of this book. Firstly, the most important characters are all women, with Maia Serrelinda being the foremost. We are very closely acquainted with her thoughts throughout. Significantly, this book was written by a man. With very few exceptions, I maintain that it's a rare man who can write women as well as they themselves. Adams, in this respect, is more than passable. However, that doesn't mean we can't criticize some of his techniques. For example, his "wise" assertions about the general nature of men and women, based entirely on gender stereotypes dreamed up by condescending, patriarchal men. It's impossible to avoid this critique. There's also the fact that this book IS exploitative. It makes titillating use of Maia's and Occula's functions as bed-slaves and completely ignores the question of consent in that function, which is a fairly important aspect of slavery. He brushes it aside even when it comes up. He does obliquely mention it in Maia's interaction with Anda-Nokomis early on, but that's about it. Another thing that bothers me is that, for all the positive sexuality throughout the book, he lumps in Fornis' cruelty with her S&M proclivities. We're all tired of the 50 Shades controversy, and it barely needs to be said that this is not a good example of S&M. Fornis' needs don't match her actual profile, and he portrays it as something terribly dirty. But, this book was written - what? - two decades ago? More? I can't much blame Adams for that perspective, even if it does need to be called out.

These are all heavy criticisms, especially for 21st century feminists. But here's the good news: this book is critically salvageable. Maia is the hero. Setting aside the problematic treatment of beauty, Maia is a phenomenal heroine. Besides her kindness, compassion, and morals, at the heart of her story is this: Purity of the heart has absolutely nothing to do with sexual so-called purity. At no point is Maia's undaunted, infinite sexuality any impairment to her character. In fact, I esteemed her even more for it. She is a heroine for women of this generation. I won't say any more. Either you haven't read the book and should do so and make your own decision, or you have read it and either agree or disagree.

A minor quasi-complaint is that one of my favorite characters doesn't show up until two hundred pages (ebook version) before the end, and thus, you don't really laugh until that point, but it's still a genuinely fun part of the novel.

There are so many other things to discuss regarding this book. These are just the thoughts I needed to get off my chest, the ones most important to me and probably to other women reading the reviews and thinking about picking up the book themselves. It's complicated, incredibly sexy, and kind of a joyful novel. None of the problems prevent it from being a great novel. So, if you have the time, read it.

Richard Adams is truly one of my all-time favorite storytellers.

At first, I did have a bit of trouble keeping track of all the places and characters due to their rather odd names. However, this small hurdle did not prevent me from seeing the true beauty that lies within this story.

Quite the contrary, I very easily found myself completely lost in Adams’ enchanting words. The story was indeed long, but it was most definitely worth every single word.

Maia, in particular, is such a beautiful soul. Her character adds a special charm and depth to the narrative, making it even more engaging and captivating.

I cannot recommend this story enough to anyone who loves a good adventure and a beautifully told tale.