I picked "Alyx" up one day when I was around 14. Twenty years later, I still reread it periodically. It is one of my favorite novels.

"Alyx" is set in the late 1800's. Simon, the hero of the book, is a young nobleman sold into slavery in the Jamaicas by a jealous uncle. Alyx is a girl similarly put out of the way for an offense to that same uncle. The two are thrown together on an island plantation and assigned the task of creating an heir for the childless slaveholder. Simon and Alyx fulfill that task, but I haven't even begun to tell the story.

"Alyx" was marketed as a "romance novel". It is so much more than that. Lolah Burford writes beautifully. Her prose is delicate, ironic, startlingly direct yet deliciously subtle. Simon is a fabulous character---strong and brave, yet terrified and conflicted. Burford puts him through hell in this story, and how he comes out of that hell is not always easy to read, but is always fascinating. Relief, when it comes for Simon and Alyx, is well-earned.

the book starts out slow, and could be better. but as the story moves on, you are swept along with the main character. the overall atmosphere of the novel for me was rather dark and sorrowful, but with a sliver of hope running through. i liked the novel well enough, but the despair driven atmosphere didn't agree with me.

This short book has been out of print for years but paperback copies can be found often in used bookstores. An interesting time travel novel with themes of family loyalty, honesty, and real moral dilemmas. Set in both Anglo-Saxon and early 19th century Britain, the author does a nice job of illuminating largely unknown periods. Much better than most contemporary fantasy novels and well worth a few dollars.