Reprise Review: The Dreamt Child / Yvonne Hertzberger

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Epic Fantasy / Historical Fantasy

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Yvonne Hertzberger is a native of the Netherlands who now resides in Stratford, Ontario with her spouse in a 130 year old brick cottage. She is an alumna of The University of Waterloo, with a B.A. in psychology and an Hon. B.A. in Sociology. She has always been an avid student of human behavior and this is what gives her insights into the characters she develops in her writing.

This third book in her Earth's Pendulum series completes the original trilogy. Ms. Hertzberger is also a contributing author on the staff of Indies Unlimited. 

Learn more about her at her website.

Description:

“Liannis, the goddess Earth’s seer, can no longer deny the meaning of her recurring dream. She must join with Merrist, her devoted hired man, and bear a child – one with great gifts. Earth has decreed it. But the people resist the changes, bringing danger to the pair and strife to the lands. Both Liannis and Merrist must face tests, sometimes without each other, to fulfill their destiny and bring The Dreamt Child forth into safety. They must succeed if they are to initiate the new era of peace and balance so desperately needed.”

Appraisal:

At last the goddess Earth speaks more directly to Liannis and she has to come to terms and acknowledge her feelings for Merrist!  I was so ready for this, but Merrist is the one who has to broach the subject because Liannis is still reluctant. I suppose she has just cause because it will be their job to gain acceptance for their relationship with all the inhabitants of the One Isle. To help Merrist the Earth goddess bestows him with a gift that Liannis does not possess. Which works out rather nicely when they are visiting Gharn and a tragedy befalls Lady Sienna. But I'll be darned if no sooner than they are together they are both summoned by Earth to different dioceses, what rotten luck!  So Merrist heads to help Lionn track down a notorious traitor and appoint a new Lord in Catania, while Liannis is sent to Leithe to assist a transitioning lordship there.

The plot moves steadily forward and there is a lot of traveling between the different kingdoms as our players deal with treacherous political posturing, treason, terrorism, and tragedy to start, then eventually triumph, celebrations and much joy. It seems the One Isle is finally achieving some balance, and Liannis and Merrist are allowed a reprieve. They move back to Liannis's childhood home to await the birth of the dreamt child, along with Brensa who is still desperately mourning Klast.

There is a nice twist at the end of this story that I wasn't expecting after the trials and tribulations of these dioceses. It seems that the Earth goddess is very happy and things are changing for several of One Isles inhabitants. However we all know the pendulum will never stop swinging. This is quite an epic. Well done, Ms. Hertzberger.

FYI:

I think reading the first two novels of this trilogy will enrich your enjoyment of this story.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of editing errors.

Rating: ***** Five stars