Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre: Epic Fantasy
/ Short Story
Approximate
word count: 14-15,000 words
Availability
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“Currently (mostly) retired, but 'back in the day' Susan
was a meek, mild-mannered, self-effacing accountant/auditor by day but after
5:00 her imagination broke free. She either played with historical stories, or
in the magical World of Aldura she created.
Besides playing in fantasy and/or historical times, Susan
searches for dead people (otherwise known as researching her family's
genealogy), crochets, loves to try new recipes, and is the servant of multiple
fur-children (both feline and canine).
For more, visit the author’s webside or Facebook page.
Description:
“The call of duty can be a rough path to follow, and some
paths are more difficult than others. Phaedra, a Njae Loremaster, must tread
one of the more difficult ones. Along the way she confronts her fate as
predicted by a Seeress, acquires the assistance of a dragon, and risks her
husband, her child, and her life in order to save the peoples of the Twin
Goddess.”
Appraisal:
This starts as a simple story of a group of newly confirmed Rangers
heading out on their first mission to patrol the Barrier Wall. Phaedra is
hoping to find a way to diffuse the other members’ hostility toward her. Their
patrol is joined by Thaenad, whom we first met in Choices and Kaserie’s Choice.
Ms. Stuckey is an expert storyteller. Her prose is tight, it is hard
to believe she can pack so much story in forty-six pages. Her fantasy world is
well written, her characters are always interesting and unique, as is the magic
they each possess. Phaedra has known her fate since the time she was born, she
thought becoming a ranger would help prepare her for her task. This is an
emotional story of honor, fortitude, strength, and destiny. I found it
heart-wrenchingly well told.
The scope of Ms. Stuckey’s Tales of Aldura keeps growing and this one,
in particular, weaves into Tales of
Aldura: Choices. If you haven’t read it yet, you will want to now. I will
be rereading it.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No editing or formatting issues.
Rating:
***** Five stars
4 comments:
?wazithinkin
Thank you ever so much for your kind words. I wondered if you would catch the link to Choices and am so happy that you did :-)
Again, thank you and all the other reviewers who do this to support indie authors.
Susan
Nice review - I love Ms Stuckey's work.
You are welcome, Ms. Stuckey. I am looking forward to more stories. :D
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, KJDonovan. Ms. Stuckey's fantasy world is unique and her characters are always fascinating.
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