Genre:
Young Adult/Coming of Age/Epic Fantasy/Steampunk/Adventure
Description:
“The
Lord of Thunder’s sudden death leaves his daughter, Evelyn
Stormbourne, unprepared to rule Inselgrau in his place. Weeks before
Evie’s ascension to the throne, revolutionaries attack and destroy
her home. She conceals her identity and escapes under the protection
of her father’s young horse master, Gideon Faust. Together they
flee Inselgrau and set sail for the Continent, but they’re
separated when a brutal storm washes Evie overboard.
In her
efforts to reunite with her protector and reach allies on the
Continent, Evie befriends a band of nomads who roam the world in
airships fueled by lightning. She also confronts a cabal of dark
Magicians plotting to use her powers to create a new divine being,
and she clashes with an ancient family who insists her birthright
belongs to them.
If
she’s to prevail and defeat her enemies, Evie must claim her
heritage, embrace her dominion over the sky, and define what it means
to be Heir of Thunder.”
Author:
“Some
of Karissa's favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and superheroes,
and she can quote Princess
Bride verbatim. She loves
to read and has a sweet tooth for speculative fiction. Sometimes her
family convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles
out for a spin, or they'll haunt flea markets, searching for rusty
scraps to reuse and re-purpose. Karissa lives in North Carolina with
her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky
named Bonnie. Karissa is also the author of the adult Urban Fantasy
series, The Norse
Chronicles, where she
puts a modern twist on ancient myths.”
Appraisal:
What a
wonderful new young adult fantasy series. I have enjoyed Ms. Laurel’s
Norse Chronicles, so I was looking forward to the Stormbourne
Chronicles. The plot is unique with steampunk elements in an old
world setting. The characters are diverse, well-developed, and
believable. The bad guys are perfectly evil and spread throughout the
story. I really wish a few more could have been eliminated.
The
story gets off to a fast start as Evelyn Stormbourne must escape the
destruction of her home by revolutionaries out to overthrow her
throne. Gideon Faust has sworn to protect Evie and helps in her
escape. However, Gideon has secrets of his own. The plot is fast
moving and there are more twists and loops than a rollercoaster along
the way.
When
Evie and Gideon become separated, Evie must find her way in a world
she is ill-prepared for dealing with. She finds herself having to
make dangerous decisions that could have disastrous consequences. The
obligations she feels for friends she makes along the way is
admirable, and she shows great potential of being a natural leader
someday. Evie is also placed in some impossible to escape from
situations that were not of her own making.
Evie
is a strong, but naïve, heroine who must find the strength and
wherewithal to make her way through a world she was not properly
prepared to enter. I have to give kudos for the addition of the
steampunk airships. This was a genuinely epic idea that sets this
story apart from the mythology of Ms. Laurel’s Norse
Chronicles.
Heir
of Thunder has set the
scene for a fantastic new series and I can’t wait to see where the
Stormbourne Chronicles
heads in the second book.
FYI:
Format/Typo
Issues:
I
found a small number of proofing misses, however none of them threw
me out of the story.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 85-90,000
words
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