Genre: Epic Fantasy
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.”
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.
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.
FYI:
The original review was posted here at BigAl’s Books and Pals on April
12, 2015.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No editing or formatting issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 14-15,000 words
2 comments:
Thank you for the read and the kind review. I'm so pleased you liked it!
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, Ms. Stuckey. I love uniqueness of the world you have built in the Tales of Aldura.
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