Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Coming of Age
Description:
“If you sing to the Spirits, be prepared for their answer...
The Long Dark has come and the Northlands will not see daylight for
two months. Silence falls with the snow, and Spirits roam the three Worlds. It
is a time of beauty, magic, and danger.
When the Spirit of the Northern Lights steals his best friend’s soul,
apprentice mage Tuomas is determined to find help. However, his own fledgling
power gets the better of him, and he accidentally rips the Spirit out of the
sky, trapping her in human form. Alongside his feared icy companion and the
mysterious wandering mage Lilja, Tuomas begins a quest across frozen tundra and
into ethereal Spirit realms.
But a terrible shadow lingers just out of sight, its gaze fixed on
him. And behind her composed façade, the Spirit holds secrets of her own...”
Author:
From E. C. Hibbs website: “I'm Emma:
a professional dreamer usually found lost in the woods or in my own imagination.
I'm also what you'd probably get if Wednesday Addams, Tinkerbell and Alice in
Wonderland were thrown together.
I love fantasy in all its forms, especially when it helps me to see
the real world in a new way.
Whether it's mermaids, vampires, spirits or fairies, I believe there
is beauty in everything. Even the rugged and dark parts of the world, for
without them, we wouldn't see the light.”
To learn more about Ms. Hibbs visit her website.
Appraisal:
The prolog introduces a pair of traveling mage’s, Kari and Lilja. For
many years they have wandered, ever since the Great Bear Spirit had brought
Lilja back from the edge of death. She found she could not live peacefully in a
village, too many people wanted too much from her, so began the wandering life.
Kari, her older brother, joined Lilja so she wouldn’t be alone in her travels.
They are both powerful mages.
Tuomas has come of age to be an apprentice mage in the village Akerfjorden,
just south of the stark, brutal, but beautiful in its own right Northlands.
When his best friend, Mihka, insults the Spirit of the Northern Lights she attacks
and takes the boy’s life-soul, but leaves his body-soul intact which leaves
Mihka in a coma like state. Tuomas vows to get his life-soul back. Henrik, the
village mage, suggests seeking out the traveling mages. He thinks they may have
enough power to retrieve his friend’s life-soul. So begins Tuomas’s quest
during the season of the Long Dark.
At the beginning of his quest Tuomas rages at the night sky at the
injustice that has befallen his friend, his emotions are raw and strong enough
to pull the Spirit of the Lights down to earth and in human form. Now he has an
angry Spirit to deal with. Try as he might, he can’t figure out how to get her
back up to the World Above where she belongs.
Ms. Hibbs weaves an enchanting tale with several story arcs. Her
characters are believable and well rounded. The scenic landscapes are
beautifully described, as are the villages Tuomas travels through. Ms. Hibbs
has not only invented a new land for her tales, but also a mythology for its
inhabitants. The danger is palatable and intense. Misunderstandings are life
changing.
If you enjoy unique epic fantasy stories, you should give The Winter Spirits a try. I don’t think
you will be disappointed.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
The
Winter Spirits is book 1 of E. C. Hibbs’s series, The Foxfires
Trilogy. Ms. Hibbs uses British spelling.
Format/Typo
Issues:
A few small proofing misses as in missing words or letters that change
the word, and extra words.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words
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