This complex tale with subtle Christian subtexts is best for fantasy fans who appreciate watching each unique piece of an...
The fifth volume in the acclaimed Tales of Goldstone Wood series keeps the mythic storytelling coming.
To meet her fiance, Alistair, the nephew and heir of Earl Ferox, Lady Leta travels to Gaheris Castle, where she begins taking reading lessons from the Chronicler, a reclusive dwarf who urges her to think for herself. She practices her reading with old nursery rhymes that, to her horror, begin to come true. On his deathbed, the earl makes a game-changing announcement, recognizing the Chronicler—Florien—as his son and rightful heir just as demons arrive intent on annihilating the House of Gaheris. Soon, a small band of travelers—Florien, Alistair, Mouse (a young woman on her own spiritual quest) and Eanrin (an immortal being)—sets out to make the nursery rhymes–turned-prophecies come to pass. Florien is to reclaim his ancestor’s sword and use it to slay the evil Dragonwitch. Readers will need to be patient, as the ambitious plot develops unhurriedly, and characters’ true identities and motivations are only gradually unraveled. Plot development is prioritized here, yet there is some admirable character development, particularly in Leta and Mouse, and explorations of the themes of destiny and forgiveness.
This complex tale with subtle Christian subtexts is best for fantasy fans who appreciate watching each unique piece of an enormous puzzle fall precisely into its place. (Fantasy. 13 & up)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1027-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Bethany House
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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