Started: Jan. 15
Finished: Jan. 21
Notes: I'm not only excited to be reading a new author, but in this case I'm also honored because this book is dedicated to ... me! No, I didn't edit the book or beta read it, but I did offer some few words of advice (and hope, I think) to the author over the last year or so. I first met Megan more than a decade ago when she was quite young, as I worked with her mother who was a photographer; when Megan found out I was writing fantasy, she contacted me again and we've sporadically kept in touch since. So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to this one.
Mini review: There's a little roughness here, as is the case with nearly all first-time novelists, but the story is quite strong, the characters interesting, and the world itself is quite awesome. The walled city of Drasule is run by a variety of noble houses, including one royal house, with the nobles and royals having psionic abilities, each house specializing in one power or other. There is also a giant tree at the heart of the city, and this tree appears to keep the very civilization alive by holding back the darkness of the world outside the city's walls, a world that seems almost post-apocalyptic, perhaps even Lovecraftian. A special order of priests and priestesses are in charge of maintaining the emotional harmony of the tree and the citizens, which affect one another, and seemingly any major threat to the tree's harmony would be a threat to everyone. Within all this is tons of intrigue as the various houses and assassins and thieves and the like work against one another. And all that's just background material. I've not even touched upon the actual story. I truly love this world, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.
Sounds like a lot of promising ideas and materials in this one. I'll have to check it out.
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