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Book Reviews - Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction - By an Adult for Adults

Renovating for Fun and Profit – Bricking It by Nick Spalding

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Have you ever built a house or done a major remodel?  Do you enjoy This Old House and similar house makeover shows?  Do you like a funny book?  Then get a copy of Bricking It by Nick Spalding and get ready to relive your shudders and that horrible feeling as the costs creep ever up.

Danny and Haley Daley inherited a derelict farmhouse deep in the Hampshire countryside from their grandmother.  (Their parents got cash.)  The house had woodworm, critters, critter droppings, mold, sagging walls and floors, an attic floor that’s so rotted Danny falls through, plus the to-be-expected damaged kitchen, bath, subsiding foundations, overgrown shrubbery, and so on.  Neither has any money or any home Do-It-Yourself skills.

But…  Haley found from the local realtor that the house would sell as-is for about 160,000 pounds or – get this – if renovated for about 600,000 pounds.  They could expect to pay about 160,000 pounds for the renovation work (and we who have been through this know that will inevitably increase), but they stand to make over 300,000 pounds when selling the house.  That’s a big amount, enough to make anyone reconsider.

They agree to proceed.  Bricking It is not This Old House or Rehab Addict in written form and it doesn’t cover all the work hammer nail by hammer nail.  Instead it touches on what Danny and Haley do and feel.  Some of the vignettes are pretty funny as when Danny burns a bunch of big green weeds in the back corner and gets high on the marijuana smoke; some are gross as when Danny has an internal emergency while up in the rafters; some are fun as when Haley realizes she is more concerned with her house than with the bomb disposal squad that’s removing the WW2 bomb in the yard.

Overall the book does a reasonable job on characterization, both Danny and Haley grow and manage to get out of nasty personal ruts.  Danny even discovers that a girl’s beautiful outside doesn’t make up for a boring inside!  Spalding does  good job on minor characters like Gerard who is filming this as part of a British home improvement show, Fred the contractor and of course Pat The Cow.

It does not capture the horrible feeling one gets when trapped in a sea of construction debris and debt; instead the characters and episodes are positive and the ending is a bit over the top.  I didn’t care for the coarse language and potty humor – there is plenty of ordinary humor in any building project that Spalding didn’t need a couple of the potty events – but discovering their grandmother had run a brothel for a few years was priceless.

Overall I’d give this 4 stars. Bricking It is easy to read and rather fun.  I didn’t enjoy it enough to look for more by Spalding but this was worth reading if you have a couple spare hours – and are considering whether to remodel or just tear it down and move.

I got a copy of Bricking It for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Phoenix Ring – Fantasy Novel by Alexander Brockman

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The Phoenix Ring (The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 1) uses the standard fantasy plot “Boy Discovers He Is a Wizard and Saves the World” and mixes in some fun elements and characters.  Aiden, the hero (who discovers he is a wizard) has help from Timothy, a normal wizard from a normal wizard family, and from Aaliyah, a magic-resistant amogh.  Aiden leaves home for the big city to join the King’s Rangers but gets recruited/forced into the wizards and sent to their school Fort Phoenix to learn wizardry.

Besides the character count and school background The Phoenix Ring is not much like Harry Potter.  Aiden is angry, as in furious, all the time, although we readers don’t see much to be angry about during much of it.  The anger helps fuel his magic and he is powerful.  He masters some elements of magic immediately and takes the Phoenix Ring that had been Marcus Thunderheart’s until Marcus left physical existence 63 years earlier when fighting Macommmer and his renegade wizards and dragons.  We then get a bit of whining, a trip, a few side trips and then conflict with the renegade Edwin.

Good Points

There are some fun plot twists and the book is an easy, extremely fast read (about 2 hours and that includes stopping for tea).

The subplot with Timothy and goblin Grogg is excellent and author Brockman could have done more with it.  The Phoenix Ring would have been richer and more complex and enjoyable had Brockman added more subplots like this one.

Bartemus and the other adult wizards appear sparingly during the novel which is a shame as they are interesting characters.

Not So Good Points

There is almost no transition between points of view and even between physical locations and times and this gets confusing and tiresome.  Even if the author didn’t want to say “meanwhile back at the ranch…” he could indicate a change in viewpoint by typography, a line of asterisks or similar.

Character development is spotty.  We don’t see why Aiden is so angry nor learn much about Timothy.  Aaliyah is a cipher.

The characters live in an interesting world and I’d like to see Brockman do more with the setting, the back story and the magic system.

Summary

As the title shows, The Phoenix Ring is the first book in a fantasy series.  I don’t expect I’ll buy the next books in the series as this was just a bit better than OK, a solid 3 stars.

Amazon lists this as for older teens, which is probably right.  As an adult I found the book a bit too slapdash and lacking in the rich detail and conflicts that make fantasy believable.

Paranormal Chaos – Third Book in an Interesting Series

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I started Paranormal Chaos (The Shifter Chronicles) one evening when I was pretty tired and not feeling much like a challenge.  The book starts with a chase scene, Marcus and side kick Steve the Minotaur, running for their lives from a herd of centaurs.  Once they escape we flash back to Marcus’ thoughts on being asked to take on the mission to keep the Minotaurs, and by extension the centaurs, in the treaty between paranormal and normal humans.

I almost quit at this point.  Marcus and the Council do not get along.  This sounded familiar, the Harry Dresden series, the Alex Verus series, but dressed up with Minotaurs and centaurs.  I decided to keep on for a few more pages and I’m glad I did.  The book is a solid read, entertaining with interesting flashes to Greek mythology and glimpses of Root’s excellent world building.

Somewhere around page 50 it dawned on me this was likely the most recent book in a series, but that in no way inhibited reading.  Paranormal Chaos has its own adventures that do not rely on the prior novels.

Plot Summary

The backstory is humans and magically-endowed humans signed the Reformation Treaty about 20 years before and invited all the non-human sentient magical creatures – centaurs, Minotaurs, elves, Bookworms and more – to sign on too.  Now the Minotaur leader sent notice to the Council they are withdrawing from the treaty.  Council sends Marcus Shifter to bring them back into the fold.  Steve convinces best friend Steve to help.

Since this is a fantasy novel Steve is revealed to be the son of the Minotaur leader, the Alpha, and her expected heir.  There are disagreements among the Minotaur around how they should engage with every other species.  The Alpha wants to be hands off, leave everyone alone; Steve wants to adapt to the modern world and engage as a normal person; a faction led by Makha wants to re-establish the human/Minotaur cooperative domination (and tyranny) described in ancient Minotaur books and art.

Steve and Marcus discover Makha’s plans and run back to alert the Council and other species of impending attacks.  There is a short, brutal war which ends with most species agreeing to try again.

Fantasy Roundabouts

Several events in Paranormal Chaos don’t make a ton of sense but they help build the story.

  • Minotaurs remain fascinated with labyrinths and their rite of adulthood requires passing a maze with hostile creatures and death traps and emerging alive.  It’s not clear where the creatures and traps come from; we don’t see much (any) Minotaur magic.
  • The Underground was a handy device that you need to accept as part of the story and not try to understand.  (It wasn’t any clearer after I read the previous three books.)
  • Not at all clear exactly how or why the centaurs and Minotaurs ended up in northern Canada.  Both creatures were originally from the Mediterranean; even if one figures they fled when Rome got organized and made it unpleasant it seems odd they would go to Canada.
  • The whole war didn’t make a ton of sense either.  Makha didn’t know much about humans or how we would react if a bunch of odd guys started attacking and killing folks.  Since Minotaurs live in the real world they would be vulnerable to conventional human weapons.  (Makha had his own fruitcake ideas.)

Fun Points

Loved the Bookworms!  Of all the creatures named they were the best.

The ending was excellent, true to people nature.  “Now we figure out how to patch our worlds together.  But this time we do it as friends.”  “We struggled to deal with the shock of how close we’d come to being defeated by Makha.  And how much we all had to lose.”  Even so the Elves declined to do more than show up to meetings and the Vampires didn’t do that.

Summary

Author Joshua Roots did a great job building a compelling story using bits and pieces of myth, standard fantasy-in-a-box tropes, interesting characters and enough magic to make it flow.  After I finished Paranormal Chaos I bought the first two books featuring Marcus Shifter and Steve, Undead Chaos and Summoned Chaos.  They were also excellent; in fact the second, Summoned Chaos, was my favorite of the three.  Highly recommend all three for fantasy lovers.

Note:  I received a free advanced E copy from NetGalley in expectation of an honest review.

 

Missing Pieces – Suspense and Family Drama – Heather Gudenkauf

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Suspense and mystery novels aren’t my favorites but every once in a while one catches my eye. Recently NetGalley offered Missing Pieces, a “chilling page-turner” from Heather Gudenkauf.  Well!  That sounded too good to pass up.

The book seemed reasonably decent, but I couldn’t get into it, just lost interest.  I gave it up after about 25% and flipped to the back to find my theory as to the villain was completely wrong.

I think if you enjoy suspense and family mysteries you would like this.  The writing was good and the setting, a small town in Iowa with family secrets, was intriguing.  Perhaps had I stuck with it I may have enjoyed following the lead character, Sarah Quinlan, as she delves deeper into her husband’s past and family secrets.  But maybe not.

I’m going to give this 3 stars on NetGalley because it would be a good read for those who enjoy the suspense / mystery genre.

Madness in Solidar – Imager Series – Resetting Priorities and Alliances

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Madness in Solidar: The Ninth Novel in the Bestselling Imager Portfolio (The Imager Portfolio) is a stand alone novel occurring 400 years after Quaeryt helped form the united kingdom of Solis and built the Imager Collegium in the 5 book Scholar series.  Unfortunately Quaeryt’s successors lacked his skill and drive (or ruthlessness) and the collegium has faded along with the unity of Solis overall.  Imagers are weak; training is not rigorous; the collegium takes golds from the Rex but provides little in return.  In Solis the Rex alternates between temper tantrums and unrealistic demands.  He lacks funds and demands a 20% tax increase and insists the collegium assassinate the High Holders from strongest to weakest until they agree.

Alastar, the new collegium Maitre, seeks a compromise while simultaneously battling his senior imagers to build up the curriculum, re-establish the collegium as a force and find alternative sources of funds.  No one wants a compromise and the senior imagers are conflicted with at least one actively against Alastar and his fellows.

It’s hard work to establish – or re-establish – foundations for any organization, and I admire Modesitt for building a book around the work.  Nonetheless, it’s not exciting. Alastar spends more than half the book meeting with people, realistic for any leader but nothing that makes enjoyable reading.

Best Points of Madness in Solidar

The plot is better in Madness than in Rex Regis or Antiagon Fire, the previous 2 Imager novels, with fewer pages spent describing long travel days.  There isn’t a lot of action but the story keeps moving.

The conflict feels more realistic, incohesion that turns into internal division that turns into treachery. Alastar has no good option when Rex Ryen demands a solution – his solution, his way – and threatens to destroy Alastar and the collegium unless they abet him in murder.  Alastar works to a solution, albeit not a happy one, that allows his imagers to survive and patches Solis together.

So-So Points

Like most Modesitt heroes, Alastar is decent, driven, hard working, agnostic, sensitive and individually powerful.  He doesn’t feel or read like a real person and I didn’t have an emotional connection to him or any of the other characters.

Rex Ryen and his family members are sketched out enough to be foils for Alastar, not fully developed characters.  However they respond consistently and there are no magic turnarounds where villains become good guys or vice versa.  The other imagers, High Holders and factors are likewise thin but sufficient.  The army commander is the weakest character, drawn so unlikable that I wonder why anyone would follow him.

Not Good Points

The worst part of the book is Modesitt’s interminable word play between characters.  It allows us to see how shiny bright and righteous Alastar is compared with the devious and greedy holders, but frankly, it’s boring.  After reading the last couple Modesitt books I’ve lost my tolerance for this stuff.

It’s also unbelievable.  I don’t know anyone who would talk that way.  “Acquiring some knowledge may be more costly than it is wise to purchase.”  This is one of the first sentences from the first High Holder Alastar sees.

Overall

Madness is a comedown from the first three Imager books, set several centuries later and from the excellent Scholar and Princeps yet such an improvement on the most recent few novels that I’m hoping Modesitt is back to creating novels full of plot with interesting characters, conflicts, setting, and with fewer verbal dances that show off the hero’s sterling qualities.

Overall I’d give Madness in Solidar a solid 3 stars and will read future books in the series.

Ponderous, Plodding and Platitudinous – Rex Regis by L. E. Modesitt

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I read and enjoyed the first two books in the second Imager series, Scholar and Princeps, both of which had Scholar Quaeryt working to build a world where imagers could survive and prosper.  Both books were fun to read, Quaeryt was interesting and ruler Bhayer’s problems in building a prosperous country were a worthy backdrop.

The book after Princeps, Imager’s Battalion, was a bit boring with pages upon pages of Quaeryt marching with the army, Quaeryt uncovering more about Rholyn, Quaeryt finding treachery within and without Bhayer’s army, Quaeryt helping other imagers develop their skills, Quaeryt proving over and over how important, skilled and humble a hero can be.

The series starts to fall apart in Antiagon Fire, which follows Imager’s Battalion, with the same problems of slow plot, endless army marches, hard-to-visualize terrain and setting, and our over-the-top hero bringing one more country under Bhayer’s governance.  Antiagon Fire includes a semi-supernatural sequence that adds little and feels out of place.

Rex Regis, the last book featuring Quaeryt (thank heavens), is more of the same, except even less action, no character development, and pages upon pages of humble head shaking as he sees his imagers rebuilding the city, pages of platitudes about force, power and greed’s corruption and endless comments about the lack of sexual equality in Modesitt’s quasi-medieval cultures.

The plot centers around army leaders Myskyl and Deucalon, both of whom Quaeryt distrusts and fears are treacherous.  Neither has reported to Bhayer and Quaeryt hears that Myskyl has collected and withheld tarrifs.

Sure enough, Myskyl is plotting with one of the High Holders to either take over from Bhayer or to carve out an independent realm in the north.  Bhayer sends Quaeryt to find out the facts.  Typical of the prior books, Quaeryt does more than investigate, he resolves the problem.  Several plotters and imagers die.

Just for grins I opened Rex Regis at random and pulled these comments:

“The land is everything to the High Holders and golds are everything to the factors…”
“…there’s more there than meets the eye in a first reading.  Just as there is with you, dearest.”
“There is always treachery, especially by those who are powerful, but for whom no amount of wealth and position will suffice…and seek forgetfulness in the elixir of power.”

Modesitt had used these same themes of greed, power, force, gender discrimination in most of his books.  His books are more effective and much more enjoyable when he uses a lighter touch, letting us readers see the problems vs. shoving them at us every single page.

Rex Regis is spoiled by the sheer length relative to anything actually happening or to character development, the vision sequence with Erion and the fact that Quaeryt is much less likeable as he gets ever more certain yet humble.   The book is at least twice as long as it needs to be.

On the good side Modesitt wraps up Quaeryt’s and Vaelora’s story and shows how the early imagers worked with Bhayer and the others to forge a new country.  Madness in Solidar, picks up the imager story a couple hundred years later, with all new characters (and a few less platitudes).

I’ve read every book Modesitt wrote and own many, but the deterioration in this Imager series and the similar plodding in his latest Recluce novels, decided me against purchasing any of his future books.  I’ll get them from the library.

 

 

Home by Matt Dunn, Book Review

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Home, by Matt Dunn, is one of those perfectly decent books that just misses.  This may be me and my tastes instead of the book itself as I was unable to get past the first couple pages of another book by Mr. Dunn, The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook.  I probably wouldn’t have finished Home either, except it came from Net Galley for a review.

There is nothing wrong with Home.  The writing is decent, main characters are well-done, setting is interesting, and the plot uses a universal conflict.

The primary story concerns Josh, who left the sad seaside town of Derton at 18 to pursue college and dreams of writing, plus his parents, his best friend, his former and almost-former girlfriends and his old high school nemesis.  Josh’s dad is dying of lung cancer and Josh has left London to come home, fully intending to stay a week or so then return to the bright lights and his advertising job.

While in Derton Josh breaks up with his current girl friend (we all cheer at this point), he loses his job, finds the girl he dumped at 18, realizes he should have stayed with her.  Eventually it works out but the process is a bit tedious.

Josh doesn’t believe in anything except that he doesn’t want to live in Derton.  That has driven him for 18 years, but a desire to flee is not a desire to live, and being against something doesn’t tell you what you are for.  He doesn’t like the superficial glitter that his girlfriend and boss embody (best line in the book describes his girlfriend’s closet as a “shrine to Jimmy Choo”), but he doesn’t know what to replace it with.

Josh stumbles around the emotional minefield of his dad’s illness and death, his fears and loneliness.  It takes him the full novel to do what we readers on page 3 see is the right course.

Overall I’d give this a solid 3 stars but don’t read it if you don’t like books where people are their own worst enemies.

 

Change of Heart by Jeanne Bishop – Christian Forgiveness and Reconciliation

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Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, and Making Peace with My Sister’s Killer is a most unusual book.  As the subtitle notes, Jeanne Bishop has worked to first forgive and second to reconcile to the man who brutally murdered her sister, sister’s husband and their unborn child.

Change of Heart walks us through from the first few days after Ms. Bishop’s father found the bodies, through a nightmarish fiasco where the FBI tried to connect the murders with Ms. Bishop’s work in the Irish peace movement, to the trial and sentencing of the true murderer, David Biro.  That first part of the story is easy.  Bad guy commits murder, is found guilty and sentenced.

The second part of the book is harder.  Ms. Bishop became active in the anti death penalty movement, successfully lobbying for Illinois to end its capital punishment.  She describes how she initially held off from thinking of Biro as a person, putting him in a mental box even while she worked hard to forgive him.

After many years she realized that she needed to go beyond forgiving him in her private thoughts and heart, and instead pray for Biro that he could also receive God’s mercy and loving kindness.  Finally she visits him in prison to tell him that she forgave him and this act began an odd relationship.  Eventually Biro confessed to her in writing, an act that he recognized would forever make it impossible for him to pretend to innocence.

Biro was legally a minor, although the book implies he was just shy of 18 when he murdered, and Ms. Bishop extended her work to banish capital punishment to also banish the mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors.  She did this knowing that such a sentencing revision could free the man who murdered her family.  She believes that we should never assume that a given person cannot be redeemed, cannot be rehabilitated and brought back into society.

Forgiving is hard enough.  Spending time face to face with someone you have every reason to hate must be incredibly difficult, and even harder would be to work for their eventual rehabilitation and possible release.

Once I spent several days with a person who found every possible way to annoy me.  It was so easy, so enticing, to play back the conversation and insults and dwell on his behavior.  It was only afterwards that I realized that such a personal encounter is actually an opportunity to receive God’s grace.  Difficult people and troubling experiences give us the chance to first recognize our own failings and sins and second to reach into the well of grace and help that person whether by action or prayer.  This isn’t namby pamby “saintliness” but true experience of grace.  Ms. Bishop went so far beyond that I have no words to describe her actions.

I recommend this but be aware it is well-written but due to subject matter is not enjoyable reading.  I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Santa Klaus Murder – English Country Home Mystery

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If P. G. Wodehouse had written murder mysteries, they may have read like The Santa Klaus Murder), except without the ongoing humor and deft dialogue we hear from Jeeves and Bertie.  The The Santa Klaus Murder is set in an English country home during the annual and dreaded Christmas family visit of the Melbury clan to Flaxmere.

The Melbury family includes four grownup children, three daughters and one son, the unmarried older aunt, two invited guests (one the fiance of the only unmarried daughter), the secretary and assorted servants and the patriarch, Sir Osmond.  Sir Osmond is rich and capricious, wanting his children and grandchildren to do as he wants.  He is considering changes to his will to leave more to his secretary and one granddaughter but has consistently refused to discuss his intentions with anyone in the family so none of the children knows who is in line to get what.

The older children are afraid the secretary, Miss Portisham, may have undue influence over Sir Osmond, perhaps beguiling him into marriage or at least a substantial bequest.  The youngest daughter, Jennifer, wants to marry Philip Cheriton but her father insists she remain at home, unwed, to care for him and of course her siblings all favor this too, thinking she would be a counterweight to Miss Portisham.

Someone shoots Sir Osmond while the grandchildren are playing with their gifts and enjoying the crackers (small firecrackers).  Colonel Halstock, head of the local police, then arrives to solve the mystery.

This novel is from the Poisoned Pen Press, released as part of their British Library Crime Classics, and is a fun, enjoyable diversion.  (The Santa Klaus Murder was originally published in 1936.)  

Author Mavis Doriel Hay does a nice job weaving in the family skeletons and dissensions by having Colonel Halstock interview each of the family and the lead servants.  She shows us the motive each of the family may have had without simply telling us, and she also lays several false trails and red herrings.  (Personally I suspected the actual culprit from the beginning because of the way he was introduced.)

I’m not crazy about murder mysteries but do enjoy the odd British country house weekend novel and this was a fine example, but with the twist of a dead body in the study with a gun!

The publisher provided a copy in exchange for a review.

Three stars.

 

My Favorite Fantasy – Borderlands Novels by Lorna Freeman

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Have you ever felt you just had to re-read a favorite book?  I just finished re-reading (for the third or fourth time) the three Borderlands novels by Lorna Freeman, Covenants, The King’s Own and Shadows Past.  Once again the wonderful, complete characters, excellent plot, intricate back story and strong narrative writing kept me reading and once again I found more to enjoy with each book.

I will review each book separately in upcoming posts; let’s look at the three overall first.

Characters

Rabbit, otherwise known as Lieutenant Lord Rabbit ibn Chause eso Flavan, tells all three novels.  Rabbit is the son of Two Trees and Lark, formerly high born nobles from Iversterre who fled to the Border to become farmers and weavers and raise eight children in the land of the fae and magical.  Rabbit had been apprenticed to Magus Kareste, but fled in fear and came back to Iversterre to be hide, becoming a horse trooper in the Royal Army.

Lorna Freeman does an excellent job showing us Rabbit who is a most enjoyable young man.  He is courageous, loyal and intelligent, yet fears his magic and wants no part of politics, whether in Iversterre or the Border.  Rabbit matures through the three novels as he faces and reconciles to his magic and demands on his person and loyalties.

Laurel, the mountain cat Faena, is come to Iversterre to seek peace in the face of blatant smuggling and murder – and to seek Rabbit on behalf of the Border High Counsel.

Other key characters are well rounded:  Captain Suiden, Captain Javes, Enchanter Wyln, King Jusson, even minor figures like Ryson and Thadro and the assorted villains and other players in each novel

Not Really a Trilogy

You would enjoy these the most by reading in sequence but it isn’t truly necessary.  The individual plots stand alone and each has unique characters for the competing parts.

Covenants

Covenants is the longest and most complex of the three.  Rabbit and his troop are lost in the very familiar mountains they routinely patrol near the small northern town of Freston.  Even though they know the area they cannot find their way until Rabbit meets Laurel in a small dell.  Laurel shares cakes with Rabbit and gives him a red feather, signifying a meal covenant.  Suddenly the troop can see the town below and the way is clear.  This is the first magical mystery, but not the last.

Laurel turns out to be the ambassador from the Border High Counsel, sent to Iversterre in a final attempt to broker peace.  This is a surprise to the King of Iversterre, Jusson, and most of his government, since they did not realize there was a problem.

Covenants moves very fast.  It is over 500 pages long and complex and you may – like I did – find you see even more the second time through.  Lorna Freeman tells the story by dialogue and Rabbit’s thoughts and observations and the little vignettes build on one another.  Those vignettes are easy to read through and not see the significance until later.

The King’s Own

The King’s Own picks up after Rabbit and company return to Freston, where the king has stopped on his progress through the kingdom, a trip meant to reassure and bind the kingdom together.

Unfortunately the remnants of the plotters from Covenants also come to Freston, only this time they bring a demon.

The King’s Own is a little harder to follow than Covenants, partly because Rabbit himself is puzzled by the apparently senseless actions.  It also further develops the relationship between Rabbit and King Jusson, and brings in several stand-alone characters that are interesting, Chadde the peace keeper, Ranulf and Beollan the Marcher lords, doyen Dyfrig.  The plot is great but the characters keep us interested!

Shadows Past

Shadows Past marks the point where Rabbit realizes how serious is his situation.  He has sworn to the throne of Iversterre and to King Jusson personally, and Jusson has made Rabbit his heir.  Up to now Rabbit has been too busy fighting rebellions and demons to realize exactly what that means.

The crux of the book is about 2/3 of the way through when Rabbit is tempted to just leave, to get to the harbor and take the first ship away.  He gets as far as a couple of steps when he realizes what he is doing:  denying his oaths, denying his magic, denying his friends.

Shadows Past doesn’t have the intense plot threats and conflicts of the first two (although there are still plenty of both), instead Rabbit must fight through to what and who he is, remaining true to himself while remaining true to his oaths and loyalties.

Summary

I enjoyed all three books immensely. Covenants is outstanding, one of the very best fantasy books I’ve ever read.  The other two are excellent, and I found that re-reading them this week that I enjoyed them more than before and would rank them right up with Covenants.

Borderlands is hands down my favorite fantasy series.  According to Lorna Freeman’s page on Amazon, she intends to write a fourth book, The Reckoning Flames, but it apparently has not made it out to print.

Borderlands reminds me of the Ivory Series by Doris Egan.  There are many similarities:  one-and-done series that are enormously popular, well-written with engaging characters and settings, with authors that seemed to come out of nowhere.  I keep hoping we’ll see more books featuring Rabbit, Laurel and the rest.