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UK Authors - Sci-fi & fantasy |
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The Company of Glass: Everien Book I |
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 The Company of Glass: Everien Book I byValery Leith Millennium (Victor Gollancz) 560 pages, June 2000 ISBN 1857988574 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde Jai Khalar is a magical fortress that nobody can see until they are on top of it. It was built using the knowledge of the ancient race that once lived in Everien. The enemies of the humans living there are formidable: the inhuman Sekk who appear beautiful but enslave people with a glance and compel them to kill all in sight, and the Pharicians who are intent on a spot of empire-building. Once there was Queen Ysse and her warrior elite The Company. But now she is dead, and the company have also died looking for a magical road leading to an equally magical place called Jai Pendu. One alone remains and he is coming back – Tarquin the Free. He will have to face up to his second-in-command’s daughter who is convinced that he let her father die and of course get sent off on another quest. Enchanted horses thudding across the sands, floating islands, magic mirrors...fantasy! It all sounds rather exciting put like that, but it was actually a more contemplative tale full of absorbing images and strange details. A bit more action would have kept the story rolling along. All the characters were engaged in talking about the exciting events of eighteen years earlier and the larger-than-life characters in them, making me wish that the author had chosen to write about these earlier events. There are a lot of complicated images and ideas here. However, I felt that the story needed more energy and tauter writing to make it run in a smoother manner – some of the characters are well drawn and there are certainly some fascinating plot ideas. It will be interesting to see what this author comes up with in the second book of Everien, which will be out soon. |
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