Reviewer: Robyn Roberts
Title: Book of Days
Author: Sara Reinke
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing
ISBN: 1-55404-295-X
Release Date: September 2005
Genre/Sub-genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, Medieval
Year/Setting: The year 1712 of the Third Age
Overall rating: 3.5
Sexual content rating: Subtle
Sara's Website:
www.tiralainn.com
The ordinary and seemingly unrelated lives of Trejaeran Muirel and Qynh Reoder are forever and irrevocably changed when they learn they are brother and sister, twin heirs to the throne of Tiralainn, and the children of a murdered King of Men and Queen of the Elves. By Elfin prophecy, one of them will one day defeat Ciardha, the evil and immortal Queen who now reigns over the realm, and restore the alliance of men and Elves.
The twins have been raised apart and in secret for sixteen years to keep them safe from Ciardha and her dark army of Damantas. When their havens are discovered, their families attacked, Qynh and Trejaeran are rescued from certain death and brought among the rebel forces of the Comhar, an alliance of men and Elves who mean to see the twins fulfill their promised destiny. While Qynh has witnessed the butchering of her family at the sword points of Ciardha’s soldiers and is more than willing to greet this fortune, her brother Trejaeran is not so eager. His father still lives, abducted by the Damantas, and he would risk his own life--even his very soul--to see his father freed. Trejaeran follows his heart, embarking with a group of Comhar warriors to rescue his father, while Qynh follows the path destiny would seem to dictate for her, riding forth with the Comhar army to wage war against Ciardha.
Along each of these perilous and battle-fraught journeys, as new friends are made, unexpected enemies are discovered, and loves are fostered and broken, the twins must ultimately decide whether their fates are predestined, or determined by their own hearts.
This is the most intriguing fantasy book I’ve read in years. I enjoyed getting to know the twins (Trejaeran and Qynh) and watching them struggle with emerging power. It’s not everyday you discover that you are a secret heir to the throne, and watching them cope and struggle with the idea of being royal and how to live that out made me a little more introspective of my own purpose in life.
I think that Fantasy and Sci-fi buffs are going to love this book to no end. I would say for me, I enjoyed Book of Days but I am still puzzled and confused by several things. After reading the entire book, I still have a terrible time figuring out who is who and which people are good and who is the enemy. The names were so out of this world—yet, they were just similar enough to each other—that I was often confused and searching backwards to see who I was reading about. I would have loved to have some sort of Family Tree or an index of people and places and events. I believe that those of you who easily picked up on the Klingon’s in Star Trek will have no trouble with this book. I just struggled with the names and countries.
Now, having told you how confused I was, let me tell you what I truly loved. I loved watching the female twin, Qynh, struggle with her blossoming romantic feelings. I intimately felt her struggle to hang onto herself as she’s being pushed and told she has to fulfill the Elfin prophecy. She has such tenacity and determination and I loved her evolution throughout the book from girl to woman.
I did not identify so closely with Trjaeran as he is more "in your face" and very forthright in most circumstances. This is something I don’t tolerate well in my time period, so it doesn’t make me trip over myself to love him. However, he’s a great guy who is doing his best to fulfill the prophecy while trying to save the only father he’s ever known. His determination to overcome every obstacle put in his path won him over in my mind to be a truly great young man.
Ms. Reinke uses a lot of Elfin language throughout the book. Good news for me, she always immediately translates it into English. At first I found this to be incredibly distracting, but as the book progressed, I no longer noticed it. Here’s another place where I beg for a glossary of terms or a mini-dictionary. I just couldn’t pick up the nuance of the language, which irritates me because I believe I’m a smart enough cookie to learn new languages. I’m not sure why I think I’m such a linguist---I still don’t understand a word of Klingon, either, and I’ve watched Star Trek for 15 years.
Even though I struggled with areas of the book, I found it to be well written. I have enough questions about what went on before this time to hope that a prequel will someday emerge. I am aware that the sequel to Book of Days will be coming soon to Double Dragon ebooks. It will be titled Book of Thieves. I hope you will enjoy Trejaeran and Qynh’s story.
Robyn
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