Damselflies: An Ancient Mirrors Tale [Paperback]

Jayel Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ancient Mirrors Tale | Publication Date: November 1, 2007

In their demon-bound minds, fearful and powerful men consider Arcina, the last Damselfly, a threat to their race. Hunted by those men, Arcina must set aside her docile nature to learn the skills of weaponry and war if she is to protect her unborn offspring and ensure the future of her race.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In the Seven Kingdoms, only one Damselfly remains; the rest of her kind have been butchered by evil men who fear the potent magic of these winged women. Aided by Ilerion, a nobleman unlike the Damselfly hunters, Arcinaë must wage war to save her kind from extinction. Continuing the story begun in The Wrekening and Dragon Queen, Gibson sets her saga of survival amid persecution in a richly detailed universe populated by many races as well as fantastical creatures and bathed in the light of magic. A solid addition to most fantasy collections. -- Library Journal

About the Author

A student of Celtic history, folklore and faith, Jayel Gibson weaves the magic of timeless adventure. Other novels in the Ancient Mirrors series include [i]The Wrekening[/i], [i]Dragon Queen[/i] and [i]Quondam[/i].

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Synergy Books (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933538643
• ISBN-13: 978-1933538648
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From my publisher:

Jayel Gibson holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Multicultural Studies. In 1989, she became an elementary school teacher in Escondido, Calif., where she taught the fourth and fifth grades. During her time in Escondido, she was a two-time 'Teacher of the Year' recipient for the Escondido Union School District. In 2003, Gibson retired from teaching to wholly pursue her passion for writing. Using the seedlings of her grandmother's Celtic tales and alternate worlds, Gibson formed the 'Ancient Mirrors Tales,' which include The Wrekening, Dragon Queen, Damselflies, and Quondam.

Gibson's interest in history and folklore is woven throughout the tales to create an otherworldly, yet authentic experience. Through her research into Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultures, Gibson's 'Ancient Mirrors' series enchants readers in a world and time unlike their own.

In 2007 the Ancient Mirrors series received two USA Book News finalist awards. Quondam (May 2008) is the 2008 National Indie Excellence Fantasy/SciFi Book Award Winner.

In addition to a full-time writing career, Gibson serves as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Oregon Community College, where she teaches writing for publication. She is a popular conference speaker at events like OryCon, Wordstock and the South Coast Writers Conference, and is the online book moderator for Realms of Fantasy magazine. She has been a contributor for Dallas Child Magazine, Education.com and Thefatherlife.com.

Gibson currently resides in Port Orford, Ore., where she and her husband share their home with a number of furred and feathered companions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy, August 27, 2008

By 

Crystal Adkins "Crystal's book reviews" (Ashland, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Damselflies: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)

Ilerion and his assistant Nilius have come across a villiage burned to the ground, bodies are now blackened ash along the earth. One woman is left, she barely is alive so Ilerion and Nilius take her to a healer in hopes of saving her life. Arcinae is the last of the Grimmore Damselflies, and has been raped and stripped of her wings.

Unknowing the ways of the cold hearted, she must learn to fight. She is on a mission to exact revenge on those that have killed her kind, and Ilerion will teach her what she needs to know. Lazaro would pay dearly for trying to vanquish her kind. But she is still without her wings, she is riding under the guise of just a woman. Arcinae hopes to find the hidden Sylph's, they may be her only hope to be turned back into a full Damselfly.

Ilerion, Nilius, and Arcinae are out for blood, but they will have many twists along the way. A true young adult fantasy woven with precise detail, Jayel Gibson makes her Ancient Mirrors Tales a fabulous wonder to read. 5 Hearts

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite from the Series, June 23, 2008

By 

The Book Muncher (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Damselflies: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)

Lives are ruled by prophecy and legend in Gibson's continuation of the Ancient Mirrors series. Men whose minds have been corrupted seek to destroy all the enchanted folk, especially the Damselflies, because of their fear of a legend telling that men would be ruled by a Damselfly's halfling daughter. Only through the kindness of two hunters is Arcinaë able to survive, becoming the last Damselfly. She struggles to overcome her passive nature and become a warrior, in order to get revenge on the men who killed her Damselfly kin and to learn to lead Grimmoirë, as is her right. Damselflies tells the tale of Arcinaë's struggles as well as those of her halfling daughters.

Firstly, I commend Gibson for being able to weave a thrilling story that held my interest the entire way through. I really like the strong female characters presented throughout the Ancient Mirrors series, and Damselflies was no exception. These females are skilled warriors in battle and are also highly intelligent and usually stubborn, yet they are easy to like by the reader. I also like how there's always a bit of romance woven into the story, even in the midst of fighting. My only issue with this story was that in the second half, the plot seemed rushed and sometimes details were unclear, such as the location of one character and who spoke what line. However, Damselflies was a truly exciting read.

Out of the three first novels in the Ancient Mirrors series, Damselflies is by far my favorite. It isn't necessary to read the first two novels to understand Damselflies, but I recommend reading Dragon Queen and The Wreckening just because they are also great stories, although readers who are not very into fantasy may be intimidated by the length of Gibson's novels.

3.0 out of 5 stars Picked up in the middle of Series, October 12, 2010

By 

MangaAddicted - See all my reviews

This review is from: Damselflies: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)

this is the 3rd book in the series

I happened to pick up this book at my public library and as i was reading this book i realized that there was ALOT missing and it wasn't until the 6-8th chapter that I realized there had to be books that came before. I had so many types of creatures and characters and Places that weren't given much explaination and at first i Thought this writer hadnt written a very good book, but then i jumped on-line and found out there were two more books before this one which probably did all the explaining i was looking for. lol The one thing i really did HATE about this book was all the "i shalls" and "FOR i will" and "FOR it will" and "FOR he will" and 'FOR"s all OVER the Place!! I seriously and literally tried my hardest to read over those because it got on my nerves SO much.