Gryphon's Quest [Paperback]

Candace Sams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2006

Book 1 in the Tales of the Order series. From an ancient English forest where legends hide comes a man of myth. Gryphon O'Connor is a Druid warrior belonging to an Order of mythical creatures creatures who hide in today's world, fearing discovery. Now someone has stolen artifacts that could expose the Order, and Gryphon must retrieve them before his world is destroyed. He knows accomplishing this mission will come at a price. What he doesn't anticipate is falling in love with Heather, a bighearted, beautiful, fiery woman from the outside. As the worlds of magic and science collide, Gryph and Heather must brave unthinkable dangers to save both. And to keep the Order's existence a secret, someone must die.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After having worked as a Police Officer for eleven years, and on the back of an ambulance as a Crew Chief and crew member for about eight years, I got pretty used to things that go 'bump in the night'. Sometimes . . . I was what went 'bump in the night'!

I love paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, time travel, shape shifter, anything out of the ordinary romances. Having read romance since the age of about thirteen, I've seen every conceivable story. But all the romances with the supernatural elements or those involving Celt or ethereal magic are still what's best for me.

I'm currently the senior woman on the U.S. Kung Fu Team and exhibited in China, at the request of the Chinese Government, in November 2000. I hold an International Martial Arts Competition title from 1997, and was awarded the Medal of Putien and the Statue of Tao from the deceased Grand Master of Nan Shaolin Kung Fu in China, Grand Master Chee Kim Thong. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Venus Press (February 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598361112
• ISBN-13: 978-1598361117
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,516,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CANDACE SAMS (also writing as C. S. Chatterly) graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in agriculture. She worked as a police officer with the State of Texas, the San Diego Police Department, and in a teaching capacity for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Candace is the senior woman on the US Kung Fu Team (three black belts), and has been awarded the Medal of Putien and the Statue of Tao by the Chinese Martial Arts Confederation in Quanzhou, China. She holds international martial arts titles, and is an award-winning fiction author. Contact her through her web site at www.candacesams.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Myth and mystery -- Very highly recommended, April 16, 2002

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gryphon's Quest (Paperback)

When a protection spells goes wrong at birth, Gryphon O'Connor spends his life as an outcast. The only one of his kind, he uncontrollably alternates between a human form and that of a gryphon until Shaula Gallagher, Sorceress of the Ancients, lends her aid. In return for his service, she helps Gryphon control his transformations. Though he tires of being used, Gryphon accepts another task; this one could mean the salvation of his Order as well as those on the Outside. He must retrieve rune stones with unspeakable power before their use can be discovered and horror unleashed on Earth.

Acquisition assistant Heather Green loves antiquities, and especially Irish artifacts. Studying the artifacts of her heritage is like stepping into "another world of magic, myth, and mystery." But she never expects to confront myth in person, especially in such a sexy babe magnet as Gryphon. She initially does not believe his story of the runes, but when someone is murdered at the museum, she has no one else to believe. But if Gryphon reveals the truth of his identity, he brings certain death to Heather.

The first of the series TALES OF THE ORDER, GRYPHON'S QUEST will delight paranormal romance lovers. Candace Sams creates a world of myth and mystery that lies concealed within our own mundane existence, unsuspected and carefully guarded. Heather is a woman of remarkable strength concealed beneath a deceptively mundane exterior. Gryhon is a man isolated and alone, even among his own people. Together they create a powerful presence and love draws them close but ancient law forbids their being together. Indeed, even knowledge of Gryphon's true form threatens Heather's existence. A strong plot revolving around the missing runes gives the novel a fast paced story readers will not be able to put down. Destined for the keeper shelf, GRYPHON'S QUEST comes very highly recommended.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic adventure, May 14, 2002

By 

Annette Gisby "agisby" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gryphon's Quest (Paperback)

Gryphon O' Connor is a Druid Warrior, charged with the protection of his people. His people include fairies, elves and other so called mythical creatures that humankind have long ago stopped believing in. He is also the only one of his kind, a man able to shape shift into another being, destined to be alone. When the Sorceress of the Ancients sends him on a quest to New York to bring back stolen Irish artifacts, he hadn't bargained on meeting and falling for feisty young woman Heather Green. Heather works in the acquisitions department in the museum where the artifacts were sent.

She can hardly believe that she has finally met someone who lives up to her ideal fantasy, a tall, dark and handsome stranger reminiscent of all those Celtic heroes she'd read about and who she thought didn't exist. Heather is determined to help recover the stolen property, no matter how much Gryphon insists otherwise.

The stolen artifacts include a set of three rune stones, which when translated will allow the speaker to shapeshift into something resembling their inner soul. Unfortunately the stones have been used by someone with a dark soul and now a monstrous killer is on the streets, determined to make Heather it's next victim...

This is a well plotted story of romance and adventure, with a murder mystery thrown in for good measure, although I think the killer was revealed a little too early. The main plot seems to be how two people so different as Heather and Gryphon can get together, when there are so many obstacles in the way, not the least of which is the fact that anyone who reveals to Outsiders (which is what Heather is, after all), about their existence is condemned to death, and so is the Outsider they told.

I think more could have been made of this, why was there such a rule? Surely not all Outsiders were as terrible as they were making out, and they do come to this conclusion in the end. Because there are so few of the magical beings left, they know they will die out unless they can introduce new blood into the gene pool.

The love scenes between Gryphon and Heather were deftly handled, erotic without crossing that line into more heavy territory. It was heartbreaking watching the way Gryphon was treated by the others because he was different, he was even more of an outsider than the Outsiders. And what became of Heather once she found out Gryphon's secret? Well, you'll just have to read and find out!

A great read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 11, 2002

By 

Patricia A. Lazarus (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gryphon's Quest (Paperback)

Gryphon's Quest is a top-notch paranormal romance. The hero is VERY hunky and the heroine is spirited and smart. The premise here is that there is an ancient order of mystical beings who are hidden from the everyday world.
Gryphon O'Connor is a druid warrior from this order who has the birth-given ability to shape-shift to a powerful black griffin. His quest is to find stolen magical runestones that give shape-shifting powers to the person who obtains them, and return them to the Order where they belong, before all is exposed to the world of the humans.
Heather Green works at the Manhattan Museum of Antiquities where the stones have turned up. Enlisting her help, Gryphon pulls her into an unbelievable world of magic and intrigue. The danger to Heather is not only from the madman who has the stones, but from the Sorceress of the Ancients who cannot allow the secret of the Order to become known. She must protect the beings of the magic Order against the outside world. Gryphon knows that he can't afford to fall in love with a human, but his heart doesn't seem to count the cost. Heather is drawn to this legendary being, although she knows there is no future for them together.
I totally enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next book of the Order to come out. Candace Sams' heroes are to die for. Yumm!