The Land of the Wand [Paperback]

Debora ElizaBeth Hill (Author), Sandra Brandenburg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005

One weekend in June, four people in Chicago, all go to the same gift shop in The Galleria and examine an ornamental crystal wand. Rock star Marshall Storme, fantasy author Evan Stone, architect Valaura Bennet and fast-food worker Lillian Curtis all look at the wand, though only Marshall and Valaura are seriously interested in purchasing it. The four are transported to a parallel dimension, a place where the myths of earth originated, and live as real, if unusual, beings. Befriended by the Daemona, the four dimension travellers find themselves embroiled in a holy war with the savage Anjeles. Lead by the mad King Yahoo, the Anjeles are trying to wipe out the Daemona and their four brother-kings, Nicholas, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub and Lucifer. It is Lucifer, King of The Land of the Chalice and the Lightbearers, who is the nemesis of King Yahoo. But they have gone to war against the eldest brother, Nicholas, and the four travellers are caught right in the middle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: FireMountain Press (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929374437
• ISBN-13: 978-1929374434
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,252,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable twist on the fantasy tradition, March 24, 2006

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Land of the Wand (Paperback)

Four people walk into a gift shop in Chicago, touch an artistic wand, and are transported into an alternate dimension--a dimension where the people have hooves and call themselves "daemona" (demons) and are under attack by a beautiful winged race called Anjeles (angels). The four, normal humans, are identified as the savior (a Swedish heavy metal rock star named Marshal Storm) and his assistants (SF author Evan Stone, architect Valaura Bennet, and Burger World waitress Lillian Curtis).

Although Marshal is identified as the savior, he definitely doesn't want the job. He's a pacifist, and the idea of slaughtering anyone, even a group who torture their captives in misguided attempts to save them, is offensive to him. Valaura, despite being a woman, is a far more deadly opponent in the field. Still, the four realize that the daemona must be protected from the continued attacks. Unfortunately, no one has found a way to communicate with the anjeles and without communication, it seems that the answer can only be the complete extinction of one group or the other.

As they come to terms with a parallel universe where standard humans don't exist, and the sapient beings are a strange reflection of the Medieval Church's mythology, the Evan and Marshal rely on their Earthly talents--in words and music, in an attempt to communicate with the young anjeles whom Valaura and Lillian manage to capture. But the king of the anjeles doesn't want peace--and his people esteem him as a god. No solution seems feasible. Meanwhile, the four explore the attraction that springs up between them, an attraction somewhat complicated by the competition from the daemona who find both the male and female humans to be highly attractive. Then too, staying a pacifist in the face of people for whom war is a holy calling is extremely difficult.

Authors Debora Hill and Sandra Brandenberg offer a refreshingly different slant on the familiar story of Earth humans apported to a new world. Instead of mighty warriors intended to bring victory in war, our protagonists are pacifists, who hope to wage peace. This turnaround in the conventions of fantasy is paralleled by the reversal in having demons (with names like Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Lilith, and Beelzebub). If you're looking for a different take on fantasy, you'll want to check out THE LAND OF THE WAND.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A charmed fantasy..., March 1, 2006

By 

Wine Steward "Lowell" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Land of the Wand (Paperback)

A charmed, romantic story, filled with true-love, sense and nonsense. The artful magic of this well-crafted tale kept pulling me forward, suspending my disbelief even while turning its' pages, and setting me in its' parallel world of delightful and challenging anomalies. The Land of the Wand is truly worth the time reading, and you may find you admire Ms. Hill and Mrs. Brandenburg as I do!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous fantasy, March 1, 2006

By 

Valerie "Valerie" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Land of the Wand (Paperback)

Three Americans and a touring Swedish rock star are transported from modern-day Chicago to a parallel universe where hoofed "demons" are the good guys, angels are the bad guys, snow is blue and people ride on giant cats with pink manes. Follow Marshall, Evan, Lillian and Valaura as they gather in this strange but beautiful place, meet, find love, and try to stop a war. Engaging characters, intelligent dialog and a mesmerizing plot-line all add up to a magnificent read. Ms. Hill and Ms. Brandenburg are a great team -- I can't wait for Volume 2! --