Customer Reviews

Out of the Dawn Light (An Aelf Fen Mystery)

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OUT OF THE DAWN OF LIGHT (Hist Mys-Lassair-England-1087) - G
Clare, Alys - Standalone
Severn House, 2009, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780727867636

First Sentence: The news of William the Conqueror's death reached us when we were celebrating my sister's wedding.

Lassair, at 13 years' old, is happy to see her very difficult sister, Goda, getting married and leaving the house. At the wedding, Lassair meets a handsome young man, Romain, to whom she is attracted. Some time later, she is approached by her friend Sibert, to help him and Romain find a treasure. Lassair has a talent they need; she is able to find things. However, the treasure is one which should not be found and the result is death to one of the three young people.

This was very different from Clare's Hawkenlye books. The book does include some wonderful history of the time in a very readable manner.

I particularly liked the point it made about the impact on non-nobility of the struggles for power and the throne. Religiously, this was an interesting time as the country was Catholic but the stories and beliefs of the old religion still played a critical role. The paranormal, or magical, aspects were well done and handled in a believable fashion.

I enjoyed the book, but prefer the Hawkenlye series. I felt this really read more as a young adult novel and would, in fact, recommend it as such.

Alys Clare has written a number of books that are classified as medieval mysteries, and they're now on my To-Read list. This is the first in a new series for her, set in England in the 11th century, around the time of William the Conqueror. Not so much a mystery as an adventure-quest story, this one features Lassair, a girl from the Fens, with the ability to find hidden obects, and her friend Sibert. They are recruited by a mysterious lord, Romaine, to travel across the country to the sea and locate a missing treasure. The object turns out to be a magical crown of immense power, made by Sibert's ancestors approximately 500 years earlier. The mysterious lord wants the crown for himself, to buy back his lands and manor from the king (his family was stripped by the new king in retaliation for supporting a rebellion) and has no intention of sharing the treasure with Lassair and Sibert. Lassair and Sibert realize the dangerous power the crown possesses, and know that no matter what, Romaine and his family cannot be permitted to keep it.

Have loved all of the Hawkenlye series. Didn't quite see the point of this book, didn't feel for the characters and it was a little far-fetched for such young people. Will buy the next in the series, as she is a great author and I hope it will develop.