Talion: A Medieval Mystery [Paperback]

Karen Stokes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2003

Against the backdrop of fifteenth century England, Karen Stokes has spun an uninhibited novel of a sociopathic young woman.It is the story of Darkess. A twin disowned at birth by her father, a wealthy knight. Spirited away as an infant to be raised by peasants she has a loveless and abusive childhood.When grown she seeks revenge and suffers betrayal and deceit. Vowing to regain her position and all the wealth owing she uses the skill of a witch and cunning deception. Aided by a secret passage and stalked by an apparition, Darkess desperately seeks to claim her birthright.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Intrigue invades the plot of another novel by Karen Stokes. She paints with words making her characters come alive to romp in the pages of a captivating story. Living in a small town her time is spent writing. Interrupted by lectures and book signings where she enjoys meeting her readers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (July 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595287468
• ISBN-13: 978-0595287468
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,325,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talion, July 22, 2004

By 

Miriam L. Trowbridge "Mystery Maiden" (FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Talion: A Medieval Mystery (Paperback)

Karen Stokes has written an absorbing story that captivates your senses. Talion is set in 15th century England. This mystery includes intrigue, illusion and suspense. It is superbly written and a must read for all of you who like a bewitching tale. It is in line with her other books as being beyond the reader's expectations. The way she creates her characters and descriptions puts the reader right in the story, as if it were happening to them. I highly recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Stokes: Call me!, January 24, 2008

By 

E. Morgan (El Paso, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Talion: A Medieval Mystery (Hardcover)

This book might have been good but for three things:
1. Unbelievably atrocious spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. I'm very understanding about the occasional typo that slips past editing, but every. single. page!! There is no way this book was edited at all. Maybe spellcheck, but even there the homophones got through.
2. A very stilted delivery, particularly with regard to dialog. One of the reasons I don't even try to write is because I can't manage the dialog. After reading this, I'm encouraged to go ahead and write anyway.
3. Violation of the cardinal writing rule: "Show, don't tell." Characters were decidedly one-dimensional with their motives being explained at length in narrative, instead of letting their personalities develop and show the reasons for their actions.

In terms of plot and premise, I think this book *might* have been great, but so very much was lost to the grammatical errors, near-total lack of punctuation, and artificial speech patterns. Even the author's blurb on the back cover has an example of the grammar problem (something along the lines of "She lives in ThisTown, State, where she spends her time. Entertaining guests and doing volunteer work." I don't remember the exact wording and refuse to pick the book up again, but you get the gist.)

Ms. Stokes: PLEASE get an editor! Items 2 and 3 might have been excusable, were it not for the overwhelming presence of item 1. It was so bad that I'm willing to VOLUNTEER to edit (for grammar) two chapters of your next book, to show you what a difference it can make.