12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great epic fantasy!, September 2, 2006
This review is from: The Wrekening: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)
When I was younger and first became an avid fantasy reader, I came up with a system for detecting good epic fantasy. I called it "Tom's Epic Fantasy Detection Test." No, I didn't need to read the first thirty pages nor did I have to read the little blurp on the back cover. All I felt I had to do was look at the front of the book for maps and at the back for a glossary of terms. My thinking back then was: if a book has both of these, then I'm in business.
What I didn't realize was that I was really making a judgment on the depth of the world the author had created. I wanted something as real as my world--a place that I could see so clearly that I wished I could get aboard a plane and go visit it. The world Jayel Gibson has created in The Wrekening certainly passed this test. It is one that is complex, startling, and a true work of the highest imagination.
The Wrekening focuses most of its action around a trio of characters. Cwen is the leader of the group. Though she is stubborn and hot-headed on the outside, she harbors much inner pain and has more than her share of demons to exorcise. Talin, her best friend, is the perfect complement to Cwen. He is the voice of calm guidance throughout the novel and pretty good with a battle-axe too. And, of course, there is the rogue, Caen, who is a walking enigma: sometimes you hate him, sometimes you love him.
Together these three (plus their tag-along companion Brengven) must complete a quest to keep a powerful army of stones warriors, frozen since the creation of their world, from falling into the hands of evil. To do so they must overcome obstacles with not only the sharpness of their swords, but a sharpness of their wits as well. Each puzzle piece they find pushes them farther and farther toward their goal and ever closer to danger. In accepting this mission they will achieve one of two things: the status of immortal heroes if they succeed or the destruction of the world if they fail.
It is these high stakes, placed in a wonderfully created world filled with life-like characters, which makes The Wrekening a great book. With each turn of the page the reader is asking, "What will happen next?"
For me, the part I loved the most was the way the characters unfolded as the novel progressed. Every time I thought I'd made up my mind about Cwen, Caen, or Talin some new development or slight twist pulled the rug out from under me, making me think a little more about them. What did happen to Cwen in the past? Is Caen truly this way? Is Talin as calm as he seems? Jayel Gibson creates these characters so well one can't help but fall for them.
Another great aspect is that The Wrekening can have a very large range of readers, both young adult and adult. Due to the creativity of the world, the depth of the characters, and the quality of the writing any adult reader would be more than happy with this book. Yet, because of Jayel Gibson's ability to write about love without getting into sex, and since the fight scenes are filled with action and suspense without gory violence, a younger reader would find this book just as appealing. Truly The Wrekening is a book for all ages.
For these reasons and many others I highly recommend The Wrekening to anyone who loves a good fantasy story.
Thomas Bolme, Jr.
An Independant Professional Book Reviewer
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dynamite fantasy, October 24, 2006
This review is from: The Wrekening: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)
Niece to the Dragon Queen Yavie and daughter of one of the Guardians, Cwen of Aaradan is estranged from her family as they condemn her as evil for having been captured and raped by their enemies. She, in turn, rejects anything related to her heritage even the magic she can employ as she leaves her home behind.
However, her Aunt the Queen is worried with open hostilities already killing many. Yavie has learned that the enemy is plotting to gather the thirteen ancient crystal shards invented by the Wyrms that are scattered throughout their world. Though created by the ancient and long since vanished Wyrms to protect the world from evil; the plot calls for using the crystal to raise an invincible unit of underground stone soldiers. The Queen sends her niece and four companions (Talin, Caen, Brengven and Klaed) to prevent that from happening.
On the surface , THE WREKENING will sound somewhat similar to the Tolkien tales (which in turn paid homage to Beowulf), but has a freshness of its own due to the heroine, who leads her band on the quest, while coming of age during the adventure. Cwen makes the tale as, in spite of loathing her mother Nall who condemns her as being weak and her people who assume she is tainted, she accepts her Aunt Yavie's mission to save their world. Her fellow travelers are fully developed and in subtler ways coming of age too especially her best friend Talin. Fantasy readers will appreciate this fine Ancient Mirrors saga.
Harriet Klausner
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy, August 27, 2008
This review is from: The Wrekening: An Ancient Mirrors Tale (Paperback)
Cwen, Caen, Talin, Klead and a Feie are on a quest to dangerous holding places of the shards in hopes of saving Aedracmorae from destruction. Each character has their own story, Cwen's by far is the most interesting. She has denied being a Guardian, she no longer speaks to her mother and father because of a misunderstood past on both parts, and she has hardened herself against men.
Trust is hard for Cwen, but she must learn that she needs it to survive and complete the task. Faced with death many times, the group continues to each point of location in hopes of getting the shards and getting them returned to the Queen so that they can be destroyed; for there are evil stone armies that lie in wait beneath the earth that someone is trying to raise to destroy everything that is Aedracmorae. A young lady with a hardened heart finally found a man worthy of her, only to be separated by death.
Jayel Gibson's, The Wreckening is the second book in her Ancient Mirrors series. This young adult book is full of mystical creatures, emotions, and fantasy that will transport young and old readers into a different exciting world. 5 Hearts
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