Customer Reviews

The Wrekening: An Ancient Mirrors Tale

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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

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

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

In a cavern beneath the island of Réver', Brengven the Feie stumbles upon a horde of stone soldiers known as the G'lm. Anyone in control of this army can easily take over Ędracmorę. To prevent this from happening, Yáviė, Queen of Ędracmorę seeks to destroy the heard shards of a Great Wyrm, which give life to the stone armies. Unfortunately, sending one of her Guardians would be too obvious and cause certain evil characters to search for the shards too. Their only hope lies with Cwen, the rebellious daughter of the Guardian Nall.

As Cwen is very stubborn and independent, she is reluctant to accept the quest. However, she does, and she along with her friend Talin, a thief Caen, and the feie Brengven soon embark on an epic adventure in search of the thirteen Wyrm shards. During this quest, Cwen encounters old enemies, fights other unsavory characters, finds new allies, and even falls in love. There is no shortage of excitement or adventure throughout this long novel.

While the beginning of the story is a little confusing with the unfamiliar place names and characters, the reader soon becomes accustomed to them as the most important ones are repeated often. I was pleasantly surprised that a story this long continued to hold my interest the entire way through. The ending was a little abrupt, but I look forward to a partial continuation of Cwen's story in later novels. I appreciated the extensive characterization of Cwen, who shows herself to be more than an arrogant and headstrong girl, and how the insight into the other characters' minds was not overdone.

On the surface, The Wreckening appears to be a fantasy adventure, but it is so much more. Jayel Gibson is a truly talented writer. Though it is long, it never becomes too confusing with the plot and subplots. This is the second book in the Ancient Mirrors fantasy series. It can stand alone, but I do recommend reading the first book in the series, Dragon Queen, before reading The Wreckening as it does make the story easier to understand.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

Reviewed by [...] for Reader Views (4/07)


"The Wrekening" begins as the Feie named Brengven is searching for a meal and stumbles upon a cavern full of demonic stone soldiers. Opening a rift, he hurries to the fortress of the House of Aaradan where Yavie, the Dragon Queen, and her husband Sorel live with Yavie's Guardians. Hearing the news of the discovery of the army and using the knowledge of the Ancient wizard, Grumblton, they decide that something must be done to collect and destroy the Wreken Shards, the heart shards of the Wreken Wyrms, or stubstrata dragons. Knowing that sending guardians would draw too much attention, they call upon the help of Nall and Naere's estranged daughter, Cwen and her friend Talin. At first they refuse, but Brengven, who was sent to convince them, finally succeeds after Caen, who has been good-naturedly stalking Cwen, gets shot by her. The Feie uses Caen, who is somewhat of a rogue, to convince her by saying that he will take Caen on the quest and that she is too weak to complete the quest. In the end, all three of them accompany Brengven. Several days later, they are traveling through Spire Canyon when Cwen is captured by the Thralax, an intelligent, gorilla-like monster. Just as Cwen is escaping on her own, Caen and Talin come to rescue her and nearly kill the Thralax. Cwen saves it by way of a blood oath, and it is forever sworn to protect her. She steals its vast wealth and continues towards the first of the 13 Wreken Shards. After Cwen and her group have collected the first and several other Wreken Shards, they get news that one town has already been attacked by a dark army set free from an underground cavern by an evil enchantress. When Nall comes to tell them to "speed up", he is nearly killed by Cwen, but nevertheless, they hasten in their task as more armies are awakened and more towns are destroyed. As Caen tries to worm his way into Cwen's heart, Klaed, the son of a councilman who like Cwen and Talin refused to be guardians, shows up and vies for Cwen's affections. Can Cwen and her friends recover and destroy all the Wreken Shards before Aedracmorae is destroyed?

In this second book of the Ancient Mirror series, Jayel Gibson not only writes well, but also draws the reader in to this mesmerizing story. "The Wrekening" is a book for teens that would enjoy reading about fantasy, dragons and dark armies.

Book received at no charge to Reader Views

The story: A young woman at odds with family, friends and self comes of age while reluctantly leading a quest for Wreken wyrm heart shards believed to control an ancient army threatening the realm of the Dragon Queen.

Although this story appears at first glance to be nothing more than a fantasy action adventure, it is really a story of overcoming adversity and learning how to be a friend. The main character is Cwen, a girl acting out in fear and anger, who finds it difficult to trust in others and believes that her society's rules will only serve to tie her down and steal her freedom. Within Cwen's crippling, self-destructive moods are glimpses of a fierce protectiveness for a childhood friend and moments of softness that hold out hope for her healing and wholeness. THE WREKENING is a story that anyone who is, or has ever been, a rebellious young person butting heads with a parent due to a failure to communicate can identify with. It is ripe with moments of delight over the author's obvious sense of humor and wonder over her skill at creating environments that assault the senses and contain unusual creatures, such as a sasquatch-like giant, endearing downy fliers and plants with decidedly vampiristic tendencies.

This is a story with enough action to capture and hold the reader's attention, while it deals with the dangers and frustrations of growing up and finding one's place in a less than perfect world. It is sure to please those who enjoy a good old fashioned sword and sorcery, quest driven story with a touch of Celtic flavor.

All in all, it was just fun.

I actually read Into Abbadons Abyss and already knew I liked this authors style. This was a smooth effortless read, and I really fell in love with these characters! I hope to see more of them.

I was pleasantly surprised after reading this book. Not only did I not expect this book would engage me like it did, I figured this would be the only book I would read by this author. I am always looking for good character chemistry and enough action to keep me interested. This book satisfied both. I am looking forward to receiving Damselflies and The Dragon Queen by J. Gibson.