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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy genre at its best, May 1, 2009
Archbishop Francis McHenry was dying. He was in poor health, and with winter approaching, he knew he didn't have long to live. Why then, did somebody take the trouble to murder the Archbishop? So begins the third book in the Myrridian Cycle by Debra Killeen, an action-packed, page-turning adventure that will have the reader asking when the next book is coming out.
The death of the Archbishop sends shudders through the kingdom of Myrridia. Aldric Smithson, an evil, power-hungry practionioner of Dark Magic, is overjoyed while young Robert Claybourne, the king of Myrridia, is distraught and concerned for the safety of his subjects. During consultations with Edward Fitzroy, the Primate of Myrridia, it is decided to send for the trusted Duke and Duchess of Saelym so that they can decide together how best to proceed and insure that Aldric is kept at bay. The "real" Duke, a selfish, nasty creature, is dead and being impersonated by goodhearted time traveler Christopher McCabe. Fortunately, the Duchess, Helen, is in on the hoax and is in love with the much more charming imposter.
While the heroes are moving slowly and cautiously, Aldric wastes no time in putting his evil schemes into action. Along the way, the wicked mystic kidnaps Nicole, a good friend of Chris, Helen and the rest of the gang at the castle. Nicole, who caught Aldric's attention for her skills when she was attempting a conjuring spell, will be used to assist in Aldric's rise to power. At least that is his hope, but he didn't expect to come to blows with such a strong-willed woman.
Early in the story, we learn that Edward knows Aldric intimately as they went to seminary together and had a rivalry that continues to eat at both characters. Like Aldric, Edward possesses strange and magical powers although as Primate, he uses his skills for the betterment of society. Will these two powerful men, intent on destroying the other, come to blows?
The Legacy of the Archbishop follows the parallel journeys of Aldric and his group with that of Chris, Helen, Edward, Robert and others, who always seem to be just a few steps behind the evildoers. Will Aldric gain the power he so desperately seeks? Will Nicole ever escape or will she succumb to Aldric's occasional charms and more frequent bouts of insanity? And what about the struggle between Edward and Aldric? Are Edward's powers enough to defeat the dark lord? These questions will keep readers glued to their favorite chair as they rush to learn the answers.
One place where many fantasy series fail is in the abundance of one-dimensional characters, each with bizarre names, strange skills, and unmemorable dialogue. But Killeen avoids those traps as she has created a world rich with fabulous characters, each unique, and leaving the reader wanting to learn more about his or her life.
Is it necessary to read the first two books in this series before opening Legacy of the Archbishop? Absolutely not. I admit to being initially perplexed by the mix of 11th century language, clothing, magic and mysticism alongside 21st century views and references, but it quickly became apparent that there were some time travelers amongst the characters. Killeen does a good job of dropping hints along the way about their previous journeys so that the reader is quickly brought up to speed. Other than that minor confusion, there is no reason not to start the series with the third book, except that you'd be missing the fun of reading the first two books, An Unlikely Duke and A Prince in Need.
Quill says: Author Debra Killeen has masterfully taken the fantasy genre by storm and created a world where magic, brutality, heroism, romance and mystery fold seamlessly together to tell a great story.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Good fiction - Don't judge it because of the fantasy genre., April 2, 2009
LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP
Volume 3 of the Myrridian Cycle
By Debra Killeen
Helm Publications
ISBN 978-0-9820605-1-3
April 1, 2009
$15 Trade Paperback
228 pages
Fiction/Fantasy/Science Fiction/Young Adult
What's wrong with enjoying a good book? Why does the genre of a book determine
what people read? I found my mind wondering about these two questions as I
finished the third book of the Myrridian Cycle. I normally would not have read
it since it is categorized as fiction and fantasy. Originally, I saw the book
in a list of science fiction books. Everyone is missing an outstanding series
by judging this book into either category except outstanding storytelling
fiction.
LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP is the third in a series of books the need to be read
in order. Each book is developed around one character with challenges,
successes, uncertainties, and failures which are what makes this series so
memorable. This particular volume focuses on the not so likeable Bishop Edward
Fitzroy, who was the illegitimate child of a former king of Myrridia.
Edward finally has achieved his life's goal by becoming the Primate of Myrridia
upon the death of Archbishop Francis McHenry who had a slow miserable death due
to being poisoned. Edward has long anticipated his rise to be the head of the
church since he could never rule through the system of royalty in this medieval
time period. So who is responsible for the poisoning and why?
Edward has also recently clashed with the new king of Myrridia, who is also his
nephew. King Robert might be young but he has a sense of fairness and looking
out for the good of the people of his country, not just the easiest or best
thing for himself, which has not been known for many generations in this ruling
family.
The newest character is a seminary rival from Edward's youth, Aldric who
definitely has his own ambitions and dreams. Also, the spunky nature of
Nicole, keeps the pace fast and the characters realistic. As the characters of
Gus and Kenneth are also developed into the lives of the others from the
previous books, the Myrridian books are feeling more like a family of
friendships and characters.
Book one, AN UNLIKELY DUKE, won first place for YA fiction in ReaderViews
Literary Awards. A PRINCE IN NEED is the second book.
What I find amazing is that each book is written better than the previous one.
Of the three books, LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP is outstanding. I have two
complaints about this particular book. The first is that it ended and the
second is that the fourth book is not available yet. I am looking forward to
both the fourth and the fifth books in this series.
Debra Killeen has worked in the pharmaceutical field and moved into the clinical
research field, while being interested in history. These three books are
obviously loved by the author who is a true storyteller.
Teri Davis
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5.0 out of 5 stars
I was left wanting more, April 2, 2009
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (12/08)
"Legacy of the Archbishop" is Volume 3 of the Myrridian Cycle series of books, following Volume 1, "An Unlikely Duke," and Volume 2, "A Prince in Need." As I have not read either of the previous books it took me a little bit to figure out just who all of the characters were. I actually looked up the previous two books on Amazon to read the book descriptions to get a little background as to who everyone was and what their roles were. After taking the couple of minutes to do this, I was completely brought up to speed as to what was going on. So while to me "Legacy of the Archbishop" did not read as a complete stand alone, it still worked well as one after I looked at the brief summaries.
In this third book of the series, the Archbishop Francis McHenry is murdered at St. Clement's monastery. He knew that he was being poisoned and before his death he wrote so in a journal. He gave this important book to the apothecary Basil to give only to a messenger of the King. After McHenry's death, Bishop Edward Fitzroy becomes the Primate of Myrridia, which has always been his dream. Soon after, Edward comes face to face with a ghost from his past, Aldric Smithson, and Aldric is set on revenge.
I thought that "Legacy of the Archbishop" was a very unique book. One of the most interesting parts to me was that one of the characters was from Maine and had traveled to the different world of Myrridia to take the place of someone already in that world. I found this element of the book to be very intriguing. I loved the intermingling of characters from different worlds, one of which is already familiar to me.
All of the characters and the situations, especially the magic, were very imaginative and I really got to know who each and every individual was. The creative storyline flowed smoothly and held my attention from start to finish. It is definitely a book that is difficult to put down. As stated above, even if you haven't read the previous two books, "Legacy of the Archbishop" can still be read on its own. However, I think that after reading this one you will be left wanting more and will also want to read "An Unlikely Dude" and "Prince in Need" anyway!
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