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on December 15, 2015
I was looking for alot more magic but what I found was a whole lot of Henry the Eighth.. I read an awful lot of historical fiction and as I read this well, it just seemed that the similarities to Katherine of Spain ,her daughter Mary and Elizabeth I , Ann Boleyn made it a struggle to finish. I wanted a fresh idea afresh story full of magic and new characters . Not an old tale where only the names were changed for the part. How sad.
on December 6, 2015
The Banished of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler. Book 1 of the Covenant of Muirwood. Jeff Wheeler is the author of the Wretched of Muirwood trilogy.
Born a princess, Maia comes home to find her mother exiled and a scheming courtier already taking her mother’s place by the king’s side. Angry that he is refused a divorce, the king ejects the Dochte Mandar- the primary religious order of Comoros- and the country plunges into chaos. Disinherited and rejected by her father, Maia is sent to live as a servant until the king calls her back and desperately sends her on a journey to search for answers to save the kingdom. Accompanied by an assassin, the teenager struggles to find a lost abbey and a way to alleviate the madness that has torn apart her family and people. Hunted by enemies, but now aided by the redoubtable tracker, John Tate, Maia races across Dahomey with the magicians of the Dochte Mandar close behind. Overmatched and desperate, Maia calls on the magic power of the Kystrel talisman, only to find the magic is evil- and slipping from her control. She soon realizes she is being pursued by more than the Dochte Mandar. The conniving boy-king of Dahomey hopes to find her and use her as a pawn in his plans to take over her kingdom. Captured by the king and separated from her protectors, Maia quickly recognizes a worse fate has found her- she has been possessed by the ancient Hetaera. Unceremoniously forced into a political marriage, Maia flees to the sanctuary of Muirwood Abbey, where her mother was exiled. Her one hope to escape a life as a monster is to seek help at the Abbey- her mother’s prison and the home of her ancestors. The only thing that can combat the evil fighting to control her is an uncertain and dangerous path and she must follow it alone.
The main character in this book is the princess, Maia. She has been rejected by her father, the king of Cormoros, and fallen victim to the machinations of Lady Deorwynn- the archetypal scheming step-mother. She is accompanied on her journey by an unnamed assassin hired by her father, but she’s never sure whether he is her protector or her enemy. After a nearly disastrous escape from the evil Dochte Mandar, they enlist the assistance of a kindly tracker named Jon Tate and his faithful hound, Argus, on their journey to the lost abbey. While passing through the country of Dahomey, they have a chance encounter with a rogue named Feint Collier, a messenger for the scheming boy-king. He promises to help them escape, but whether through treachery or bad luck, Maia and her friends end up in the hands of the King of Dahomey. Betrothed to the king as children, Maia now sees him as an ambitious conniver and desperately tries to escape his capture with her enemy closing in around her. Through the course of this book, her character grows from a naïve girl to a force to be reckoned with.
I liked the dignity and generosity that Maia displayed throughout the book. She still, after the horrendous treatment at the hands of her father and step-mother, willingly goes on a dangerous journey to try to save her people. Lady Deorwynn is cut from your standard wicked step-mother mold, right down to the two obnoxious daughters. I never really saw any redeeming characteristics in her throughout the book. Maia is accompanied by the assassin known only as the kishion, and the relationship between them is strained by the underlying question of whether he is there to protect her or kill her if she fails. One of my favorite characters is the tracker, Jon Tate. Wavering between cantankerous and fatherly, he risks everything to help Maia in her quest. Even his faithful dog, Argus, is willing to defend them to the death. It’s Jon who unhappily introduces Maia to Feint Collier. The character of Feint is so unpredictable that you never know from one minute to the next whether he is a good guy or bad guy. All in all, the characters were extremely believable and well developed throughout the story. Other than the evil stepmother, I didn’t feel like there was any lack of dimension to the characters. They were all at times, strong and weak, good and bad, single-minded and confused. You rarely knew whether someone was a sheep in wolves clothing, or the wolf.
The Banished of Muirwood is written mostly in the third person narrative, occasionally through the perspective of Maia. Mr. Wheeler has a talent for introducing characters that have no clear allegiance and questionable motives. This keeps you guessing throughout the book. The storyline takes so many twists and turns that it’s hard to put down at times. It would be a great book for the young adult audience, as well as adults.
This story takes place years after the Wretched of Muirwood story, but builds heavily on that storyline. My chief complaint was that some of the story assumed you had read the Wretched of Muirwood and so there wasn’t enough back-story at times. It’s been a couple of years since I read them, so I found myself struggling to remember what a particular reference meant or who a character was. There were letters written by Lia, the main character in the Wretched series, but they weren’t always in sync with where this story was. In the end, I wanted to put this book down and go re-read the first set. If you haven’t read the Wretched of Muirwood series, I would recommend you read it before you begin the Banished of Muirwood.
My only other complaint was the chronology was sometimes jumbled by dream sequences. I was two or three pages into a chapter before I realized that the story had reverted to Maia’s childhood. It was a little disorienting and there was no clear segway between them. One chapter, Maia is in the middle of her journey, and the next: she’s back to the time before her father banished her. At the end, I understood that the Hetaera was producing the retroactive dreams, but that wasn’t much help as I sat there scratching my head and re-reading the end of the last chapter.
I really enjoyed this book and I think Mr. Wheeler shows extraordinary promise as a fantasy book author. The book is well written and extremely well edited, which is a genuine departure from many self-published books. The characters are engaging and the plot is credible. I was provided an advanced reader copy by NetGalley, but I liked it so much I bought the whole set for my Kindle. I plan to go back and read the Wretched of Muirwood series now and see it clears up a few lingering questions before I move on to books two and three of the Covenant of Muirwood
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Born a princess, Maia comes home to find her mother exiled and a scheming courtier already taking her mother’s place by the king’s side. Angry that he is refused a divorce, the king ejects the Dochte Mandar- the primary religious order of Comoros- and the country plunges into chaos. Disinherited and rejected by her father, Maia is sent to live as a servant until the king calls her back and desperately sends her on a journey to search for answers to save the kingdom. Accompanied by an assassin, the teenager struggles to find a lost abbey and a way to alleviate the madness that has torn apart her family and people. Hunted by enemies, but now aided by the redoubtable tracker, John Tate, Maia races across Dahomey with the magicians of the Dochte Mandar close behind. Overmatched and desperate, Maia calls on the magic power of the Kystrel talisman, only to find the magic is evil- and slipping from her control. She soon realizes she is being pursued by more than the Dochte Mandar. The conniving boy-king of Dahomey hopes to find her and use her as a pawn in his plans to take over her kingdom. Captured by the king and separated from her protectors, Maia quickly recognizes a worse fate has found her- she has been possessed by the ancient Hetaera. Unceremoniously forced into a political marriage, Maia flees to the sanctuary of Muirwood Abbey, where her mother was exiled. Her one hope to escape a life as a monster is to seek help at the Abbey- her mother’s prison and the home of her ancestors. The only thing that can combat the evil fighting to control her is an uncertain and dangerous path and she must follow it alone.
The main character in this book is the princess, Maia. She has been rejected by her father, the king of Cormoros, and fallen victim to the machinations of Lady Deorwynn- the archetypal scheming step-mother. She is accompanied on her journey by an unnamed assassin hired by her father, but she’s never sure whether he is her protector or her enemy. After a nearly disastrous escape from the evil Dochte Mandar, they enlist the assistance of a kindly tracker named Jon Tate and his faithful hound, Argus, on their journey to the lost abbey. While passing through the country of Dahomey, they have a chance encounter with a rogue named Feint Collier, a messenger for the scheming boy-king. He promises to help them escape, but whether through treachery or bad luck, Maia and her friends end up in the hands of the King of Dahomey. Betrothed to the king as children, Maia now sees him as an ambitious conniver and desperately tries to escape his capture with her enemy closing in around her. Through the course of this book, her character grows from a naïve girl to a force to be reckoned with.
I liked the dignity and generosity that Maia displayed throughout the book. She still, after the horrendous treatment at the hands of her father and step-mother, willingly goes on a dangerous journey to try to save her people. Lady Deorwynn is cut from your standard wicked step-mother mold, right down to the two obnoxious daughters. I never really saw any redeeming characteristics in her throughout the book. Maia is accompanied by the assassin known only as the kishion, and the relationship between them is strained by the underlying question of whether he is there to protect her or kill her if she fails. One of my favorite characters is the tracker, Jon Tate. Wavering between cantankerous and fatherly, he risks everything to help Maia in her quest. Even his faithful dog, Argus, is willing to defend them to the death. It’s Jon who unhappily introduces Maia to Feint Collier. The character of Feint is so unpredictable that you never know from one minute to the next whether he is a good guy or bad guy. All in all, the characters were extremely believable and well developed throughout the story. Other than the evil stepmother, I didn’t feel like there was any lack of dimension to the characters. They were all at times, strong and weak, good and bad, single-minded and confused. You rarely knew whether someone was a sheep in wolves clothing, or the wolf.
The Banished of Muirwood is written mostly in the third person narrative, occasionally through the perspective of Maia. Mr. Wheeler has a talent for introducing characters that have no clear allegiance and questionable motives. This keeps you guessing throughout the book. The storyline takes so many twists and turns that it’s hard to put down at times. It would be a great book for the young adult audience, as well as adults.
This story takes place years after the Wretched of Muirwood story, but builds heavily on that storyline. My chief complaint was that some of the story assumed you had read the Wretched of Muirwood and so there wasn’t enough back-story at times. It’s been a couple of years since I read them, so I found myself struggling to remember what a particular reference meant or who a character was. There were letters written by Lia, the main character in the Wretched series, but they weren’t always in sync with where this story was. In the end, I wanted to put this book down and go re-read the first set. If you haven’t read the Wretched of Muirwood series, I would recommend you read it before you begin the Banished of Muirwood.
My only other complaint was the chronology was sometimes jumbled by dream sequences. I was two or three pages into a chapter before I realized that the story had reverted to Maia’s childhood. It was a little disorienting and there was no clear segway between them. One chapter, Maia is in the middle of her journey, and the next: she’s back to the time before her father banished her. At the end, I understood that the Hetaera was producing the retroactive dreams, but that wasn’t much help as I sat there scratching my head and re-reading the end of the last chapter.
I really enjoyed this book and I think Mr. Wheeler shows extraordinary promise as a fantasy book author. The book is well written and extremely well edited, which is a genuine departure from many self-published books. The characters are engaging and the plot is credible. I was provided an advanced reader copy by NetGalley, but I liked it so much I bought the whole set for my Kindle. I plan to go back and read the Wretched of Muirwood series now and see it clears up a few lingering questions before I move on to books two and three of the Covenant of Muirwood
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on November 1, 2015
This is thoroughly mediocre. The story itself is imaginative and has potential, but the author has some pretty serious style issues. For example, he uses big words simply for the sake of using them. The result is something like the taste of air freshener; overly flowery, fake, and vaugly nausea inducing. I am honestly amazed I finished it, and I will not buy the others.
on February 16, 2017
I hate giving this book only 3 stars. I didn't read the other Muirwood books because this one took place further into the future with new characters. I believe this was the beginning of a trilogy and I really feel like I didn't get the plot until I was over half way done with the book. The only thing that kept my interest was seeing if Maia and Colliers relationship would work out. The end was VERY wordy and the whole story was put together at the VERY end. I've read Sword of Truth series, Hunger Games, Divergent series, Dresden Files, Landover series, Immortals After Dark series, The Imdalin series... to name of few. I'm well read and my view isn't from someone without LOTS of reading experience. I didn't even read the epilogue at the end as I didn't care what happened to the characters. I closed it & started another book.
on May 18, 2017
I am not completely sure how I feel about this book. It's an interesting world to dive into and a lot of complex things to learn. It got me thinking throughout the plot. I did like the flashbacks into history because they explained a lot as to what was happening with the current situation.
I feel like some parts were dragged out and over explained which got boring at times. Also time jumps in the book made things a little hard to follow with gaps because the main character didn't know what was going on either.
I am not sure that I like the main character. I feel like she is a weak and doesn't do much throughout the book. I was annoyed by this but I kept reading on until the end and then more things were brought to light and questions answered at the very end. I am still on the fence of reading the second book or not.
I feel like some parts were dragged out and over explained which got boring at times. Also time jumps in the book made things a little hard to follow with gaps because the main character didn't know what was going on either.
I am not sure that I like the main character. I feel like she is a weak and doesn't do much throughout the book. I was annoyed by this but I kept reading on until the end and then more things were brought to light and questions answered at the very end. I am still on the fence of reading the second book or not.
on July 5, 2017
I'm sorry to say that I was mostly disappointed by this book. I usually hate flashbacks but in this case I think the flashbacks only further showed what was wrong with the main story. The writing was at its best when Maia was being mistreated and living out a Cinderella story. It was moving and engaging whereas as I found the main plot boring. I just wanted the story to get on with it but it never really did. I found the twist mostly annoying and greatly unfair. This book only really discussed what happened to one of the characters from the original trilogy so I hope we will learn more about Lia and Colvin as this trilogy moves forward.
on August 18, 2015
Loved it!
Set 100 years after the events of Wheeler’s first Muirwood trilogy, Banished of Muirwood follows Maia -- a distant relation of Lia. Maia is on a quest to learn more of the Myriad Ones in order to save Comoros. There are several familiar elements -- such as kishions and Dochte Mandar and the Medium -- but because we experience them in Maia’s world, they seem a little different at first.
The story alternates between the current events of Maia’s journey and events from her past. On occasion, the switch to the past was a little jarring, delaying the current story progression during some tense moments. But in general, these flashbacks were well-placed and helped with character and story development.
The best part is the magic of Wheeler’s storytelling. All the story threads pull together in the end to create a tapestry of the story; elements that didn’t seem important at the time are suddenly key to understanding the totality of the story. It’s one of the hallmarks that made the original “Legends of Muirwood” trilogy so memorable for me, and I was thrilled to experience that same level of story-crafting in Banished. I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy!
Set 100 years after the events of Wheeler’s first Muirwood trilogy, Banished of Muirwood follows Maia -- a distant relation of Lia. Maia is on a quest to learn more of the Myriad Ones in order to save Comoros. There are several familiar elements -- such as kishions and Dochte Mandar and the Medium -- but because we experience them in Maia’s world, they seem a little different at first.
The story alternates between the current events of Maia’s journey and events from her past. On occasion, the switch to the past was a little jarring, delaying the current story progression during some tense moments. But in general, these flashbacks were well-placed and helped with character and story development.
The best part is the magic of Wheeler’s storytelling. All the story threads pull together in the end to create a tapestry of the story; elements that didn’t seem important at the time are suddenly key to understanding the totality of the story. It’s one of the hallmarks that made the original “Legends of Muirwood” trilogy so memorable for me, and I was thrilled to experience that same level of story-crafting in Banished. I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy!
on April 21, 2016
It was a good book but it seemed too easy and predictable. It didn't seem to me that the characters were all that developed to care about what was happening to them. I think there should have been more conversation between the characters that would give you as the reader more of a connection. I was disappointed it wasn't as good as the other Muirwood series with Lia. I will keep reading to see if it would get any better.
on August 31, 2015
I love Jeff Wheeler and his Muirwood series. This is another great book. Maia is a princess whose father is the king. He banishes her mother because she cannot have anymore children. He seeks a divorce from his queen, Maia mother but cannot get permission as he is a Maston and so his the queen. He takes another wife and finally has children that the queen was unable to have. He puts his new wife in charge of Maia and she treats her very badly. She convinces the king to send her off and not allow her to become queen being the only rightful heir. On her journey she meets the king she was once promised to and they marry under abnormal circumstances. She is possessed by a spirit that wants to take over the kingdoms. She is a haetera (like Madusa). Maia will never be able to kiss anyone without killing them. She is rescued by her grandmother and is being sent to Muirwood to learn the ciphers that was her wish to learn. Really good story can't wait for the continuation.
