The Empyrean Key – Review

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

In Ardentia, a land carved by the Celestials and their magic, a great King lies dying.

Narcean soothsayer, Friziel Sunrender, has foreseen a shadow that threatens this already war-torn world, and whispers on the wind hint at the return of an ancient evil. To stave off this threat, he must call upon the halfbreed girl-child he banished years ago.

As a not-so-perceptive telepath and amateur scam-runner, Jahna Mornglow has filled the void left by an absent father, with the friendships of a bloodthirsty bar-maid and a bullied book-worm. Her mother, scarred by the racial prejudices of her past, refuses to nurture Jahna’s Narcean abilities of prophecy and telepathy, warning her of the hate beyond the safety of Groden Cove – a beachside safe haven for misfits and those who wish to be left alone.

When hidden enemies move their pieces into play as the King’s condition worsens; Jahna learns the true extent of her lineage, and is tasked with restoring a Celestial artifact known as The Empyrean Key. Jahna must now keep safe the world that has shunned and discarded her.

(Blurb from Goodreads.) 

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The Empyrean Key, while fantasy, was a fast moving and easy going read.  I really enjoyed it.  The characters, the setting, the plot; everything about this book was unique.  And even though it is a fantasy book, I had no trouble following along.  (Sometimes in other fantasy worlds it’s hard to keep everything straight; not in this book.  Easy peasy.)

 The main character, Jahna, goes through some serious trials and tribulations and then finds out that she must go on a mission to save the world.  Her two best friends, Silko and Lilac accompany her on this mission.  The story kind of reminding me of Lord of the Rings. I can’t quite put my finger on why, except the fact that the characters are all so different, believable, and likeable (this is of course, a compliment!)

There were also multiple humorous times which made me laugh out loud, and a possible romantic interest appears as well, which I’m excited to learn more about.

I read this book quickly, and look forward to reading the next book in the series.  I’d definitely recommend!

My Rating:  4 Stars

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Some of my favorite quotes:

Jahna felt a churning in her stomach, a cold shiver racing up her spine and she was struck by a horrible feeling that unsettled and scared her.

A feeling that things were about to change.

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After all, even the slightest ripple in the ocean can create a mighty wave.

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“Any problems?” she asked.

“Not a one,” Arn replied. “Like candy from a baby.”

Lilac gestured to the cuts on their faces. “Babies with knives?”

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***I received a free copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.***

Dark Sun, Bright Moon Spotlight & Excerpt

DSBM BOOK COVER

 

Dark Sun, Bright Moon, by Oliver Sparrow, was published in July 2014 and is available for sale on Amazon.

“Dark Sun, Bright Moon describes people isolated in the Andes, without the least notion of outsiders. They evolve an understanding of the universe that is complementary to our own but a great deal wider. The book explores events of a thousand years ago, events which fit with what we know of the region’s history,” says Sparrow.

In the Andes of a thousand years ago, the Huari empire is sick. Its communities are being eaten from within by a plague, a contagion that is not of the body but of something far deeper, a plague that has taken their collective spirit. Rooting out this parasite is a task that is laid upon Q’ilyasisa, a young woman from an obscure little village on the forgotten borders of the Huari empire.

This impossible mission is imposed on her by a vast mind, a sentience that has ambitions to shape all human life. Her response to this entails confrontations on sacrificial pyramids, long journeys through the Amazonian jungle and the establishment of not just one but two new empires. Her legacy shapes future Andean civilization for the next four hundred years, until the arrival of the Spanish.

Dark Sun, Bright Moon takes the reader on a fascinating adventure that includes human sacrifice, communities eaten from within, a vast mind blazing under the mud of Lake Titicaca, and the rise and fall of empires cruel and kind.

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Chapter 1: A Small Sacrifice at Pachacamac

A priest knelt before her, a feather from his head-dress tickling her face. His musky odour of old incense and stale blood was rank, even here on the windy summit of the pyramid. Four other priests held her body tipped slightly forwards, and the pressure that this put on her tired old joints hurt far more than the fine, cold bite of the knife at her neck. Quick blood ran thick down her chin and splashed into the waiting bowl. Then the flow weakened, the strength went out of her and she died, content.

Seven elderly pilgrims had set out for Pachacamac, following their familiar river down to the coast and then trudging North through the desert sands. Two of the very oldest of them needed to be carried in litters, but most were able to walk with no more than a stick to help them in the sand. Lesser members of the community had been delegated to carry what was necessary. These would return home. The elderly would not.

The better-regarded families of the town were expected to die as was proper, sacrificed at the Pachacamac shrine for the betterment of the community. Such was to be their last contribution of ayni, of the reciprocity that assured communal harmony and health. It was also their guarantee of a smooth return to the community’s soul, to the deep, impersonal structure from which they had sprung at birth.

The Pachacamac complex appeared to them quite suddenly from amongst the coastal dunes. They paused to marvel at its mountain range of pyramids, its teeming myriad of ancient and holy shrines.

Over the millennia, one particular pyramid had come to process all of the pilgrims who came from their valley. They were duly welcomed, and guards resplendent in bronze and shining leather took them safely to its precinct.

They had been expected. The priests were kind, welcoming them with food and drink, helping the infirm, leading them all by easy stages up to the second-but-last tier in their great, ancient pyramid. The full extent of the meandering ancient shrine unveiled itself like a revelation as they climbed. Then, as whatever had been mixed with their meal took its effect, they were wrapped up snug in blankets and set to doze in the late evening sun, propped together against the warm, rough walls of the mud-brick pyramid. Their dreams were vivid, extraordinary, full of weight and meaning.

The group was woken before dawn, all of them muzzily happy, shriven of all their past cares, benignly numb. Reassuring priests helped them gently up the stairs to the very top tier. In the predawn light, the stepped pyramids of Pachacamac stood sacred and aloof in an ocean of mist.

Each pilgrim approached their death with confidence. A quick little discomfort would take them back to the very heart of the community from which they had been born. They had been separated from it by the act of birth, each sudden individual scattered about like little seed potatoes. Now, ripe and fruitful, they were about to return home, safely gathered back into the community store. It was to be a completion, a circle fully joined. Hundreds of conch horns brayed out across Pachacamac as the dawn sun glittered over the distant mountains. Seven elderly lives drained silently away as the mist below turned pink.

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About the Author:

Oliver Sparrow was born in the Bahamas, raised in Africa and educated at Oxford to post-doctorate level, as a biologist with a strong line in computer science. He spent the majority Oliver Sparrowof his working life with Shell, the oil company, which took him into the Peruvian jungle for the first time. He was a director at the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House for five years. He has started numerous companies, one of them in Peru, which mines for gold. This organisation funded a program of photographing the more accessible parts of Peru, and the results can be seen at http://www.all-peru.info. Oliver knows modern Peru very well, and has visited all of the physical sites that are described in his book Dark Sun, Bright Moon.

To learn more, go to http://www.darksunbrightmoon.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22805356-dark-sun-bright-moon

 

 

 

***All images and text were provided by Book Publicity Services.***