Where angels walk the ground and the future is told in song, does a man of low rank have a chance at love with a Princess?
Trevin has just been appointed Comain of the realm of Camrithia. Along with his new title, the King assigns him to an important quest to find six missing Comains, who have recently disappeared. Trevin, however, has a mission of his own in mind. He seeks to find the two missing harps that the Princess Melaia requires to restore the stairway to heaven. Perhaps then, he will be able to prevent her arranged marriage to the Dregmorian Prince Varic – a man Trevin knows to be a villain.
When Trevin is falsely accused of a horrible crime, he fears that his past will rise to condemn him. And time is running out if he hopes to locate the harps before the opportunity is lost.
***
Eye of the Sword is the second book in the Angelaeon Circle by Karyn Henley. Although I would have liked to read the first book before this one, I did not have any problem jumping in and was able to follow the storyline from the start.
Overall I enjoyed the story. It kept my interest piqued and made me want to keep reading to find out what happened next. Plenty of action, excitement, and interesting fantasy elements like winged horses, powerful harps, and a sword that reveals the true character of whoever looks into it, drew me into the story.
However, I am personally generally wary of books that deal with angels as characters. Given the fact that this book is a work of fantasy, I soon forgot that they were supposed to be angels and viewed them as I would any other fantasy creature. Still, I found the few references to the Most High (obviously God) as the “father-mother” of the universe more than a little disturbing. I believe that Jesus referred to God as His Father, for a reason.
There were also several priests and priestesses in the story. I am assuming that they served the Most High, but I found it odd that although they played key characters in the story, no mention was made of this fact. Perhaps this was more clear in the previous book. I understand that blending fantasy and Biblical themes is often difficult (in fact, I think it’s worthy of a blog post), but the fact that God was so little acknowledged in a story about angels bothered me.
All in all, despite those few things that bothered me, I enjoyed reading about Trevin and his journey and would be interested in reading the next book in the series when it is released. I give it a 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of the this book from the publisher Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.
If you enjoyed my review or found it helpful, please give it a ranking below! This will allow me to receive more books from the publisher for review!
Charley Robson says
Hmm, it sounds a very interesting series! Call me heretical, but I have no issues with angels being dealt with separately from God himself (as they're his creations just as much as us, I reckon they've got a little more leeway with being portrayed in awkward lights).
Still, a great and very sincere review! :)
Gillian Adams says
Haha, no, I understand that this is something that everyone is going to have a different opinion on! :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Charley! It's always great to hear from you.
I'm actually mulling stuff over in my mind for a blog post on including Biblical themes in fantasy. I don't want to say too much now – I have to save up my ideas for the post – but I think it will be an interesting subject to explore. Especially since it's something that I like doing!
The Director says
….. sounds like a good series! Sure, there are some things that are sort of in the gray area, but methinks I shall have to check it out! Thank you for reviewing it….. I don't think I would have found it otherwise ;)