Daughter of Storms

Daughter of Storms #1

by Louise Cooper

Innocent of the power she controls, 16-year-old Shar is of great value to others - who lie patiently waiting for such a soul. But as Shar begins to realize her gift, the terror begins and a deadly power is rising. Can Shar summon the elements to become the Dark Caller?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Childrens Fantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Louise Cooper was born in Hertfordshire in 1952. She began writing stories when she was at school to entertain her friends. She hated school so much, in fact—spending most lessons clandestinely writing stories—that she persuaded her parents to let her abandon her education at the age of fifteen and has never regretted it.

She continued to write and her first full-length novel was published when she was only twenty years old. She moved to London in 1975 and worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer in 1977. Since then she has become a prolific writer of fantasy, renowned for her bestselling Time Master trilogy. She has published more than eighty fantasy and supernatural novels, both for adults and children. She also wrote occasional short stories for anthologies, and has co-written a comedy play that was produced for her local school.

Louise Cooper lived in Cornwall with her husband, Cas Sandall, and their black cat, Simba. She gained a great deal of writing inspiration from the coast and scenery, and her other interests included music, folklore, cooking, gardening and "messing about on the beach." Just to make sure she keeps busy, she was also treasurer of her local Lifeboat station.

Louise passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. She was a wonderful and talented lady and will be greatly missed.

Reviews

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this some years ago before joining Goodreads and am only adding this review from what I can recall, since I have just read book 2 of the trilogy and am reading book 3 at present.

This is a young adult novel set in the same universe as the author's Time Master and other books, where the universe is controlled by the Lords of Chaos and the Lords of Order, reminiscient of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion books. Shar is born with unique powers including the ability to call up elementals at will and should be undergoing training at the home of wizards on the Star Peninsular, but instead is being raised by her unpleasant uncle who has his own agenda. Eventually, with the help of two boys, Hestor who is a young adept at the wizards' Castle, and Kitto, an ordinary boy brought up as a brigand, Shar wins through to her birthright.

I didn't keep this book even though I hadn't read the next two volumes which is not my usual practice, but I do recall that I found it disappointing after the author's stories set in the same universe but for older readers. Shar is a bit of a 'Mary Sue' to borrow the term from Classic Star Trek fan fiction - she is unusually gifted etc. I suppose to counter that she isn't a sweet loveable character as Mary Sues usually are - instead she is headstrong, selfish and conceited about her special abilities. I didn't find her a likeable character and am not finding her such in the later volumes, which I think must be why I passed volume 1 to a charity shop as soon as I finished it. So I can't give it more than a 2-star rating, especially as the later volumes so far are scraping a 3 rating.

[Nicolefelix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I´m loving it... I realy have to know the end!!!!!

[Kushnuma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turned out better than expected...

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally awesome!!! :):):):):):):)

[Amber Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.