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Books of Time #1
The Binding Returned
'Have you ever wondered what lies beyond?' An innocent enough question, if you know what exists in your World. After 1000 years of stagnation orchestrated by the Immortal Nightlords, even the simplest of questions can provoke profound consequences. When the son of the High King of C'Holm arrives in Riversea to accept his exile, Hamish is once again prompted to return to the Highlands and accept his duty as Prince of Sarzana. He is already a year too old to undergo The Testing upon The Sacred Mountain, so he can put off his departure a few more weeks and accompany Falkyr Fhar'son as far as Roadsend, where they have both been invited to visit The Lady of The Silver Lake. Guide Navarra of The Covenant insinuates himself into their company, wishing to invite Falkyr to the Kingdoms to win the favor of his Nightlord Prince for his faith. The Lady sets a series of tests for Falkyr, in order to see if he is the one who can do something that has not been done in 1000 years. Without meaning to interfere, it is Hamish who catches the attention of The Lady, and the newly Spoken For Lady Megan, her adopted heiress. Hamish's childhood as the willing butt of the pranks of the sons of the High Mayor of Riversea has inured him to the pain that comes when common sense is ignored. It makes him ideally suited to search for a Door that does not exist. But does it make him The Chosen One who can fulfill The Promise of The Binding Returned, and reunite The World and The Underworld? In his willingness to serve, will he sacrifice his own mortality?
554 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2011
4 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Morrow Miller
4 books12 followersAuthor of:
The Binding Returned
The World Revealed
The Goddess Reborn
The Union Rejected
The Binding Returned
The World Revealed
The Goddess Reborn
The Union Rejected
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 24, 2013
Despite the novel’s length I found myself whizzing through it eager to constantly read the next page. Miller has deftly created a rich, diverse and convincing fantasy environment with intriguing characters and a well-developed plot, which gallops along to a rewarding ending. This novel will appeal to all lovers of epic fantasy and anyone who enjoys action and adventure. Jeffrey Miller is a name to watch out for in fantasy writing and I’ll certainly be checking out the rest of The Books of Time series.
March 2, 2014
Mr. Miller's first offering is an immense and sweeping tale, full of intrigue and plot twists. The characters are accessible and well developed. Hamish, the main character, is incredibly sympathetic and believable and his personality comes out in his conversations and behavior. The wide gap between how he perceives himself and how other characters in the book goes a long way to building character without the author hitting you over the head with it. This is one of the hardest things to do as a writer (in my opinion) and Mr. Miller has developed this skill to a maturity that is unusual in an initial offering from any writer.
I also enjoyed the mechanics of the way the story unfolds--the unexpected jumps in time, the way the main character seems to discover his own story the same way we do as the reader. Intensely well thought out and well crafted. So many writers these days forget that writing is a craft as well as an art form.
And the language is intense and often lyrical. The author clearly cares about the flow of his prose and that really contributes to a tone and style that lends itself to the telling of a good story. Occasionally the language will trip over itself slightly but these occurrences are few and far between. In a book of this length and ambition, it's probably impossible to catch every one of these things.
Perhaps the master stroke of this book is the depth of the world that the author creates. He doesn't paint it in broad descriptive strokes and then count on the reader to remember those things. The world arises out of the natural flow of the character interactions--both conversation and physical--and helps the reader build an almost unconscious context for the story. This is a classic example of "show don't tell" but applied on a world scale. I put a lot of stock in the world a fantasy story is set in and this novel demonstrates a huge vision on the part of the author that is well presented to the reader. A true epic.
The only thing that I stumbled over was the speed at which the plot developed initially. For a while I wasn't really sure where the story was going but again, the prose and characters were so wonderful that it wasn't painful to read on and eventually things began to race toward a conflict and it was impossible to put it down. While reading it I was reminded of a huge locomotive train moving very slowly at first but constantly building speed and momentum until it was barreling down the tracks unstoppable.
The book is the first in a series and I'm excited that there is more to read about Hamish and his story. I highly recommend this novel, not only as a great example of the gems to be found in independent publishing but as a book that stands on its own. Given the maturity of Mr. Miller's writing I expect more of the same moving forward.
I also enjoyed the mechanics of the way the story unfolds--the unexpected jumps in time, the way the main character seems to discover his own story the same way we do as the reader. Intensely well thought out and well crafted. So many writers these days forget that writing is a craft as well as an art form.
And the language is intense and often lyrical. The author clearly cares about the flow of his prose and that really contributes to a tone and style that lends itself to the telling of a good story. Occasionally the language will trip over itself slightly but these occurrences are few and far between. In a book of this length and ambition, it's probably impossible to catch every one of these things.
Perhaps the master stroke of this book is the depth of the world that the author creates. He doesn't paint it in broad descriptive strokes and then count on the reader to remember those things. The world arises out of the natural flow of the character interactions--both conversation and physical--and helps the reader build an almost unconscious context for the story. This is a classic example of "show don't tell" but applied on a world scale. I put a lot of stock in the world a fantasy story is set in and this novel demonstrates a huge vision on the part of the author that is well presented to the reader. A true epic.
The only thing that I stumbled over was the speed at which the plot developed initially. For a while I wasn't really sure where the story was going but again, the prose and characters were so wonderful that it wasn't painful to read on and eventually things began to race toward a conflict and it was impossible to put it down. While reading it I was reminded of a huge locomotive train moving very slowly at first but constantly building speed and momentum until it was barreling down the tracks unstoppable.
The book is the first in a series and I'm excited that there is more to read about Hamish and his story. I highly recommend this novel, not only as a great example of the gems to be found in independent publishing but as a book that stands on its own. Given the maturity of Mr. Miller's writing I expect more of the same moving forward.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews