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Castling
With no king on the Faerie throne…
King Hanz of Mensa, once known as the friend of Faeries, is now subjugating them for his own political ends. As famine strikes Raqia and he gathers leaders to his city for negotiations and trade, the master strategist moves his pieces into position.
Rosamond, his daughter, will serve as bait and prize. Valley, his Faerie ward, must bow to his will, suppressing the dark secrets she learns. Rasselas, the idealistic young Elf prince intent on disrupting Mensa’s social fabric, is becoming a thorn in his side. Rook, the scarred stranger that no one can read, seems to be of little importance, but Hanz is keeping watchful eyes on them all.
Factors out of his control are threatening and he is determined to make his plans succeed.
And he doesn’t care who is crushed in the process.
***
“Castling", Book 2 of the Tempest Trilogy, is the exciting sequel to “Firmaments”!
King Hanz of Mensa, once known as the friend of Faeries, is now subjugating them for his own political ends. As famine strikes Raqia and he gathers leaders to his city for negotiations and trade, the master strategist moves his pieces into position.
Rosamond, his daughter, will serve as bait and prize. Valley, his Faerie ward, must bow to his will, suppressing the dark secrets she learns. Rasselas, the idealistic young Elf prince intent on disrupting Mensa’s social fabric, is becoming a thorn in his side. Rook, the scarred stranger that no one can read, seems to be of little importance, but Hanz is keeping watchful eyes on them all.
Factors out of his control are threatening and he is determined to make his plans succeed.
And he doesn’t care who is crushed in the process.
***
“Castling", Book 2 of the Tempest Trilogy, is the exciting sequel to “Firmaments”!
746 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2025
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 13, 2025
I’m biased but I love this world and its characters! Castling develops elements of Firmaments while bringing in new ones and setting a context for more to come… it’s a fun story while being thoughtful and filled with deep symbolism and reflections on virtue and vice. And there’s a great villain! I think it’s better than Firmaments (though I’ve read her next books and they’re even better!)
April 21, 2025
Castling is a story about masks and power: why people wear masks, why some don't, what masks can do, what they can't, who has power to unmask, and how masks are used to hide and to use power. Where the first volume is several interwoven road trip stories, this one is a story of court intrigue, and it works really well with those main themes.
I had a great time with this book! The characters are compelling, the themes are more focused than the previous volume, the writing is, in ways I don't quite know how to define, light.
This is pedagogical storytelling, but not with a megaphone (like Matt Mikalotos) or a classroom (like Jeri Massi): the writing itself is just somehow light as a feather, skipping through some really difficult territory somehow without becoming heavy-handed or dour. Difficult minor themes include parental abuse, sexism, racism, greed, theft, even mutilation (off-screen) and murder - and somehow the light keeps shining the whole way through.
And it needs to! The good guys are heading into book 3 in a desperate state. I can't wait to see what's next!
I had a great time with this book! The characters are compelling, the themes are more focused than the previous volume, the writing is, in ways I don't quite know how to define, light.
This is pedagogical storytelling, but not with a megaphone (like Matt Mikalotos) or a classroom (like Jeri Massi): the writing itself is just somehow light as a feather, skipping through some really difficult territory somehow without becoming heavy-handed or dour. Difficult minor themes include parental abuse, sexism, racism, greed, theft, even mutilation (off-screen) and murder - and somehow the light keeps shining the whole way through.
And it needs to! The good guys are heading into book 3 in a desperate state. I can't wait to see what's next!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews