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Dance and Echo
-The Heir of Scars, Book Six, Dance and Echo-
Let the wild welcome me.
Let my journey be a teaching.
Let my path be a circle.
Let it lead me home,
Wherever home may be.
The Echo begins its journey from Windberth with a very odd mix of companions aboard--Royals, mismatched Knights, young Sisters and their even younger novice. Already there are hints of danger as Adria struggles to find her place among those who were once her people.
In the past, among the Aesidhe, Adria slowly begins to learn the ways of their Hunters, taught by her uncle Preinon, the blind Holy Woman, Shisha, and her friend Mateko.
But nothing could have prepared Adria for every hunt or every journey she must take.
~26,000 words
-The Heir of Scars I-
Adria Idonea has always awakened from dreams of drowning. Throughout her childhood, Adria has awakened entangled in her linen sheets in her tower at her father’s mountain citadel of Windberth. She has awakened within sweat-soaked furs as a young woman among the Aesidhe, the Wilding Ghosts of the deep wood. Adria has awakened far too many times between the water and the air, gasping for breath and grasping for... something already lost.
The dreams quickly fade, but the fear remains, for Adria's is a mind divided, a life in balance, heir of a nation on the brink of war.
In the wake of the War of Scars, Adria's father carved a kingdom out of the scattered settlements of fledgling nobles. He forged a faith from the ashes of old religions left smoldering beneath the boot heels of long-lost armies. Now, at last, Heiland is a realm of order, held in a balance as careful as the black and white of a king's chessboard. A perfect order, except for... a few ghosts.
The Aesidhe, now guided by Preinon, the exiled brother of King Ebenhardt Idonea, have become a challenge to the King of Heiland, to its Knights of Darkfire, and to the Matron of its Holy Sisterhood—a challenge made more potent by the unexpected arrival of a second great exile—young Princess Adria herself.
Now, the games of chess taught to her by her father begin to play out on a grand scale, in the past and the present of her life, as Adria fights for a place in her world true to the destiny of a princess and the heart of a Hunter of the Aesidhe. And even as she returns to the spires of Windberth to fulfill a promise to her brother Hafgrim, the newly knighted Prince of Heiland, she remains uncertain of her status—royal scion... or exiled traitor?
The War of Scars may have ended, but the legacy of shattered kingdoms and broken faiths has left the heirs of scars with an uncertain destiny in a fragile world. Torn between the legacy dictated by her father and the faith offered by her uncle and his new People, Adria knows that, as the Aesidhe have taught her, the mind divided can only defeat itself.
Let the wild welcome me.
Let my journey be a teaching.
Let my path be a circle.
Let it lead me home,
Wherever home may be.
The Echo begins its journey from Windberth with a very odd mix of companions aboard--Royals, mismatched Knights, young Sisters and their even younger novice. Already there are hints of danger as Adria struggles to find her place among those who were once her people.
In the past, among the Aesidhe, Adria slowly begins to learn the ways of their Hunters, taught by her uncle Preinon, the blind Holy Woman, Shisha, and her friend Mateko.
But nothing could have prepared Adria for every hunt or every journey she must take.
~26,000 words
-The Heir of Scars I-
Adria Idonea has always awakened from dreams of drowning. Throughout her childhood, Adria has awakened entangled in her linen sheets in her tower at her father’s mountain citadel of Windberth. She has awakened within sweat-soaked furs as a young woman among the Aesidhe, the Wilding Ghosts of the deep wood. Adria has awakened far too many times between the water and the air, gasping for breath and grasping for... something already lost.
The dreams quickly fade, but the fear remains, for Adria's is a mind divided, a life in balance, heir of a nation on the brink of war.
In the wake of the War of Scars, Adria's father carved a kingdom out of the scattered settlements of fledgling nobles. He forged a faith from the ashes of old religions left smoldering beneath the boot heels of long-lost armies. Now, at last, Heiland is a realm of order, held in a balance as careful as the black and white of a king's chessboard. A perfect order, except for... a few ghosts.
The Aesidhe, now guided by Preinon, the exiled brother of King Ebenhardt Idonea, have become a challenge to the King of Heiland, to its Knights of Darkfire, and to the Matron of its Holy Sisterhood—a challenge made more potent by the unexpected arrival of a second great exile—young Princess Adria herself.
Now, the games of chess taught to her by her father begin to play out on a grand scale, in the past and the present of her life, as Adria fights for a place in her world true to the destiny of a princess and the heart of a Hunter of the Aesidhe. And even as she returns to the spires of Windberth to fulfill a promise to her brother Hafgrim, the newly knighted Prince of Heiland, she remains uncertain of her status—royal scion... or exiled traitor?
The War of Scars may have ended, but the legacy of shattered kingdoms and broken faiths has left the heirs of scars with an uncertain destiny in a fragile world. Torn between the legacy dictated by her father and the faith offered by her uncle and his new People, Adria knows that, as the Aesidhe have taught her, the mind divided can only defeat itself.
84 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2012
I avoided reviewing this book for one obvious reason and one not-so-obvious reason. The obvious reason notwithstanding, I have finally decided to review it simply because of the not-so-obvious reason: I deeply dislike fantasy novels. I find them to be formulary and therefore, flat and predictable. The Heir of Scars series, and more to the point, Dance and Echo, brought my jaded and critical view of fantasy novels to a halt. Thank goodness. I was truly concerned that it would not, and for the obvious reason aforementioned, I vacillated.
I decided, after reading Part Six, that I would go back and read them all in marathon fashion. What happened when I did was far from formulary.
The development of Adria is anything but fantasy. She grows in depth and breadth, but not in predictable ways, and most definitely in ways embedded in the reality of existing. The backstory does not present as filler, but allows the reader to engage in Adria's life in ways that make one feel as if he/she has been with her since birth.
Dance and Echo brings the reader into the depths of existence, the micro and macro of the journey we are all on, and the way in which we choose to engage in our lives and with the world in which we live. Adria is a part of all of us, and yet, she is a person all her own. The knowledge with which the author examines Adria, not only as she sees herself, but as others see her and expect her to be is impressive.
Aside from the mastery of creating a deftly designed language many linguists would envy, and characters who are fleshed-out and meaningful, Jacob Falling has accomplished something few first time novelists accomplish: he has poured his soul onto the pages, without a trace of his voice being present.
I do not know if I will now fall in love with the fantasy genre, but I know I am waiting, a bit impatiently, for Part Seven.
Dance and Echo
I decided, after reading Part Six, that I would go back and read them all in marathon fashion. What happened when I did was far from formulary.
The development of Adria is anything but fantasy. She grows in depth and breadth, but not in predictable ways, and most definitely in ways embedded in the reality of existing. The backstory does not present as filler, but allows the reader to engage in Adria's life in ways that make one feel as if he/she has been with her since birth.
Dance and Echo brings the reader into the depths of existence, the micro and macro of the journey we are all on, and the way in which we choose to engage in our lives and with the world in which we live. Adria is a part of all of us, and yet, she is a person all her own. The knowledge with which the author examines Adria, not only as she sees herself, but as others see her and expect her to be is impressive.
Aside from the mastery of creating a deftly designed language many linguists would envy, and characters who are fleshed-out and meaningful, Jacob Falling has accomplished something few first time novelists accomplish: he has poured his soul onto the pages, without a trace of his voice being present.
I do not know if I will now fall in love with the fantasy genre, but I know I am waiting, a bit impatiently, for Part Seven.
Dance and Echo
January 19, 2013
I received this book from the author for an honest review.
Once again the Author has done an amazing job at bringing the life of a young woman, runner for the Aesidhe, princess to the Aeman, walker of two webs to life in this continuation of Heir of Scars I. This is another awakening story as Adria learns more of the history of her father and his attacks on the Aesidhe people.
Promises kept, she embarks on a voyage with her recently knighted brother to a land neither of them know. Yet her brother is almost a stranger and they have little trust for each other. Each has grown into their own beliefs, one raised by Taber, Matron of the Sisterhood, the other by the Aesidhe a native people of the forest. Now with honed skills, she is faced with a possible assassin on a ship full of strangers and must rely on her skills as a runner to guide her.
We also learn more of Adria's coming of age as she learned to be a hunter while she was with the Aesidhe. Making her first bow, learning the culture and language, we walk with her as she prepares herself for the true test, her first solo hunt of an elk. But the hunt teaches her one lesson about herself and where her true heart is when she comes face to face with a Knight from her father's kingdom.
I couldn't put this story down and I was so surprised when it ended as I only intended to read a few pages. I can not wait for Part 7!
Once again the Author has done an amazing job at bringing the life of a young woman, runner for the Aesidhe, princess to the Aeman, walker of two webs to life in this continuation of Heir of Scars I. This is another awakening story as Adria learns more of the history of her father and his attacks on the Aesidhe people.
Promises kept, she embarks on a voyage with her recently knighted brother to a land neither of them know. Yet her brother is almost a stranger and they have little trust for each other. Each has grown into their own beliefs, one raised by Taber, Matron of the Sisterhood, the other by the Aesidhe a native people of the forest. Now with honed skills, she is faced with a possible assassin on a ship full of strangers and must rely on her skills as a runner to guide her.
We also learn more of Adria's coming of age as she learned to be a hunter while she was with the Aesidhe. Making her first bow, learning the culture and language, we walk with her as she prepares herself for the true test, her first solo hunt of an elk. But the hunt teaches her one lesson about herself and where her true heart is when she comes face to face with a Knight from her father's kingdom.
I couldn't put this story down and I was so surprised when it ended as I only intended to read a few pages. I can not wait for Part 7!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews