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Trajelon
It is a time of change in Asrellion.
Elves, long thought extinct, have emerged into the open once more. A terrible threat to the world has been defeated only through an alliance between humans and elves. Peace treaties are forming between nations that have hated one another for millennia. Two previously hidden colonies of elves are now trying to live as one.
At the center of all of this upheaval: one young elf woman who dared everything in the hope of a better future for her people.
Great change has also come to Loralíenasa Raia's own life in the wake of her bold actions to save the world, but she has had to weather it alone while her sister Lyn follows her heart and the human prince, Naoise Raynesley, pursues a dangerous quest of his own.
All while Loralíenasa prepares to take the throne of Evlédíen.
When Loralíenasa faces a terrible mystery in the midst of so much turmoil, she might just lose everything she has fought so hard for in her search for answers - even herself.
Elves, long thought extinct, have emerged into the open once more. A terrible threat to the world has been defeated only through an alliance between humans and elves. Peace treaties are forming between nations that have hated one another for millennia. Two previously hidden colonies of elves are now trying to live as one.
At the center of all of this upheaval: one young elf woman who dared everything in the hope of a better future for her people.
Great change has also come to Loralíenasa Raia's own life in the wake of her bold actions to save the world, but she has had to weather it alone while her sister Lyn follows her heart and the human prince, Naoise Raynesley, pursues a dangerous quest of his own.
All while Loralíenasa prepares to take the throne of Evlédíen.
When Loralíenasa faces a terrible mystery in the midst of so much turmoil, she might just lose everything she has fought so hard for in her search for answers - even herself.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2020
3 people want to read
About the author
Alyssa Marie Bethancourt
2 books2 followersAlyssa is a lifelong fantasy fan and all around Nerd of Many Colors who has been writing her own stories since the first grade. She’s into trees, water, books, cool science facts, photography, dogs, music, and making things. After spending 36 years burning to death in the Arizona desert, she ran away to the frozen moonscape of southwestern Pennsylvania, where she now lives with the most adorable husband and husky (who are not the same person.) She shares her nerdy scribblings with Pittsburgh writer’s group Rust and Ink and has grand plans for many fantasy novels yet to come.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 5, 2021
Listen to me. Are you listening?
Go. Read. This. Book!!!
Trajelon, which is Alyssa Marie Bethancourt’s sequel to her debut fantasy novel Mornnovin, shines like the falling star the series is named for.
Synopsis time! I’m gonna do my best to pique your interest without spoiling anything major: Trajelon picks up 8 years after the end of Mornnovin. We find our heroine Lorien, the Crown Princess of the elf kingdom, on the verge of being made Queen. It’s A Big Deal, but she’s not doing a great job caring about the whole thing. See, she’s got kind of a personal crisis to deal with: mainly that she sent her fiance Naoise to complete a dangerous quest before she’d marry him, and she hasn’t heard from him in 8 years.
Oh, and one other thing: Through the magic bond called the Galvanos, Lorien is sure she felt her beloved die.
But when a mysterious note that appears to be from Naoise arrives from an island called Trajelon, Lorien goes to find out once and for all what happened to him. There, she will face parts of her past she was sure were dead and buried. After all that Lorien and Naoise weathered in Mornnovin, is it truly the end for them?
While Mornnovin is a large-scale adventure narrative with muscular world-building, its sequel, Trajelon, blasts off from that launchpad and lands among the stars. Trajelon functions as a much closer, longer, and more complex look at our main character Lorien, her relationships to the people she loves in her life, and how she navigates her trauma and grief. It’s one part romance, one part suspense, and one part deep character study, with a sprinkle of mystery. And it’s high fantasy, too. There’s really a lot on the table here and somehow not one element crowds out the others.
I grade this novel A+ – and the “A” stands for Angst. Capital letter. There are Adult Themes in this book and I don’t think they’re exactly for the faint of heart. Bethancourt writes admirably, without fetishizing, of very real torture and pain. There is a line authors toe when writing of horrific events; when an author crosses that line, descriptions of suffering become white noise and lose their potency. That does not happen in Trajelon. The care Bethancourt takes in addressing deep trauma, tragedy, and grief through her characters is deeply moving and something I’ll be thinking about for days.
And let’s put this on the table too: Trajelon is self-published, and Bethancourt’s writing is not only free of error but subtle and polished. It goes down smoothly, in the fashion of a Diana Wynne Jones novel: so quick and enjoyable, it’s almost easy to look past the craftsmanship. The careful knowledge of language and syntax you expect from a strong writer is always present, moving you with deft ease through a tight, surprising plot.
Ever heard of a sophomore slump? Trajelon is not that. Trajelon is a sequel that grows its characters with great care and attention, while keeping the action paced consistently enough that I just couldn’t put the book down. New characters introduced in this novel are wonderfully engaging, and the reintroduction of old favorites, like Lyn and Cole, made me cheer aloud. The characters in this book feel like real people. I read it all in two feverish sittings.
So if you haven’t read Mornnovin, go read it. Because you need to read Trajelon. Trust me. And I need people to talk to me about it!
Go. Read. This. Book!!!
Trajelon, which is Alyssa Marie Bethancourt’s sequel to her debut fantasy novel Mornnovin, shines like the falling star the series is named for.
Synopsis time! I’m gonna do my best to pique your interest without spoiling anything major: Trajelon picks up 8 years after the end of Mornnovin. We find our heroine Lorien, the Crown Princess of the elf kingdom, on the verge of being made Queen. It’s A Big Deal, but she’s not doing a great job caring about the whole thing. See, she’s got kind of a personal crisis to deal with: mainly that she sent her fiance Naoise to complete a dangerous quest before she’d marry him, and she hasn’t heard from him in 8 years.
Oh, and one other thing: Through the magic bond called the Galvanos, Lorien is sure she felt her beloved die.
But when a mysterious note that appears to be from Naoise arrives from an island called Trajelon, Lorien goes to find out once and for all what happened to him. There, she will face parts of her past she was sure were dead and buried. After all that Lorien and Naoise weathered in Mornnovin, is it truly the end for them?
While Mornnovin is a large-scale adventure narrative with muscular world-building, its sequel, Trajelon, blasts off from that launchpad and lands among the stars. Trajelon functions as a much closer, longer, and more complex look at our main character Lorien, her relationships to the people she loves in her life, and how she navigates her trauma and grief. It’s one part romance, one part suspense, and one part deep character study, with a sprinkle of mystery. And it’s high fantasy, too. There’s really a lot on the table here and somehow not one element crowds out the others.
I grade this novel A+ – and the “A” stands for Angst. Capital letter. There are Adult Themes in this book and I don’t think they’re exactly for the faint of heart. Bethancourt writes admirably, without fetishizing, of very real torture and pain. There is a line authors toe when writing of horrific events; when an author crosses that line, descriptions of suffering become white noise and lose their potency. That does not happen in Trajelon. The care Bethancourt takes in addressing deep trauma, tragedy, and grief through her characters is deeply moving and something I’ll be thinking about for days.
And let’s put this on the table too: Trajelon is self-published, and Bethancourt’s writing is not only free of error but subtle and polished. It goes down smoothly, in the fashion of a Diana Wynne Jones novel: so quick and enjoyable, it’s almost easy to look past the craftsmanship. The careful knowledge of language and syntax you expect from a strong writer is always present, moving you with deft ease through a tight, surprising plot.
Ever heard of a sophomore slump? Trajelon is not that. Trajelon is a sequel that grows its characters with great care and attention, while keeping the action paced consistently enough that I just couldn’t put the book down. New characters introduced in this novel are wonderfully engaging, and the reintroduction of old favorites, like Lyn and Cole, made me cheer aloud. The characters in this book feel like real people. I read it all in two feverish sittings.
So if you haven’t read Mornnovin, go read it. Because you need to read Trajelon. Trust me. And I need people to talk to me about it!
Displaying 1 of 1 review