Aramaya

The third in her series, "Aramaya" is by the best work is best work by author Jane Routley. Like the rest of her novels, it does feature a plot which can drag (although this is a huge improvement over the plot in books 1 and 2) and an extremely sudden and simple ending. The body of this work is much more interesting. In book three, Dion the mage heads back to her people's homeland, Aramaya, which she has never been too. Recently divorced she is romantically susceptible to the charms of a handsome prince and fellow necromancer fighter. Really though, she crossed the ocean looking for her niece, who's face showed up in a holographic image she saw back at home. Since this niece was last seen and heard of with some connection to Dion's own haunting demon, she has to track down the girl, kill the demon (or banish it again) and save the day. Pretty typical work for Dion really. The main part of the book is really very good, and the ending just happens all of a sudden, with everything being huncky dorey pretty easily and with minimal conflict. This author doesn't seem to be able to pull of a good ending, although in her next novel "The Three Sisters" under the name Rebecca Locksley, the ending more subtly played out. That book takes place 400 years earlier in the same world. This was better than the first two books, so four stars. But I know the author is capable of more. Perhaps her sequel to the "Three Sisters" will develop her promise.

Ms. Routley has written "The Three Sisters" in 2004 under the name Rebecca Locksley. I found this information harder to come by than it should be, so am sharing it for those who enjoyed her books about Dion.

Dion is searching for her niece Dally and gets the help of a prince. Later she has a lasting love affair with him but is still in love with Shad. She is confused and doesn't know what to do to get over Shad. Anger, love, and tenderness still exist for him as well as the desire to get back together with him. Meanwhile Bedazzer/Andre still exists and when Dion finds out about the powerful necromancers that are experimenting fate may play a hand in bringing them together for one last time ...

The powerful Mage Dion Holyhands the Dragonslayer believes her missing niece Dally lives in Akieva, the capital of Aramaya. Dion travels across the ocean in search of Dally, but her ship is wrecked. Dion and her companion Kitten manage to survive and make it to the capital city where they meet Dally. To the mage's shock, her relative seems to be a slave to a cartel of necromancers. However, Dion learns that her worst enemy, Bedazzer the Demon, possesses her niece. Dion knows she must confront her worst nightmare, a fight to almost certainly the death with Bedazzer. If she is fortunate to come out of this alive and awake, she next must challenge the necromancer crowd. Only with victories against impossible odds will Dion be able to free her niece. ARAMAYA, the third novel in Jane Routley's superb Dion series is an interesting tale that shows the author's ability to paint vivid descriptions of other worlds. The characters are fully developed, adding to an overall sense of exotic realism. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as expected from an author who in a short time has become renowned for her romantic fantasies.Harriet Klausner