Reign of Shadows

Caelan E'Non is the son if his lands most renowned healer. He is expected to follow his fathers profession and is sent to school to learn the healing arts. The only problem is that Caelan has no interest in becoming a healer. Much to his father's horror it is war, weapons and the army that is his true interest, and a life choice that his father is prepared to thwart at any cost. For Caelan his wishes are about to come true, but in a horrifying way he never anticipated. It will lead him to the heart of evil that lays at the centre of the Emperor Kostimon's empire. However, this is not just Caelan's story it is also the story of Elandra. The daughter of one of the empire's great nobles, she has been bought up little better than a servant in her own household, only to find that she has a "destiny" - one that does not appeal to her at all!This is an enjoyable first instalment to the Ruby Throne Trilogy. It ends on a dark note, but it will be interesting to see how the paths of the main characters cross each other in book 2, because there is no mistaking this for anything other than an introductory novel for a story far from finished. And don't let the dragons on the covers of these books fool you, they feature only in a very small way in the book.

I found this to be a captivating novel. The female character was my favorite, being a woman myself. Elandra fights to survive in this whole triology. The story is intelligent and extremely creative, a perfect fantasy. The plot makes sense and though the next two books are not quite as good as the first they all still make a good read. I would recommend this book to any sci-fi/fantasy reader though I would warn that I found myself skipping through the chapters of the male character in order to get back to Elandra.

This book was really very well written! The story and plot just sweeps the reader along. I can't wait for the next book to be released!

The only review I can give is that the story is so sad. Waaahhhhh. During the fact I was reading it I was crying so much a second flood might have come of it. This is a perfect attention getting and made me want to read the rest of the series.

Everytime you think you know what's going to happen to Caelon, there's a twist. He's much more believable than Richard Cypher or Randal 'thor because he's much more flawed and human. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are incredibly vivid and well-rendered. You'll really be surprised how good this book is since it's not nearly as famous as many contemporary fantasies.