The Pearls

I've been a Chester fan since finding her book The Sword on a bottom shelf of the library, her continuations on the characters from The Sword, The Ring and The Chalice trilogy didn't interest me all that much but this book is putting her right back on track. Lady Lea is so sweet, she's so good and innocent that you can't help but have your heart go out to her. Her fear at the destiny she and Shadreal share is amazing and her emotions as she's torn between the love of her family and what her heart is telling her is beautifully written, you can't stop turning the pages. But the character that stole the book is Shadreal, his dark and twisted personality is chilling but like popular villanous heroes you can't help but love to see him. He's cold and cruel to his men and even more so to Lea, he's so far gone down the dark path even he doesn't realize the good that is still within him. Beloved characters from the Ruby Throne trilogy make appearances that will make fans happy but it is not necessary to have read that trilogy. I guarantee after reading this book you'll be counting the days until The Crown is released.

After recently discovering the talented Deborah Chester, I have proceeded to devour her Ruby Throne Trilogy (predecessor series to The Pearls) and The Sword, Ring, and Chalice Trilogy. Her stories are typically dense and loaded with riveting plots. She is not shy (unlike many fantasy authors) about fully developing her characters. Deborah also only devotes a few chapters to secondary characters. Perhaps most importantly, she has a gift for transporting the reader and "painting" incredible pictures with her words. This combination makes it nearly impossible to put her books down! In The Pearls, Deborah Chester again effortlessly transports the reader and paints incredible pictures. However, I found The Pearls to be less dense (i.e., too short of a read). I also found too many pages dedicated to secondary characters leaving me tempted to "skip ahead". I also found her character development of Lea to be somewhat lacking. Aside from these minor criticisms (which are likely due to being spoiled by her other books), I found the main character Shadrael to be a very intriguing non-traditional "bad boy that needs to be saved by a good woman" hero. In a literary world replete with Alpha male heroes, it is refreshing to encounter a dark, romantic Beta male hero. In sum, Chester's excellent writing is still in top form in The Pearls, and I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment in this series. Deborah, any idea when that will be?!?

I am a fan of Deborah Chester's Chalice series, so I decided to give this book a try. After reading it I realized that it is actually set in the world of her older Ruby Throne series, which I had not read. You do not have to read the Ruby Throne series to understand the events in this new book, but I have a suspicion that it might help if you had previous knowledge of this world and the struggle between the Shadow and Light which forms the heart of this book. That said, I devoured the book in 2 days. The hero is great- a tortured warrior who has given up his soul but is not wholly evil. The heroine is a little too good to be true- everyone who sees her falls in love with her beauty, etc. There is a nice romantic tension between them that should play out over the course of the series. I may go back and try and find the Ruby Throne books to get a better understanding of the events preceding the start of this book. Hopefully I will not have to wait too long for the next book in this series.Unfortunately the authors' website has not been updated recently, which is somehwat frustrating because I am left wondering how many books are planned and what the time frame for their release is.

Few men took the kiss of Eternity and survived, but Shadrael tu Natalloh did and he became one of the fiercest and ruthless legionaries in Emperor Kostinon's service even though the cost was very high. He lost his soul and casts no shadow, but was able to draw on part of the magic from the shadow gods. When ex-slave Caelan fought and defeated Kostinon and the Shadow War God Beloth, a new day dawned in the empire. With the shadow gods destroyed, the men in the legion were to renounce their allegiance to the old gods and wear fealty to Light. Shadrael refused and his legion was destroyed, stripped of their rank and exiled. Now he hires himself and his men out to the highest bidder as mercenaries. His brother the Warlord of Ulinia plans to have his province succeed from the empire. He wants Shadrael to kidnap the emperor's sister Lady Lea, who he will use as a pawn to obtain independence for Ulinia. Reluctantly Shadrael accepts the assignment, but when he and Lea meet, her goodness changes him in subtle ways. Although Caelan the Light Bringer sits on the throne, the empire heads towards civil war because many that were loyal to the shadow gods remain filled with rage and are waiting for the right moment to retaliate (mindful of some Sunni in Iraq). The choices Shadrael and Lea make will determine the path the empire follows in what on the surface appears to be a battle between good and evil. Lea senses there is much more depth to her captor then the darkness he displays. Deborah Chester writes an enchanting fantasy filled with magical and mundane intrigue, enhanced by a hint of romance. Harriet Klausner