Book reviews Part 2

The 2nd book that I have finished reading is known as "The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches III". It was written by Robert Stanek. It is quite entertaining. Despite not being action packed, it has been written in such a way that it captivates me enough to read on. Mr Stanek can paint scenes quite well. Seeing as this book is already quite entertaining despite not being action packed, I am looking forward to reading his other books and have high expectations of them. The story told in this book can be followed despite not reading the other books although there may be a bit of confusion. The main characters are Adrina, the third and youngest daughter of King Andrew, and Vilmos, a human mage in training.

The story begins with Adrina returning home to Imtal while being escorted by the Klaive's Keep Knights. The rest of the trip home is uneventful other than a harmless confrontation. In the mean time, Emal, Son of the King's Knights, Captain Ansh Brodst and his father's company are ambushed while escorting the elves Seth and Galan. The two elves are nearly killed and quite a number of the men were slaughtered. Elsewhere, Vilmos and his mentor, Xith, journey to an inn where they receive a vision from a crystal ball. They decide to journey to their destination, the Under-Earth with greater haste. Emal and a few other captains are charged with the duty of rebuilding the garrison that was destroyed in the battle. Vilmos wanders off in Xith's absence and befriends a stranger who reveals his name to be S'tryil. S'tryil brings Vilmos to watch competitions where people fight for the glory of becoming the personal guards of Lord Geoffrey. Xith reappears shortly and drags Vilmos off. The Under-Earth is actually a barren desert and the plants that can survive are sickly. Back in Imtal, Adrina is attacked. She kills the leader of the assassins by throwing two daggers but not before her two guards are killed. Fortunately, the assassins retreat.

Back in the Under-Earth, Vilmos and Xith are attacked and the two are separated. In the mean time, Adrina and Emel look for the item the leader of the assassins had used to silence Adrina's call for the guards. They find a magical orb. Seth manages to recover enough to heal Galan who is at death's doorstep. Back in the Under-Earth, a bunch of hooded figures and an armoured warrior fight over Vilmos. Emal leaves for the territories to do some souls searching. Vilmos awakes to find himself in the inn of Edward the armoured figure who reveals himself to be a half troll and half giant. After that, Galan reveals the magical orb to be Dnyarr's orb. Edward teaches Vilmos how to play King's Mate, a board game. Vilmos proves to be an apt learner. After Seth and Galan recover somewhat, they talk to the council of the Kingdom Alliance. The elves try to get the aid of the Alliance in a war but the council does not want to be involved. In the mean time, Vilmos and Edward are attacked by Hunter Beasts. Edward sacrifices himself for Vilmos to escape. Vilmos manages to escape only to fall in to the Hunter Beast's trap. Xith's spirit comes to alert Vilmos that he had fallen into an illusion trap. Back in Imtal, the Seth and Galan fail again to persuade the council to aid the elves. Romance builds between the couple. During the third and last meeting, Seth uses his powers to let the Queen of the elves, known as the Queen Mother, to speak through him. After persuading the council, Seth nearly dies from the effort. Galan uses all her power and sacrifices herself so that Seth may live. This served to hardened the resolve of the council to help the elves. Adrina nearly commits suicide but is saved by Emal. And that concludes the story.

Adrina is the kind of character who supports her friends. This can be seen when she appoints Myrialas housemistress when she finds the previous housemaster bullying her. She also shows her concern for Seth and Galan when they were grievously wounded. When Emel decides to go to the dangerous territories to do some soul searching, Adrina tries to persuade him against it. Another trait Adrina has is that if she is determined to do something, she will do it to the end. For example, she fights with the council to give Seth and Galan more time to recover before the meeting. Also, when she was looking for the magical orb that the leader of the assassins dropped, she was not discouraged by Emel trying to stop her. But she can be a bit emotional. This is shown when she wants to jump off the castle wall and fly like a bird to escape from all the stress.

The character Vilmos displays doubt and uncertainty towards magic. After receiving the vision from Xith's magic orb, he insists that magic destroys and is evil. But, Xith manages to persuade him that it depends on the welder's motives. Vilmos also displays great power when his friends are in danger. When Xith is thought to have been slain by his attackers, Vilmos kills all the attackers easily. His mind though is still that of a child. This can be seen when he pleads with Xith to let him see a real brawl despite them being in a dangerous place.