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Reviews of THE SHADEBINDER'S OATH
The Shadebinder's Oath is a wonderfully lyrical story from the
pen of Jeanette Cottrell. One the face of it the story is a simple one revolving
around a plot to overthrow the Ailsandian royal family but this novel has an
interesting twist - a number of the main characters are spirits. This gives them
the ability to go places and do things that the living cannot. The main
character, Farren has been written with many layers. It would have been easy to
make him a simple cabinetmaker who happens to find himself in the middle of a
conspiracy but Cottrell has given him more. His ability to see and communicate
with the spirits of the dead is a central theme of the story and has been
written with a certain amount of humour.
I really enjoyed this book. Cottrell has managed to mix magic, knights,
ancient secrets and the dead in an original and entertaining story. She
initially writes each of the threads as separate sections but as the story
continues the various plotlines become more and more entwined until they become
one single finale. Superb!
Steve & Lesley Mazey
The Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Fiction
Web Site
http://www.eternalnight.co.uk
THE SHADEBINDER'S OATH is a terrific fantasy that grips
the audience from the moment a young lad shows courage while on a dare to visit
the Shadebinder in the King's stable and never slows down until the final
contest occurs. The story line is action-packed as Caprio does his Machiavellian
machinations while two unlikely allies, the cabinetmaker and the princess, join
forces to save the
Kingdom
of
Ailsandia
from the Being's mischievousness and that of human foibles and follies. Jeanette
Cottrell provides a wonderful tale.
Harriet Klausner, Reviewer
The characters are multi-dimensional
and well developed. There's a lot of humor, interpersonal misunderstandings and
confusion, and lots of intrigue. It's an easy read with enough twists and turns
to keep you interested. Certainly, this is a writer to watch.
Gayle Surrette
, www.sfrevu.com
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