"Great fantasy"

The Oracle says that as long as the true-blooded female's of Queen Gherilain's line rule and defend Skala, she will never be conquered. For generations this has come to pass as a queen rules the empire and females serve in the army and other very important positions in the civilian sector. All that changed when Erius takes the throne as he is determined that his son Prince Korin rules after him. To prevent anything from going wrong, all royals of the female gender seem to mysteriously die, save the king's precious sister.

Instead, she gives birth to twins, a girl and a boy. While the male is killed, the female is magically transformed into a male until the time is right to reveal her destiny. He's called Prince Tobin and the soul of his dead brother haunts him. When Tobin's father is killed in battle he becomes a ward of the king and is ordered to the capital city where he meets his cousin. Tobin adjusts to court until he suddenly takes ill and returns to his former home so that the people who know the truth can fix the spell that is dissipating.

THE BONE DOLL'S TWIN is a fascinating epic fantasy that shows the lengths those in power will go in order to determine their successor. Tobin's world is similar to that of medieval Europe so readers will have a good picture of his country life and city adventures. This is the first book in a trilogy so some threads are left dangling, making readers eager for the next novel to appear so as to see what will happens next.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 12, 2001