"Venture to a time and place beyond reality, where dreams and magic linger...."
Venture to a time and place beyond reality, where dreams
and magic linger.... Brighid Dhianna has left behind her centaur home of
revenge and hatred to build her own destiny as Huntress to
Clan MacCallan, blessed by the Goddess Epona. Here she has
finally found peace and acceptance. When her chieftain,
Elphame, sends Brighid on a quest to bring her brother
home, she readily accepts. Cuchulainn's soul was shattered when his young wife was
brutally murdered by demonic Fomorians, winged beasts
cursed with a madness that will eventually destroy them.
Some of these beings have survived war and live in
peaceful exile, scraping out a meager life in the
mountains. "Cu" goes there full of hate and bitterness to
return these hybrid New Fomorians to Partholon. What he
finds there shocks him. Brighid follows Cu to save him, having to call upon her
dormant and long-denied Shaman blood to retrieve his soul
and heal him. Just as hope springs new, fate intervenes
once more, making Brighid choose between the life she has
built in Partholon and the destiny of her blood as High
Shaman to the centaurs. Which will she choose? Only
Goddess Epona knows. Brighid's Quest is a fantastical adventure that will lure
one to dream of another world. The story draws readers in
from the beginning and holds them captive in its grasp
through the hopeful conclusion. The landscape is brilliant
and so incredible that it is easy to envision the
beautiful Partholon and the grass covered plains of the
centaur domain. When the beloved characters venture into
the spirit realm, readers will see the beauty and hear the
stirrings of wind through the trees. Though this is a
sequel to Elphame's Choice, most of the storyline is
easily followed and readers should have no difficulty
understanding what is happening. Brighid's turmoil is real as she tries to put the life she
hated behind her, only to be pulled back to it just when
she thinks she is finally free. Her journey on the path to
adapting to her Shamanic abilities is a hard one and easy
to feel and understand. Cu's shattered soul struggles with
living in an imaginary world where death has not taken his
love away. He must learn, with Brighid's help, to come
back to the real world and accept the fate he has been
dealt. This novel is written almost as if in different acts of a
play. The first segment is about Brighid's journey to the
mountain to bring Cu and the New Fomorians home and all
she encounters along the way. Then comes the story of how
she journeys to the other realm to bring Cu's soul back
and heal him. The final segment deals with Brighid's
growth and acceptance of the fate dealt her, when she must
choose which life she will live. All three individual
stories are blended together masterfully, to build the
overlying story which encompasses everything. Of course, romance is never missing from a book by P C
Cast, and it shows itself in Brighid's Quest. As Cu's soul
heals, his relationship with Brighid deepens from respect
and deep friendship to the more powerful bond of soul
mates. How these two come together in their love is
inspired and bound to make readers sigh in delight at how
they bridge the gap. © Kelley A. Hartsell, March 2006. All rights reserved.
Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
Posted April 25, 2006
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