Kingdom series: A loosely related series consisting of; Jackaroo, On Fortune's Wheel, The Wings of a Falcon and Elske. Each book can stand on it's own.

Jackaroo

"Gwyn, a young woman, uncovers the myth of a legendary outlaw, Jackaroo, and becomes inspired to take on persona of her sword-wielding and cape-clad hero."

This is the first book in the Kingdom series. I read this book after I read, On Fortune's Wheel. I can't remember much of this book but it was an interesting read..Not as good as, On Fortune's Wheel and The Wings of a Falcon, though.

On Fortune's Wheel

"Birle has agreed to be wed to the huntsman Muir as an escape from the drudgery of life at her father's inn -- but the moment she looks into the bellflower blue eyes of the man she comes upon stealing one of her father's boats, Birle knows she cannot marry Muir. Even after she discovers the mysterious stranger is Orien, a Lord and as unreachable to an innkeeper's daughter as a star, Birle is determined to travel with him as far as he will allow.

Their travels take Birle to a world far from home, a world where Lords may become slaves, where Princes rule by fear, and where Fortune's Wheel turns more swiftly and dangerously than Birle could have imagined."

I owe much of my keen interest in medieval history and the genre of fantasy to this book. I was first introduced to this when I was 14 or 15 years old and for many years it was my most favourite book and it still remains among my favourites. I remember being absolutely absorbed into the story, while I followed Birle and Orien in one adventure after another. I couldn�t put it down. When I was finished I was quite sad and reluctant to leave Orien and Birle behind. I have read this book three times since and surprisingly I still take pleasure in it every time, even though I thought I would have long outgrown it (I guess in many ways I haven�t changed ^_^). I�ll admit this book is not for everyone. If you�re somewhat of a romantic, like me, then I recommend this book, if you�re not then I can�t guarantee that you will like it.

The Wings of a Falcon

The story of Oriel and his comrade, Griff -- a tale of endurance and adventure -- is a distantly related sequel to Jackaroo and On Fortune's Wheel (both Macmillan). The heroes escape from the cruel Damall's Island, home of stolen boys, only to find further and more terrifying ordeals as soldiers and captives of the Wolfers. A long, well-written novel with a bittersweet, ambiguous conclusion.

Here's another description of the book if you feel that this one was not enough. A warning though, this one gives away a lot of the story.. so if your interested in the book and don't want to spoil parts of it don't read this description.

In the mythical land of Jackaroo (1985), another long tale crowded with action and driven by its themes, with well- individualized characters carefully devised to enact them. Slaves Oriel and his loyal friend Griff are reared by the brutal Damall in his island stronghold. Courageous and quick-witted, Oriel survives this vicious society's intricacies of betrayal and trust to be chosen the Damall's heir, a role he evades by fleeing. He and Griff settle near the mainland town of Selby--an oasis in an endless, bloody war of succession--where they persuade the people to give up their divisive allegiances and choose leaders to rule in concert. Then, still in their teens, the two are captured by Wolfers--lawless predators whose cruel abuse they escape to enter the Kingdom to the north, where an earldom is to be won in mortal combat. Oriel's rare gifts bear fruit when he persuades several fine contenders to support one of their number, preventing a wasteful carnage--but the outcome is not so simple. A betrayal transforms the political landscape; and power falls, surprisingly, to a wise and compassionate man who has never imagined himself a leader. Voigt skillfully sustains a heroic tone while challenging heroic models at every turn. In scene after scene, Oriel confronts the terrible choices men demand of each other; but this superhero also has a true sense of justice and strives for a rule of law that is tempered, in the end, with more mercy than he has envisaged. Grand, thought-provoking entertainment. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved."

A real page-turner and totally unpredictable. There was hardly a dull moment in this book and I loved it. It was well written and all the characters were well developed. My favourite character is Griff (he�s the more quiet character) Although there is much to admire about Oriel he was too proud for my liking. If you're looking for a good adventure then I recommend this book.

Elske

Elske is the fourth book in this series and the least enjoyable. In fact it was a real disappointment. My main qualm with this book is the pace. It didn�t really pick up until page 100 and after that the events where much too rushed. Furthermore, I think too many irrelevant characters were introduced in the novel. Not well written at all and it was fairly boring, in my opinion. I wouldn�t really recommend unless you really want to know the fate of the Kingdom.