The Burning House: Book Two of the Thran Chronicles
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The Burning House: Book Two of the Thran Chronicles |
Barry Hunter, Baryon Magazine #95
This is volume two of The Thran Chronicles and Daepar finds that the demands of ruling is nothing more that a series of crises between the ruling Houses and trying to maintain his family life.
His Mother and Father disappear, his wife�s father is assassinated, and a beautiful woman is showing Daepar more attention than his wife. Even as he tries to rule, his fathers shadow continues to tower over him and those whom he trusted now resist him
Blalock has written an interesting middle novel that will be continued in THE TOWER AT MOORKAI, due out in June. Highly recommended.
Chere G.
Once again, we�re back in the time of Atlantis on the island of Adylonis with the Houses and the Tialsar. House Thran has now managed to regain their prestige on Adylonis after the battle with House Suum. A fact House Suum is not happy about. When the old Jarl Suum dies, his son becomes the new Jarl. Unfortunately, he is even worse than his father ever was and has all kinds of nasty surprises in store for House Thran.
Son of Jarl Thran, Daepar, has married his love, Mara, and they now have one son, Andalarn the Younger. Andalarn has been busier than ever with House business and politics. Meanwhile, Daepar is being groomed for the day he assumes the Jarl. The next thing you know, a messenger arrivers from the Moorkai Council. It appears the Council was ordered to appoint a new Ascendant of Adylonis and the man chosen is Andalarn! Well, he immediately accepts the position. Of course, he knows this means he will have to live in Moorkai and Daepar will take over as Jarl of House Thran.
With Daepar now installed as the new Jarl, Andalarn and Kaelene head to Moorkai. Unfortunately, Andalarn never did get around to telling Daepar about the special �powers� he more than likely inherited. Newly installed as Jarl, Daepar is carrying on House business when a messenger arrives from Moorkai. It appears Mara�s father, Solis, an elder of the Moorkai Council, was assassinated. Daepar takes it upon himself to inform his wife. When she hears of her father�s death, Mara flies into a rage and swears revenge. Since it is assumed House Suum is behind the assassination, Mara demands Daepar do something in retaliation. Unfortunately, Daepar will not. His parents disappeared on their way to Moorkai and it is believed they are being held by House Suum. All at once, Daepar�s decisions are becoming suspect by everyone he believes loyal, from Mara to Loncaer.
What is House Suum planning? Will they once again begin a war on Adylonis? What of Andalarn and Kaelene? Where are they? What of the decisions Daepar is making? Will they cost him the Jarl?
THE BURNING HOUSE is a fast-paced, thrilling fantasy. We once again become caught up with the politics on Adylonis between the Houses and the different races. H. David Blalock has done an excellent job with the characters in this one as well. The action is constant and non-stop, the characters are all believable and the settings are all fantastic. This is one you definitely don�t want to miss!
T. G. Browning, reviewer for Dark Moon Rising Webzine
As usual, recommendation first. First off, if you haven�t read book one, Thran Reborn, don�t start this one. Blalock originally wrote the entire series of six books as one very large, long book and you�re not going to be comfortable reading The Burning House without having read Thran Reborn. More importantly, much more importantly, you�ll be lost without that background. Worse, you probably won�t like this book, at all, without that background. So, that said, I have to also say that out of a score of five possible, I have to give this a two. I had problems, even though I read the first book.
Let me elaborate a bit and I urge you to read the entire review before you make up your mind on whether or not you�re interested in The Burning House.
Dan Hollifield, Aphelion Webzine
"It's rare that a sequel surpasses the first novel of a series. David has not only done just that, but made it look easy too. That is the mark of a master craftsman!...David's characters are complex and very well written. Every character has hidden depths and motivations, just like real people. The characters are fleshed out and real, and usually act just the same as real people would in similar situations. Even David's non-human characters are given the same loving care and attention to detail. The personal interactions are natural and believable and contribute to the amount of detail presented with each character. The many characters and motivations make for an exciting multitude of sub-plots and tangents that enhance one's reading pleasure."
Cecilia Wennerstrom, EBook Reviews.net
"This is High Fantasy, set on Earth at a time when the island Atlantis existed as part of an empire. For lovers of world-building this book is definitely well worth reading. A helpful Glossary of seven pages keeps you oriented. The book is number two in a series of six, so there's a lot of pleasure left for those who step into the world of Thran."