Cynthia A. Morgan's Blog

In The Lime Light – #Poet Spotlight –... Deliberate Intent – #LovePoetry

#Fantasy #BookReview – Elf Killers

elf killers

It is the very worst time to be in the woods.

Oisin’s plan is to come with his bow to help Aedan and Doona lead a party of children into the forest to gather the maidenhair seedlings his people would take across the sea as they flee the trolls who hunt them as prey. Maybe he can be back in time for supper. And if he only dares to dream, he might also be back in time to speak with Doona alone.

Dyr’s plan is an early evening head smash for the foolish Elves who think they can steal away to the sands of the endless eye sting water and build their strange float huts. They will make a glorious feast.

But on the way, Dyr’s brutes stumble across Oisin’s gathering party and attack, leaving Aedan mortally wounded and scattering Doona and the children to flee in terror into the dark mountain woods, only to be run down and captured by the bloodthirsty trolls.

Can Oisin find the bonfires of the trolls and rescue them before it’s too late? And what then? Will any of them live long enough to reach safety?

*******

The very first thing that captured my imagination about Elf Killers was the wonderful languages the author created for the Trolls and the Elves, which are found in a handy glossary at the back of the book. I read through this first, actually, before diving into the story and am glad I did, as otherwise I might have been flicking to the glossary disruptively throughout my reading. The adventure takes off within the first few paragraphs, whisking the reader away to mythical realms and immersing them in a world of goodness, brutality, fear, romance, and intrigue.

The story is a prequel, which had me anticipating I would become attached to the characters and long to follow the story into the Heart of the Staff series; unfortunately, I didn’t connect with them as I hoped I might until nearly half way through the book. They simply didn’t grab my hand and lure me in, but as I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that Elves are, by nature, secretive and this is why (at least in my mind) they didn’t choose to overwhelm me and reveal all their secrets at once. I was ultimately drawn into the action, as well as the compelling love triangle amidst the Elves, which kept me reading through to the satisfying conclusion.

A solid first offering introducing readers to what promises to be a thrilling series!

~Morgan~

Save