Written in Ruberah: Age of Jeweled Intelligence

by P. Christina Greenaway

New York real estate broker Miriam Lewis takes off for a brief getaway to a remote inn on the rugged cliffs of Cornwall. Rest and romance with her boyfriend seem like the perfect cure for a life that appears to be going nowhere, and too fast. Entering Cornwall, Miriam crosses the River Tamar and glimpses a luminous girl floating in the river. A memory from long, long ago begins to unfold in Miriam's thoughts-something about a promise she made to perform a selfless act of courage. Could it be true? Could she ever rise to such heroism or is it just a hallucination? While at the inn, Miriam experiences a series of flashbacks from a life she lived in an ancient land called Ruberah. These startling images convince Miriam that she did write the promise and that she must keep it. But to do so, Miriam will have to let go of everything in her life and place her trust in a guide-the river girl-the wise and eternal spirit of the River Tamar. "Greenaway juggles the many strands of her lushly descriptive book with ease, managing to bring all these characters, from all their separate time periods, together in a rousing climax that invests just as much energy in high fantasy as modern romance, with winning results. The richly imagined story of a modern woman bearing ancient responsibilities." -"Kirkus Reviews"
Download a free glossary for "Written in Ruberah" at www.christinagreenaway.com

420 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2013

About the author

I was born and raised Cornwall, England. As a child I liked nothing more than to sit by the sea and write stories about pirates, lost lands, and princesses in need of rescue. I would be a writer one day, I decided. I went to boarding school some seventy-five miles from my home travelling back and forth each semester by train. I loved being by myself on the train. Moving over the earth suspended between the realities of home and school, I dreamed up other stories, some of which would find their way into my novels many years later.

I travelled the world working in fields as diverse as advertising in London and New York, fashion modeling in Paris, and partnering in a frog farm in Costa Rica.

Reviews

[books are life · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out more of my reviews at my blog http://gemmareadstoomuchforittomenorm...

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review so here goes....

Written in Ruberah is an incredibly complex and detailed fantasy novel that is somewhat based in actual Cornish folklore.

This novel is not exactly what I was I expecting, it was sold to me as a paranormal romance and I would argue that it is much more of a fantasy epic, because the romance was conspicuous in its absence.

This is not necessarily a bad thing but if you are expecting a happy clappy romance this is definitely not it!!!

So the good bits....

• Tamara, I found her story to be the most compelling of all of the characters.

• The idea behind the book is very imaginative and intriguing.

And the not so good bits....

• This book definitely needs a glossary, there is so much background info, place names, character names etc that I completely lost track of who was who in a past life etc!!!

• I hated Miriam & Mitch; if they were supposed to be the romance element of this novel then they failed miserably!!

• Kate, she may have only been 14 but she was a spoilt brat!!

Ok so Written in Ruberah is quite possibly one of the most complicated fiction novels I have ever read!!!

Now being complicated can be both a good and bad thing and in this case I don’t think it works in its favour.

Having read 421 pages of story I’m still not actually sure I understood most of it!!

Each main character had at least two names/identities and in some cases multiple past lives that as a reader you are expected to take in and understand. In some cases the persona or planet is referred to in passing at the beginning and then never mentioned again until a critical point at the end. I actually found myself having to flick back to the start to remind myself what something was or who the person was in Ruberah.

The book ends with Mitch going to New York with the intent to ask Miriam to marry him and then take them and Miriam’s daughter Elaine (who is actually his daughter in several of his past lives!!) to Tahiti. Now this all sounds very romantic doesn’t it, but if I were Miriam I would open the door punch him in the face then slam the door in his face!!!

Miriam and Mitch are not in love at all they are comfortable, even the couple they were in Ruberah was not exactly a grand love story Mitch (AKA the prince Da’krah) and Miriam (AKA the princess Li’ram) may bond for life and she may be infatuated with him, but he is manipulating her to get what he wants!!

In the present they are actually only a couple for the first day once they arrive in Cornwall and then he is possessed by Gwendellen (aka the evil mermaid) and then he basically follows her round like a lost puppy for the rest of the book.

Don’t get me wrong, this book is impressive because of the sheer quantity of information that is in here. She has obviously done a lot of research into Cornish myths and legends and must have had an amazing imaginary friend as a child to create this insane, in-depth fantasy world that is both old and yet new age and futuristic.

My main issue with this book is the fact that it is not written from any one or two people’s point of view. I have no idea who was narrating this story, at times it was Tamara and I enjoyed those sections. In my opinion Tamara is the grounding influence of this story and when she was telling the story it made sense and was cohesive and calm.

Unfortunately the rest of the time the POV jumps from person to person and at times is just an unidentified overseer who just reported on the action.

I wish this book had a decisive main character so I knew who I was intended to engage with, as it stands the only characters I liked were Tamara, Tavy & Tawridge and considering they were river spirits I feel like it says a lot.

The detail is beautiful, the fantasy worlds were in depth and I could imagine what they looked like. But for me there was too much information, too much going on that wasn’t explained fully enough and no romance.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in Ruberah, by P. Christina Greenaway combines science fiction, mythology, romance and even a touch of science as a mystical being strives to bring the right future and right powers into alignment. So there’s something for everyone, maybe. A quiet Cornish guest house forms the backdrop for present-day adventure as American Miriam finds herself torn between longing for food, love of Mitch, duty to her daughter, and the power of a mystical former life. Meanwhile Mitch’s own past life catches up with him as his unknown mystical power seems stolen. Conniving Gwenellen pitches potential lovers against each other, and Tamara of the river hides in ruby shade.

There’s a pink pen, determining the future; a Dark Master, distorting hopes of the wounded; perfectly American French fries from a Cornish tavern; and a mythical history of giants, love and destruction. Will volcanic fires from Ruberah tear Cornwall from the face of the earth? Will Miriam remember her sacred future? Will the wrong future play out on the movie screens of Control? Or can a selfless act save all?

The story starts in Ruberah with an intriguing scene of the ending and birthing of myth. Then it enters the modern world, where some nice foretelling is quickly lost in a slew of confused relationships, misplaced memories, and forgotten pleas. Time slows in Cornwall, of course, and in this long, complex tale. But modern technology and mindsets intrude as much into myth as Ruberah does into the lives of the characters, making this a fantasy both languid and frightening, crossed with a seriously star-crossed romance.

Disclosure: I won an ecopy and I offer my honest review

[Lynn Sneyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of paranormal romance, Written in Ruberah should be your next read. The book takes place in modern times, but also weaves in a storyline from an ancient land called Ruberah. What happened in Ruberah so long ago is now playing out between Miriam and Mitch, lovers with a sometimes rocky relationship. The characters from both time periods are "real" - well-defined and unique. You want to travel with them. And what a trip it is! You won't want to leave their side before the last sentence ends the journey.

[Bani Sodermark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Love Story on Different Planes

This is not your usual love story where the main actors are paramount and conceive their life stories with decisions taken by themselves in the present, and many or most of the facts relevant to the story pertain to the existing lifetime. In this book, the protagonists live out decisions taken by them in another time and space. And we get to see a fine and entirely plausible interplay of the main characters with the river spirit of Cornwall, viz., Tamara, who not only provides a timeless link between the past and present, but also plays a major role from behind the scenes in influencing the lives and decisions of the protagonists as well. We also get to see the workings of the Dark Forces in a form designed uniquely by the author.

Princess Li’ ram of the Ruby Kingdom of Ruberah has been betrothed to Da’kra of the Emerald Kingdom but their union has catastrophic consequences for Ruberah as the essences of the Ruby and Emerald Kingdoms are not compatible. Setting sail to her new home, she calls upon her soul guide, River Spirit, Tamara, and, in order to atone, vows to enter the Black Heart and rescue someone for the benefit of another.

Cut to Penrose Hall, August 2010. Enter Miriam Lewis, a real estate broker and her companion Mitch Devere, a travel writer, both from New York on a visit to Cornwall. Miriam’s intention is to induce Mitch to marry her. However, Miriam’s vow as the erstwhile Princess Li’ ram gets her to choose willy nilly to participate in Tamara’s efforts to rescue Lara, the mistress of Penrose Hall, who has been abducted by the Dark Forces and thus fulfil her vow. A host of other characters come in, one of them being Kate, Lara’s daughter, who, in a former lifetime was So’laria, Li ‘ram’s sister. The Dark Forces are represented by Gwenellen, a buxom young woman, who shapeshifts. Comic relief is provided by a pair of giants, Tavy and Tawridge, who are Tamara’s wards. Wisdom and guidance comes from the Earth’s heart through a voice called Gold. Gold opens up for Tamara, the mists that form the collective unconscious of the wisdom of Rubera and her memories of being River Spirit.
“Why didn’t I stop the tragedy that caused “The Ending” (of Ruberah)? Tamara asks the mists.
“You could not. Man is his own master. He is as wise as any of us, he’s just working in the physical world trying to remember..”

Tamara’s story proceeds as follows:
“As the River Tamar is formed, Ruberians start to reincarnate on Earth… hundreds of them find her river. With great joy in her heart, Tamara guides them to fulfil the acts of atonement written in their sacred futures.”

The text is fast and free flowing, a joy to read. It affirms the fact, more than many other books that I know of, that all we are, is flowing energy, that anything could happen at a moment’s notice, that all we think, say or do has consequences. The descriptions of the outer physical scenery as a reflection of the inner, is unusually detailed and evocative, almost like a fast, chemical reaction, once the right ingredients are administered.

This is a book that has been written on several planes. The main characters have their own agendas on the physical, which they put aside, willingly or unknowingly, after intervention by either by Tamara or Gwenellen. The author, Christina Greenaway has been very insightful and consistent about the principles that govern Life in this book, affirming that the reason we are here is to strengthen our spiritual muscles. This book is a strong and beautifully written testimony to the above.

A quote by Rumi taken from the book reads, ”Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth”. This quote sums up the effort made by the author in this book.

This is the first in a series of books called “The Awakening of Jewelled Intelligence”. Going by the popularity of the Harry Potter series, one can presume that the public response to this genre can only increase with time as more people explore their feminine side. Personally I enjoyed the book very much.

Warmly recommended.

[Nicole M. Hewitt]

This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction

Written in Ruberah: Age of Intelligence is an interesting mix of contemporary and unique mythology. The book starts out as an ancient mythological land called Ruberah that is coming apart at the seams. The princess of this ancient society is guilt-ridden over her part in Ruberah's demise and so she promises that she will suffer in future lives for generations until she is ready to make amends. The book then flashes forward to the present when Miriam Lewis comes to Cornwall, the original location of ancient Ruberah. She is hoping for lifetime love with Mitch, her boyfriend who has accompanied her to Cornwall, but what she finds is complications - an ancient world that is calling to her and wants her to fulfill a destiny she doesn't understand.

The negatives:

Relationships.
I never really connected to most of the modern day characters in this book. Mitch and Miriam seemed comfortable together, but they didn't have a strong connection that made me want to root for them. To give Greenaway credit, this was purposeful, but it just made it hard for me to care much about them. When Mitch started to let his mind stray toward Gwenellen and Miriam decided to possibly pursue Harry, I couldn't bring myself to really care all that much. The modern day characters all seemed a bit bored with each other and I felt a little bit bored with them too.

Spotty memories.
The modern characters in this book would sometimes remember things they had learned about Ruberah and their past selves and then they would just forget it all. This was okay at first, but it got frustrating when it happened over and over and over again. It felt like a bit of a delay tactic to allow us to learn some things, but keep the characters in the dark. I just found myself getting tired of it.

Good/bad:

The mythology.
On the positive side, Greenaway created a really detailed mythology based on the power of gemstones and people who have jeweled intelligence so that they can tap into that power (it sort of feels like a New Age mythology). There are also some characters who originated on another planet. The characters all have multiple reincarnations as humans and can sometimes access their true Ruberian memories. Greenaway obviously put a lot of thought into this mythology, making it richly detailed. My only problem was that I sometimes had a hard time following it all. I just never completely understood the jeweled intelligence and what the difference was between the Ruberians and humans and the people from the other planet (can't remember what they were called). There were river spirits and nymphs and giants thrown in to boot and I just wasn't ever clear on any of it. (But maybe this was just me.)

What I loved:

Tamara and the giants.
I think my favorite part of the book was Tamara, who became the River Spirit, and her giant friends. Tamara's gained my sympathy because of her inner turmoil over her conflict with her father. I loved her sweet relationship with the giants which felt almost motherly at times. And I was really intrigued by Tamara's role as the River Spirit and how she was supposed to help guide Miriam and Kate (a young girl from Cornwall who had jeweled intelligence and could remember her past life in Ruberah).

The Dark Master.
The Dark Master and his servants caused all sorts of mischief in this book, which kept it interesting. I liked that Tamara could actually see when the Dark Master was influencing people by the dark aura that surrounded them.

Written in Ruberah was an interesting fantasy read with a complex mythology. I give it 3/5 stars.

***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

Although I persevered with this one, I struggled to get to the end. I found it hard work to cope with all the characters and fully appreciate what was going on. This is perhaps more a reflection of me than it is the book and I wouldn't let that put you off, if you're the person who is prepared to invest a little more in your reading in order to get the most out of it.

Sadly, only 2 stars from me.

[Lyndee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is amazing!! A brilliant fantasy this story beautifully highlights the impact of the past on the present. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the entangled stories of Miriam, Gwendolyn etc.