Book Three of Tales of the Left Hand opens with the Cutlass limping into the harbor of Mypor in desperate need of repair as Kayrla, who has taken up the title of Left Hand, struggles to cope with her grief and complete the mission now entrusted to her.
Mourning the loss of her dear friend, Kayrla leads her group inland to the Abbey of St. Ravino, where Captain Grivus can continue his research. And unbeknownst to her companions, she has another mission to complete as well: Locate the Duke's son Jordan and bring him back to his father. But the Abbey is not as safe a refuge as Kayrla was led to believe; its archives hold many secrets, and some of them protect themselves.
John is a graphic designer and voice-over artist, who started writing Tales of the Left Hand as a side project to give himself practice narrating longer pieces of work, such as audiobooks. The demo he put together using excerpts from Book One has led to a number of professional narration jobs, now available on Audible. But he also discovered that Left Hand had taken on a life of its own, and there were more stories in the Frees to tell than could be covered in just one book.
He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife (and is about to add fatherhood to his job description in early December) and two cats, satisfying the minimum required feline ownership for fantasy writers.
The story is great and really picks up speed in this book. I really like the character development and the romance and intrigue are sprinkled onto the adventure in the perfect balance. I listened to the audiobook version and let me tell you John is an amazing voice actor. He really brings the characters to life using a wide range of voices and inflections.
The first two books were like teasers for this third book. So if you did read or listen the first two, you must consume this as well. And it left the story wide open, with a promise of further books.
At times there were a few places where the plot was a bit too obvious, but for the most parts, this was really good. And as usual, family friendly. I'm sure my 10y son will love this.
Great audiobook. Full of detail, thought, and great twists. I thoroughly enjoy this series, though it had some awkward plots in this one which made me curious how it is going to work out. Good listen if you have time.