Sword of the Bright Lady

June 23, 2014
Mechanical engineer Christopher Sinclair goes for a walk one night in Arizona and suddenly finds himself in a snowy medieval world where rank depends on one’s “tael”—magical energy taken from the brains of dead sentient creatures, usually peasants. Threatened with execution, he vows to serve as a priest of the Bright Lady in an eternal war. However, when war god Marcius offers Sinclair a way to return home, Sinclair is willing to abandon the church to embark on the precarious adventure that lie ahead. To combat his enemies and help improve the forlorn lives of the common folk, he provides instruction on making steel, Franklin stoves, gunpowder, rifles, and cannons; naturally this both makes him very popular and earns him some enemies. Planck (The Kassa Gambit) develops a number of interesting peripheral characters who support Sinclair even as they doubt his ability to change the “corrupt system.” Readers looking for a new twist on an old story will be interested in this tale of modern idealism set in a gritty medieval world.

September 15, 2014

One minute Christopher is a rather ordinary engineer, out walking his dogs in sunny Arizona. The next he wakes up in a snowy, Dark Ages-style home with no recollection of how he arrived. After a mystical priest spells him into understanding the local languages, Christopher realizes he has traveled further than he thought--into a completely different universe. In only the beginning of his now long list of problems is his transition to Priest to the God of War and the conflict into which he and all the young men in the village are drafted. This new world is primitive and barbaric, and "bright" and "dark" are never at peace with each other. As priest Christopher has plans for "upgrading" the young army's weaponry with technology, not everyone is thrilled with the forthcoming revolution. VERDICT Planck (Kassa Gambit) builds a very detailed and rich backdrop in this series launch. There are different ranks and rules that Christopher (and the reader) need to learn, and the author does a great job of blending the information into the story so that it doesn't overwhelm or confuse. Fans of period-style fantasy such as George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" epics, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, or Brandon Sanderson's "Stormlight Archive" books will enjoy this fresh entry in a well-loved genre.--Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL

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