Cold-Forged Flame

July 25, 2016
Brennan (In the Labyrinth of Drakes) explores the power of memory, self-realization, and destiny in this mix of survival story and self-discovery tale. A woman with no memory of who she is or where she came from appears in a strange land, summoned by a tribal priest called a Cruais, to fulfill a grueling task: traverse an ever-changing and seemingly sentient island landscape to bring back a small vial of blood from the Lhian’s cauldron. She has no idea who the Lhian is or why the Cruais and his tribe needs the blood, but she is bound to complete the task. However, if she succeeds, they promise to free her so that she can never be summoned again. When she meets a man, Aadet, who also seeks the Lhian, they form an uneasy alliance. The journey is treacherous, but luckily the heroine is fierce of mind, strong of will, and quite the warrior. Brennan delights readers with this exciting, fast-paced start to a fantasy novella series.

September 15, 2016

Summoned in a circle of power, a woman appears. Charged and bound by the Cruais, the leader of a people unfamiliar to her, she brings to them the blood from the cauldron of the Lhian. On a quest not of her choosing, ignorant of her identity, the woman, accompanied by a young man also seeking the cauldron, makes her way across a strange land filled with both physical and mental threats. Fighting doubts about her own existence, our protagonist faces a decision that could free her from her mystical binds or possibly compel her into a far more dangerous cage. VERDICT Brennan's (Midnight Never Come; Voyage of the Basilik) novella is an intriguing mix of folklore and fantasy. The heroine's quest may be a long-standing trope in fantasy, but her character and situation are by no means dated. These mere 100 pages will fly by, leaving readers anticipating the next steps of her journey.--KC

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