The Arkaelyon Chronicles Vol 1; (Book 1 & 2); Druid’s Bane & Maig’s Hand
by Phillip Henderson
4.2 stars – 4 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
(Contains both Druid’s Bane & Maig’s Hand)Druid’s Bane (Book 1)The Illandian Spring Tournament is about to reach its crescendo, and with the king’s only daughter, Danielle de Brie, and her twin brother, Kane, preparing to face each other in the tourney ring for the deciding match the citizens and nobles of Arkaelyon’s capital city are in a fever of excited speculation.Determined to free herself from the fear her twin brother has always provoked in her and to show the world that men such as Kane de Brie can be defeated, Danielle has every intension of making her brother’s title her own.But even as the two royals climb the stairs to Illandia’s famous dueling ring, Danielle has no idea that a rescind coven of druids are about to change her world forever or that the deep animosity between Kane and her is fated to plunge the realm into civil war.
A dream the night before is the only hint she has of the dangerous manipulation that is stirring in the shadows of her father’s realm. But the frightful vision is so diabolical that she writes it off as likely the product of her fatigue after a hard fought week of competition and the fact she is about to face her greatest fear in the tourney ring.
But when she makes passing mention of the dream to the Lord Protector, Father Joseph’s response and the secrets he and a priestly order protect are destined to set her on a desperate and perilous path to prevent the fulfilment of a prophecy that if realised will not only see to the destruction of her father’s kingdom and every land on the continent-but herald the rise of an ancient and tyrannical order of Larniusian Druids who have waited centuries to restore the authority of the dark goddess across the face of the world.
***Maig’s Hand (Book 2)With his world in ruins, Kane must either run and hope monastic and royal assassins do not find him, or accept the Archbishop’s offer and embrace high treason.
While the opportunity to replace his father as Arkaelyon’s king and bring bloody revenge down on his sister’s head is appealing–more than appealing, the prospect of being a pawn in a thousand year old struggle between Orthodox Goddians and Larniusian druids disturbs his atheist sensibilities, and more so when he learns the price he must pay to be Maig’s Hand.
Meanwhile, Danielle’s search to find the truth of her dream and the disturbing prophecy it contains continues with her usual gusto. However, the truth she finds could cost her James’ love, destroy her parent’s reputation and rob Eden of his birthright. More still, her persistence will see the streets of Amthenium run red with blood and force her into a deadly showdown that will change her life and the lives of those she holds dearest forever.
“The Arkaelyon Chronicles Vol 1 (Druid’s Bane & Maig’s Hand) is a very well written tale with a deep back story, a twisting plot and a large cast of wonderfully rich characters.”
“I do very much like the authors style, a distinct voice that has a sharp edge to it.”
– Anthony Jones, SFbooks.com
