PRINCESS OF THE SWORD

Author: Lynn Kurland ISBN: 9780425225684 1/2009 FANTASY Publisher: BERKLEY

When darkness falls... As the mercenary daughter of Gair, the black mage of Ceangail, Morgan is the only one who can stop the terrible sorcery her father unleashed. To do so, she must race against time and find the spell that will allow her to close the well of evil he opened. But that quest will lead her to places she never dreamed existed and into a darkness she would give anything to avoid ... The magic rises. The fate of the kingdom of Neroche is intertwined with the closing of Gair's well. Miach, the archmage of Neroche, is determined to help Morgan find what she needs, not only because the safety of the Nine Kingdoms hangs in the balance, but because he will do anything to protect her. Together they must search out the mysteries of Ceangail, and the dangers of Morgan's own bloodline. Now, to rescue the kingdom from total ruin, Morgan and Miach have only each other to trust, heart and soul ...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

PRINCESS OF THE SWORD is the third edition of the novels of the Nine Kingdoms by author Lynn Kurland. I have not read the first two installments in this series, but right from the beginning, you're expected to know what's going on and who's who. I would strongly suggest that if you are interested in this book that you read the first two books first.

I found it extremely hard to keep up with who everyone was in this story and how they were or were not related. I finally had to give up trying to unwind all of that and just read about what was suppose to be happening. You know, get to the meat and potatoes of it all. I wish that the author had blended the story more to give the reader a better idea of what happened before this installment. Reintroducing the important characters would have been a plus because once you start reading, the story takes off, literally. You are thrown right into picking up where the last story left off.

Once I did get to the story, it was just okay for me. There was nothing exciting that made me want to drop everything in the middle of the day and read it. The characters were engaged in more battles with evil than actually falling in love with each other. And that's fine to a point, but I like variety. Give me something to make me laugh, sometimes make me cry and or feel angry. But I felt none of those things with this book. PRINCESS OF THE SWORD was a very lackluster read for me.

But, to end on a good note, I have read some of the author's other books and I am still a fan.

Sheila Smith