We know Allison D. Reid as “Weavingword,” a long-time member of our blog community, and this is Book 6 of her “Wind Rider Chronicles,” The Realm Beyond the Storm. I’m going to review it for Chalcedon, but I wanted to do it here first–warming up to the task, as it were. And Christian fantasy writers need our support!
This is her best book so far. It features a very strong climax, laden with suspense, and is infused with the wisdom of the Scriptures: the alert Christian reader will find many echoes of the Bible. Another plus is her intimate study of medieval life and culture, which serves to make her fantasy world convincing.
The continuing story in the series is a war launched ultimately from Hell, with plenty of human servants who think they’ll profit by it (sound familiar?), and the travels, toils, and perils experienced by God’s servants. The chief protagonists are three sisters: Morganne, a scholar and a seamstress; Elowyn, an eccentric middle child who may turn out to be a prophet; and Adelin, who was still a baby when the series started and has yet to grow into any definite role. But I have a feeling that she will.
These are believable and sympathetic characters, each with her own voice and her own part to play, with none of the usual and mostly unbearable fantasy cliches attached. Allison has a gift for making her characters come alive. As I read, I can see and hear them as if they were characters in a movie playing in my mind. I do love it when that happens.
Don’t ask me to summarize a plot that has taken six books to present, so far. Suffice it to say that the war’s stakes are the survival of the human race and maybe even Creation itself. There are supernatural forces at work throughout, some for good, some for evil. And let me say there’s at least one major and unexpected plot twist that has me eager to find out what happens next.
Allison’s Wind Rider books are available on amazon.com. They’re self-published, but don’t let that put you off. I root for the day that sees them professionally published for a bigger market. Which they deserve.
I tried to post on “How Big Before It Bursts” but it wouldn’t take. I mentioned the movie “Hope & Glory,” Have you seen it?
Actually, your post came through and I have it right here.
Computers don’t seem to be working properly, these days.
May God bless and prosper Allison D, Reid.
I think you might be able to get her books on Kindle (not sure, though).
Thank you for the encouragement! God’s blessings and direction are so important when writing Christian fiction.
And yes, Lee. All my books are available in Kindle and other formats just about everywhere you can buy ebooks.
Thank you for reviewing my book, Lee! I am glad that it met your standards, which I know are pretty high for fantasy. 🙂 If you don’t share here, let me know when the Chalcedon review is live. I’d love to see it.
I’ll post it here, too.
Meanwhile, please help me out with this: What is an anelace?
An anelace is a long dagger that can either be worn at the side or at the small of the back. It has a slightly longer reach than a standard dagger, but isn’t as large or heavy as a full sized sword.
Thanks, I didn’t know that. Some martial arts student, eh?
Well, it’s a medieval weapon, so there isn’t any reason you would know about it just because you have a martial arts background. 🙂
But I like medieval weapons! Way back when Patty and I used to play Tunnels & Trolls (a D&D knockoff), we enjoyed the wide menu of obscure and funky weapons available to our characters. But somehow the anelace never made the list.
Well, there is always something new to learn I guess. 🙂 I am constantly looking up how things were done as I need them in my writing. Caltrops were something I’d never heard of until I started looking into seige defense tactics. One of the most interesting things I found was an illustrated manual on hand to hand weapons fighting. Reality was nothing like the movies–in some ways combat was far more aggressive, yet it was also far shorter in duration than we imagine because the effort required (wearing heavy armor) was too exhausting for hours long engagement. History can be quite inspiring. I used a lot of what I learned for the training sessions and battle scenes in the book.
You do know your stuff!
I’m nothing close to an expert though–just an enthusiast on the subject I guess. There is plenty of fantasy in the mix, too.
I’ve known several classrooms full of kids who would have LOVED to hear you!
Yikes, public speaking…that’s a terrifying thought.
I did this once–“Anything you want to know about the Middle Ages, ask.” They loved it.
That sounds like fun!