by Sharon Tucker
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win copies of Through a Dark Glass and its sequel A Choice of Crowns. There are also links to purchase them from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.
Medieval fantasy fiction is satisfying on so many levels. Informed readers already have a broad base to draw on picturing the world of these novels, and although historically speaking, cultures vary slightly according to national and historical dictate one finds a through line of what we like to imagine about the times: chivalric behavior and great potential for honorable behavior on every page. Barb Hendee does not disappoint our expectations in her new Dark Glass series Through a Dark Glass. After a short prologue that reveals the history of the dark glass itself, we join Megan of Chaumont on the day her life changes radically. Among the life-altering happenings she faces is the appearance of a three-paneled mirror that shows her three versions of what her future will be according to which of three choices she makes.
Megan finds herself in an unimagined position as the novel opens. She grew up not particularly valued by her family until the unforeseeable happens. Suddenly she represents them in an alliance with the Volodanes, a wealthy but socially inferior family, in a marriage that provides financial gain to her parents’ dwindling fortunes and desired social standing to the Volodanes. Although it is certain she must marry one of three brothers, what is not certain is which of the three is a match for her; therefore, a glimpse of what her fate with each brother would be should prove to be invaluable. However, true to form, chivalric romances make no promise of a happy conclusion and the mirror’s revelations come with an inevitable catch.
Medieval fantasy has been a favorite genre of mine since falling in love with both Arthur Pendragon and Merlin at an impressionable age, and I have never quite gotten past loving that conjured past. Happily, Through a Dark Glass evokes the medieval world of poetry and images we have seen in the paintings of Bourne-Jones and Millais as well as the poetry of the Pre-Raphaelites. It is a world of great beauty, difficult choices, and uncertain endings that Ms. Hendee evokes with skill. Her world’s morays and manners are immediately accessible, but the deft portraiture of family roles and duties of the time shine through with clarity and deep feeling. This author knows her way around the times and you will enjoy her journeys.
To enter to win copies of Through a Dark Glass and its sequel A Choice of Crowns, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “glass,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 27, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.
You can find more fantasy reviews in out Fantasy and Fangs section.
Use these links to purchase these books & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:
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Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
Looks like a fun read!
It held my attention, Pam. I like her characters and was invested in what happens to them, A good read, definitely.
You had me at ‘medieval fantasy’.
I know, right? I think you will like her word and her characters, Kathy. I did.
We have a winner!
I absolutely loved this book! It is engrossing and intriguing full of plot twists and imagination. Don’t think anyone should miss it.