Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again. – Author Unknown
Being heroic doesn’t always mean being the bravest or the boldest or the strongest, or even the wisest. Sometimes acts of heroism are performed by the one who simply doesn’t stop to think at all, but is the one who rushes in when the wisest would run away. The most daring of all heroes doesn’t leap into battle with an absence of fear but with the presence of hope and faith, doesn’t think about sacrifices or the statistical probabilities of success and failure. The most daring are the ones who believe in the power of friendships and family and love’s ability to triumph over all, and then does everything in his or her power to defend them.
There are many heroes on Kane’s journey to the other side of reality, in pursuit of his injured prince. Of course, there are enemies too, those bent toward a single goal: to ensure that the tide of events will turn in the favor of the oppressed, though the aggressor’s motives are far from selfless or honorable. For every wrong there is a price that must be paid. For every wrong that is righted, there is a cost that is often far greater than would seem possible to pay. There are gains and there are losses in this installment of John Goode’s “Lords of Arcadia” series; there are revelations and mysteries yet to be solved; there is strength in numbers that is found in one but shared with all; there is a battle looming on the horizon, a battle of the lust for absolute power that has corrupted absolutely.
This is where high fantasy meets the reality that love and a deep and indefinable connection can be found in the most unexpected of places. It is a journey that defies the precept that only men can be heroes and that women must be the damsels in distress. These are partners and lovers and friends and former adversaries together, who find the will to stand up and fight for their choices through terrific acts of valor and against a slew of dark and deadly magic.
Eye of the Storm is a swashbuckling adventure with epic battles and even more epic resurrections, a blend of fairytale and mythology that the author has woven together into a love story between the heir to the Arcadian throne and the human boy who is proving with more and more certainty that he is so much more. It is a love story that triumphs in the face of the improbable and discounts the probability of the impossible, two souls that have now become one and must now face a formidable foe, one that wants what Hawk has and is willing to do anything he can in order to get it.
If you don’t love to-be-continueds, you won’t love that you’ll have to wait to see what’s coming next for Kane, Hawk, and their band of diverse allies. If you don’t mind a cliffhanger, however, and love a great adventure, then dig in.
You can buy Eye of the Storm (Lords of Arcadia, Book Two) here: