"This is a classic story of good versus evil, trust versus betrayal, and love versus debilitating hatred."
Trueblood's Plight
by E.S. Lark
Genre: Fantasy
Book Synopsis
Extract from ebook blurb:
Thirty years have passed since the clan’s flight from Tesmar, their beloved gryphon city. Three decades spent searching for safer shores, a place to repopulate and for some, to bury the truth of an age-old prophecy.
Until now.
Ava always knew she was different, from her pale plumage to her silver eyes, but being a Trueblood—a giphen who can use all forms of magic—takes ‘special’ to a whole new level. With overprotective elders and the enemy advancing from the north, Ava struggles to balance her time on and off the battlefield.
Sharon's Rating
Sharon's Review
Trueblood's Plight is a fascinating fantasy read. The characters include human, as well as magical creatures, the Gryphons. There are other fantastical characters, who are peripheral, and not described very well. After the initial necessary slog through scene setting and character introduction, the story moves fast. This is a classic story of good versus evil, trust versus betrayal, and love versus debilitating hatred. Above and beyond that, the story becomes an intricately woven mystery. At a point near the end, it is difficult to tell what is truth, and what is magical illusion.
Ava's clan is under attack by the Kar'itsai – a group of creatures who have closed off their food supply, with magic and troops. The Gryphons, giphens, and their human allies are starved to the point of non resistance. The enemy want Ava, and more importantly, her magical abilities. As one of only two truebloods in existence, they need her to use against the other trueblood – who has turned against his own clan. My heart went out to Ava and her human friend Kivra, as they forge into enemy territory to form an alliance with a powerful mage.
The story revolves around Ava, a young giphen, and her gryphon elders. As a novitiate to gryphon lore, I didn't know that gryphons and giphens were two different races. They are of the same species, but different. I thought they were the same creature, but the author was having spell check issues. It's possible that gyphens are the author's own construct, and not related to accepted gryphon lore, so I was confused until the difference in race was mentioned around the fifth chapter. I think the character analysis should have been a little less confusing at the beginning.
Trueblood's Plight is a powerful tale, with many ins and outs winding through the plot line. The reader has to pay very close attention to each one of the main characters, their emotions and their actions. As the story unfolds, it's a bit difficult to decide who the good guys are, and who are evil incarnate. There is a lot of grey area, where it's hard to tell. This story could be rough to wade through for readers who are unused to fantasy story lines that change their direction entirely, merely by invoking some convenient magic. Fortunately, I am a fantasy fan who enjoys a good challenge that engages my imagination. I loved it!
Disclaimer: May not be appropriate for children due to violence, which is present throughout, but it's more emotional than physical, and none of it is graphic. Because of the intricate and highly advanced material, it might be hard for younger readers to follow.
