Go buy Eel’s Reverence by Marian Allen (Twitter: @marianallen). It’s available on iBooks, Smashwords, Amazon, and others. Visit her website, http://www.marianallen.com/ for full details on how to purchase. It’s a great read. It’s inexpensive. You’ll like it.
Now here’s why I recommend the novel.
I enjoyed reading and learning about the world Marian has created. Characters intrigued me. The protagonist, Libby, is not in the usual vein especially in these days of the brooding, half-dressed teens. That is not to say there are not brooding young types. It’s just that the main character is an old woman. A woman of faith who is being overrun by a new order. Our hero, Aunt Libby, is thrust into the role of resistance and collaborator to this new order.
The story takes place on a world not too unlike our own though in more primitive times. This world is agrarian, machine free. Humans share this world with non-humans. The conflict between human and non-human grinds upon both races. The non-humans are interesting, compelling, and prickly.
Libby begins as a woman of a faith that has slipped into irrelevancy at best and at worst into a problem for the powerful. Her own desire to just slip away brings her to the focus of the new powers who seek money and control. Her allies and enemies shift allegiances, accommodating their own agendas, giving the plot both mystery and tension.
Libby seems ill-equipped to contain this storm. Yet, though her naivete, her faith, her age are weaknesses, they are also her strengths.
The plot of power and the machinations of those seeking power is old and timeless. I just need to look around to see this plot played out continuously around us. Marian’s treatment of this tale is interesting and fun.
I would like to see and hear more of this world. The author has gifted us with a small taste. I hope you too will enjoy Eel’s Reverence by Marian Allen.
Great read. Really recommend the book.
Posted by: me | 2011.01.07 at 20:53
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the book, especially Aunt Libby. Now you've got me thinking about a sequel....
Posted by: Marian Allen | 2011.01.07 at 13:29