Talyn - Holly Lisle

Well, after waiting two weeks fo Amazon UK to get the book to me I thought I would have a peek at the first chapter on opened the parcel. I read the first page, and then I read the next, and the next, and the next. I was hooked onto the book and I read the first 4 chapters before putting the book down (I had to eat).

The Book opens with the main character and her friend, travelling through a normal street in the fantasy world of Hyre. We get to know about the setting and the world where Talyn lives, plus the culture of the Ancient race of Tonk. After than the plot steadily unfolds and Holly tempts us further into the book.

We learn of the base conflict, two warring nations, desperate to win a war that had gone on for three centuries. The Eastil and Tonk fight wars of Magic and Magery, not of sword so it is not surprising that the war flows out of Hyre and into the rest of the world. The mysterious Feegash come from afar and try to make peace, but Holly toys with us by insinuating that the Feegash have their own insidious agendas.

The book progresses. The plot unfolds and I found myself positively gripped onto every word Holly Lisle had written. The character driven plot is a masterpiece if Talyn was music it would be composed by Mozart.

Talyn, our main character is an absolute star, her voice through the first person, is exquisite and her soul is pure yet believable.

Our villain is a real villain - I don’t want to spoil.

All in all this book is my favourite amongst my library of 500 books, I haven’t read such a compelling, thematic and characterised piece of fiction in my life and what’s more, I refresh Holly’s website everyday in hope of a sequel.