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Title/Author

Quondam:
An Ancient Mirrors Tale

Jayel Gibson

Average Review Rating Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : Synergy Books

Published : 2008

Copyright : Jayel Gibson 2008

ISBN-10 : PB 1-933538-83-X
ISBN-13 : PB 978-1-9335388-3-9

Publisher's Write-Up

Ancient Mirrors Book 4

According to legend, only the dragonspawn born of both Man and dragon can unseat the usurper queen and restore order and magick to Quondam. When Cwen of Adracmora falls through a mysterious portal into Quondam, she discovers her fate and the world's are intertwined in ways that will drag her, heartbroken and vengeful, into the heart of a devastating war.

With the help of an elder wizard, and the sorceresses B’rma and N’dia, the dragonspawn and Cwen of Aaradan embark on an epic journey to undo the folly of a god.

A murderous queen:
Bound in mortal flesh by an angry god, a once ethereal nymph murders Quondam’s king and seizes the throne. All who do not bow before her die in the agony that is dragons’ breath. But, there is threat of a challenger to this brutal reign, a legend’s promised saviour. Fearful, Queen Karid has the suspect captured, condemned and sentenced to an eternity alone.

A condemned dragonspawn:
Born of man and magick, cursed at birth by his terrified mother, a young Dragonspawn is branded a demon, a threat to Quondam’s queen, and sentenced to a millennium of solitude. His only freedom now found in dreams, he searches among a universe of sleepers for a woman born beneath the sign of the dragon, a woman believed to hold the key to his release.

And the woman thrust between them:
Her family and homeland destroyed by an otherworldly assassin’s fire, Cwen of Aaradan, niece of the Dragon Queen, escapes through a mysterious portal into Quondam. There, Cwen discovers her fate and an imprisoned dragonspawn’s are intertwined in ways that will drag her, heartbroken and vengeful, into the midst of a devastating war.

United:
With the help of an elder wizard, and the sorceresses B’rma and N’dia, the dragonspawn and Cwen of Aaradan embark on an epic journey to undo the folly of a god, stop the mad nymph queen, and return peace and magick to a war torn world.

Other novels in the Ancient Mirrors series include The Wrekening, Dragon Queen and Damselflies.

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Reader Reviews

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Review by Molly Martin (010120) Rating (9/10)

Review by Molly Martin
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10

Quondam: An Ancient Mirrors Tale makes available, preceding the narrative lines of the chronicle, for the reader a chart of Aedracmorae, along with a depiction of the Fortress of the Serpent King, and a map of Quondam; I like that.

I like being able to study maps and depictions of the settings where action takes place, particularly as I read a fantasy type account. Continuing events in standpoint assists my understanding of the account with more lucidity.

A yarn populated with authoritative female characters, Quondam is the final of the four-part series of writer Gibson’s The Ancient Mirror Series.

The narrative originates in the prologue as we read concerning the loud din of men’s angry, fuming voices along with sounds of apprehensive mounts squealing their trepidation concerning entering the gloom of the spirit woods.

Readers find themselves drawn into the account, as they match pace with the wood nymph, Karid’s, servant whilst she treks soundlessly along the side wall of a noisy tavern; she knows, there can be no survivors. Summoning a veil of invisibility she stepped into the pub.

We pause with Malaia as she struggles through the wrenches of giving birth, we listen in as the spright Flida counters her sister Karid’s spell against the dragon-spawn who will grow up motherless subsequent to Malaia’s expiry during his birth.

From that inaugural episode, we keep step along with Cwen; the chief character of the account. Vindictive Queen Karid sent a fire-breathing cutthroat through an enchanted portal, into another realm in her determination to devastate those she most believes to be an appalling peril for her.

Karid's homicidal exertions will be enough to propel two women through the entrance and into Quondam. This was not what she had in mind. And, to her vexation it will have overwhelming costs for her.

One of those hauled through is Cwen who embraces an astonishing influence which will commit her to D'raekn, the dragon-spawn. D'raekn, half man/half dragon has been displaced in exile to an island for over a thousand years.

Queen Karid's energies to overturn the prophetic connecting of Cwen to D'raekn, will unavoidably bring the pair together. From a slaying, to quest, to a recompense, Magick, insurgency and dreams; the chronicle is advanced at a furious pace.

Gibson’s writings validate her principles, beliefs and viewpoints. Characters are multifaceted, multi-layered, and engaged in complicated activities causing the action-packed story line to be chockfull of details, environments, trickery and reader welcoming circumstances.

The multi layered accounts are spellbinding in depth and particulars; thrashing out human deficiency securing reader attention from the preliminary paragraphs and continuing to the last sentences found on the final page. Themes have become more resolute, unswerving, and reliable for the simple reason that Gibson’s characters do exhibit the very oddities, warts and feebleness as trouble, plague, or devastate us all.
Molly Martin (1st January 2020)

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