DIVINE PREY by Chris Andrews - new fantasy novel with awesome worldbuilding
I just finished Chris Andrews' new book, Divine Prey. Chris is an Australian author based in Canberra. He says this about himself in his bio:
Chris Andrews began his writing career when he boldly and ignorantly announced he could write a better novel than the one he’d just read.
You can read more about Chris here:
Divine Prey is the first book in the Noramgaell Saga series.
Chris Andrews began his writing career when he boldly and ignorantly announced he could write a better novel than the one he’d just read.
You can read more about Chris here:
Divine Prey is the first book in the Noramgaell Saga series.
Lush world
building, interspecies romance and a fast paced, perilous adventure. Divine
Prey certainly kept me turning the pages with its story of Caroline, princess
turned werewolf turned champion of a goddess. She never does as she is told. I
like her!
Andrews has
deftly created a world of subtle magic, which expands as the plot progresses,
adding depth to our understanding of its unique history and mythology,
maintaining interest. The deeper you go into the story the more intricate the
silver strands of plot become.
The story
begins with Princess Caroline, hidden in a nunnery to bear her illegitimate
child. But the gods have other plans for her. Relying on pure instinct she
refuses to answer the call to servitude of Marnier Du Shae the goddess of
healing. Attacked by a werewolf Caroline is transformed into a creature she
herself genuinely fears. The evil within. But her burdens and responsibilities
are doubled as she develops magical powers, something she has been taught all
her life to despise. Grief for her child taints every day, presenting another
layer of challenge for her.
Caroline is
a well-rounded character who has the grace and strength to tackle what her new
adventurous life throws at her. But she is a stubborn girl, with fierce
loyalties. She’s not afraid to challenge the divine will of the gods who seek
to control her fate for their own desires.
Elias, her
soulmate, is just as confused about his reaction to Caroline as she is about
him. Their destinies are obviously entwined somehow but no answers are
forthcoming in this volume, much to my frustration! It’s a tantalizing taster
really, to the series. We can only hope that what we want for these two will
happen, but there is the distinct possibility it will be twisted into something
unexpected.
Caroline’s
loyal companion Kirsty is too good to be true most of the time. A young,
seemingly innocent girl, she is brave and self-sacrificing to the point of
idiocy. She has no guile. No malice. No jealousy. Seems to me the girl needs a
temper tantrum to set things straight!
Family love
and loyalty is explored only briefly at the end. It feels like there’s a lot
more to discover there, hopefully in book two!
The ‘grand
scheme’ trope is saved from becoming tedious by plausible developments and
snippets which help us make sense of what we think we know, but also stirs up
further questions. It’s as if the author is smiling wryly to himself as we
blunder about in his story trying to keep up. It takes skill to keep the plates
spinning in a created world that could easily have become too confusing, but
Andrews keeps us along for the ride with clever touches of backstory, woven
seamlessly into the narrative.
Divine Prey
is a great read. I enjoyed it immensely. There’s a richness here that invites
me into the next volume. Soon, I hope.
Chris' website: fandelyon.com
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