"Excellent sci-fi fantasy!"
Declan de Douglas has been given a second chance at life; he
has been reborn with the Matrix incorporated into his body
and he has family members. However, he is not happy; he
feels he needs to earn their forgiveness because of his
involvement in what almost destroyed the de Douglas clan.
Choosing to help solidify trade agreements with the other
clans, he has also become the protector of his brothers
family. Always living on the outskirts of his life, never
fully excepting the second chance he has been given. Princess Fallon had a chance encounter with Declan that
awoke her desires to be more than an object to adorn the arm
of a fat dignitary from another clan. Blessed or cursed with
telekinesis and pre-cognitive abilities, she has always kept
to the shadows, but now she wants a life. When the
opportunity presents itself to cause her own ruin, thus
nullifying her unwanted marriage contract, Fallon goes to
the brothel claiming to have a man who looks like the man of
her fantasy, Declan. Only Fallon discovers the man isn't a
double, but Declan himself, without his memory and wearing a
control collar of a slave. Brought together by another chance meeting, Declan and
Fallon find themselves in the middle of an intergalactic
disaster. One step ahead of war, they flee from her jilted
fiancé, the owner of the brothel and something more
omnipotent than either could even begin to understand. R Garland Gray has written another exceptional novel. She
continuously amazes me with how imaginative her stories are.
While I can honestly say I liked THE REBEL LORD more than
REDEMPTION, overall, there are several qualities about
Fallon I really admired and therefore she is more memorable
to me. I really admire her for being able to look at what
she has: opulence, wealth and everything that comes with
this status and yet she is able to recognize she has wants
that are not being met. Granted this isn't unusual situation
for a heroine, but I really like how everything was written out. Declan spends a large part of the story without his memory
and I truly sympathize with his situation. He is rejecting
his new body because he feels unworthy and only through the
discovery of true love with Fallon can he finally accept
both the actions of his father and himself. Who the villain is, is fairly easy to figure out. However
between dealing with escaping from the brothel and figuring
out what the enemy is trying to do, R Garland Gray has
written an action oriented story. Combining this with her
ability to write romantic and sexual tension, REDEMPTION is
a very enjoyable story that I highly recommend.
Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted February 18, 2006
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