"Jeanine Berry has created a wonderful fantasy world ..."
Aren is the heir of House Lohenrin of Chitan. He's finally
old enough to go out on his father's fleet of ships. His
father has him memorize all fifty-seven of the stars in
his "secret sky". As long as Aren knows the stars, he can
never become lost. Instead of sailing the seas, Aren has
always dreamed of sailing the skies. While out on his father's ships, Aren manifests the khi
power by saving the life of a young woman. Since Aren has
the khi power, he gets to go to the Temple of the Sky Gods
to study. When he finally manages to control his power,
he's taken under the wing of one of the head priests and
shown the treasure of the Temple, the Heart Stone. He's not
allowed to touch the Stone, but is told to study it. Time passes and Aren becomes one of the best Healers. He
has married the young woman whose life he saved and they
have one son. He ends up losing his wife to a freak
accident involving a horse. He still has his son and his
home in the city of Ruthher. Then disaster strikes and a
plague hits the city. The Healers cannot save the victims
of the plague. All they can manage is to make the victims
more comfortable till their passing. When Aren's son
succumbs to the plague, he loses all faith in the Sky Gods. What will Aren do? How will he cope with this latest loss?
And what of the Sky Gods? Why have been silent for so long?
Why do they not help their people when they are needed
most? Jeanine Berry has created a wonderful fantasy world on
Gaea. THE SECRET SKY is a highly complex story of a world
very different from our own. The times are much simpler and
Gods are spoken to and answer prayers. The world building
in this story is fantastic. We learn everything about Gaea
we need to know, but the story doesn't bog down in details.
Aren Lohenrin is the main focus of this story. We watch him
change from child to man, sailor to priest, and then
husband and father to widower. This story is all about
choices, and how one choice can change an entire society.
This is one fantasy you don't want to miss. Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted February 24, 2004
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted November 19, 2006
|
