"Fantastic historical fictional fantasy"
In 1428 Christian time, Augustinian monk Jean Pasquerel, a
follower of the Old Religion of Merlin, knows that the
young peasant Jehanne of Lorraine is the mythical La
Pucelle. This chosen one will break the Templar Knight
curse that cripples France. Meanwhile Jehanne persuades
her loyal follower Lord Gilles de Rais, who sees her as
his soul mate and salvation from a life of abuse and sin,
to help her crown Charles the Dauphin as King of France. Jehanne obtains loyal military help and with Gilles at her
side leads a force to try to lift the siege at Orleans, a
needed step on the way to placing the Dauphin on the
throne. She leads her men into battle while Jann provides
the witchcraft. Still Gilles has doubts not about the
skills of Jehanne or Jann, but that the Dauphin will prove
not strong enough to complete the final magical step that
requires a sacrifice of major magnitude, which can only be
the monarch himself or some equivalent, of which he knows
of none other. Adding Merlinian sorcery into a vivid accurate historical
portrayal of troubled fifteenth century France, Ann
Chamberlin provides a fantastic historical fictional
fantasy. Jehanne is wonderful as she matures from her
youthful naiveté (see THE MERLIN OF ST. GILLES' WELL and
THE MERLIN OF THE OAK WOOD) yet contains that charismatic
exuberance that brings her loyal followers. Gilles has
mellowed mostly because of his one true love. Fans of the
series will devour the third tale while looking forward to
the continuing saga of Joan of Arc meets Camelot in France. Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 3, 2005
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 25, 2007
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