"A well-crafted fantasy story"
Once upon a time, there was a young elf prince named
Stefan, whose mother loved him very much. Unfortunately,
she was killed in a terrible attack to which he was a
witness and he was left alone, friendless, clutching an
amulet that rendered him invisible so long as he kept it in
his hand. Many years later, crippled through an incident where he
saved the life of his master, Prince Roland, Stefan has
lost all memory of who he is or what he was. All he knows
is that he is bound through loyalty to Roland, who seeks
pleasure and adventure over the mundane tasks of learning
to run the kingdom he will inherit. When the opportunity to
find a little excitement occurs, through a trip downriver
with a merchant raft, Roland jumps at the chance, making
secret plans of his own to abandon the party.
Unfortunately, spies have learned of the prince's
activities and seek to seize him for their own purposes.
Only Stefan and Collyn Silverbrook, second-in-command of
the merchant's raft can save the young prince from the
bandits that attack them once they are on the river. Fortunately, while Stefan is hurt, Roland and Collyn do
manage to get the three of them away to safety. Roland
knows that his father will worry about him once he hears of
the raft's destruction and leaves the injured Stefan behind
while he takes a shortcut home through a forbidden forest.
There he meets the elves who give the forest its
reputation, their king -- and their princess! Stefan, of
course, follows him, only to discover that these are his
family and Roland now finds his faithful servant is as much
royalty as he is. Meanwhile, Lord Norfulk, who was
responsible for Stefan's mother's death and the attack on
the river raft, sits in his castle and plans his next evil
deed. From their adventures the two princes learn much of the
need for steadfastness and for taking responsibility for
your actions. While a sweet romance, mostly due to the ages
of the principle characters, when these young men meet the
ladies of their future, it is clear that love will be
coming...if only in the next book. The Blood that Binds is a well-crafted fantasy story, rich
in detail and characterization. I enjoyed the adventure,
and the care that was taken in creating the many people,
and the world that they lived in.
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Posted September 24, 2002
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The slumbering camp exploded into chaos as eerie spine-
shivering cries ripped the night asunder. Terrified, the
boy jerked upright, heart thundering in his ears as his
gaze skittered about wildly. Disoriented at being yanked
from a sound sleep, the prince clambered to his feet,
calling fearfully for his mother. There was no answer.
As the young elven prince, Steavil, watches in horror, his
mother is slain by the evil Norfulk Roderickson. Fleeing
for his life, he strikes his head and is knocked
unconscious.
Cut off from everything and everyone, Steavil's life takes
a drastic shift. He is found by the king of a neighboring
realm and raised, as Stefan, to be the page of its prince,
Roland. Although he remembers nothing before the rescue,
Stefan knows something is missing in his life, and he
longs
for the freedom he once knew.
When Roland convinces the king to let them travel on a
routine trading expedition and their raft is attacked and
burned, Stefan experiences flashes of disquieting déjà vu
as the events swirl about him.
When Prince Roland resolves to return home alone, Stefan
watches from the trees as the prince is captured by the
legendary elves. Will Stefan be able to rescue the prince?
Will he remember his own past?
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