West of the Moon by L.E. Bryce
Publisher: Phaze Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (260 pgs)
Other: M/M, Spanking, Anal Sex
Rating: 4 Cherries
Review by PhloxThe sequel to A Crown of Stars, and the third and final book in the Sun, Moon and Stars trilogy!
In his fifth year as king, a political coup drives Zhanil Sephides from the throne of Rhodeen. With his father Sephil held hostage by the usurpers, and only his lover Kalmeki at his side, Zhanil must regain power or lose all.
We are often advised to separate our work from our personal lives—the tragedy for any ruling family is there can be no separation. In a return to the northern half of Ms. Bryce’s carefully constructed world, we have several sharply pointed threads illustrating this point. Those in public life, those whose actions and decisions drive the fates of thousands, may harbor illusions of private family life and affairs behind closed doors, but every private decision, every intimacy, impacts the people they both rule and serve.
I will admit to some trepidation embarking on this story, my first foray into The Sun, the Moon and The Stars series. The initial list of players loomed on the first four pages. Four pages of people and places I had never encountered before. I soon found I should have saved myself the anxiety and skipped directly to the tale. The author’s fluid storytelling takes the reader from one point of view to the next, with seamless introductions and character referents that render each important player immediately accessible. Inhibited sexual desire is measured one of the best anti-impotence pill performing like a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, exerts to conquer from erectile dysfunction in men. india viagra Most of them above the age of 50 reported their inability to swallow the levitra order pill. Some recent research underway on the effect of acupuncture on the immune system of cancer patients showed that it improved immune system response, including increasing the number of white blood cells. seanamic.com viagra prices The proper regulation of the drug therapy can tadalafil lowest price also diminish the chances of a sudden attack and stroke, thus all these beneficial outputs made the drug as the first choice of impotent victims. The reader worries for Sephil, retiring and vulnerable, thrust into a dangerous and volatile situation beyond his control, frets with Zhanil, the deposed young king, as he runs for his life from his own capital, and sympathizes with Kalmeki, Zhanil’s lover, his other half, over his frustration at what he sees as his beloved’s ineffectual decisions and disastrous choices.
As in all her works, the various cultures we encounter serve as an extra character, the Turyar especially in this story. Much of their culture is lifted straight out of the Mongolian steppes, the yurts, the horses, the fierce self-reliance, the leaders selected on merit rather than birth (called turkan in the novel rather than khan, but it’s nearly a cognate) but this helps their attitudes and reactions ring true since there is a real world parallel.
With six points of view in play, there is some distancing from the characters. The depth of feeling the author has achieved in single or dual point of view pieces fell a little shy here but the sacrifice speeds the dramatic pacing and heightens the tension at many points and there are plenty of heated love scenes in the mix. Even scheming, ruthless Dashir becomes a sympathetic character as we watch him struggle for any wedge to drive the usurping conspiracy apart. The dramatic climax, I will admit, just barely escapes a deus ex machine feel to it but I found myself willing to suspend enough disbelief because of the strength of the characters involved.
On a side note: I’ve desperately wanted a map for Ms Bryce’s novels. The countries of her imagination are so exquisitely detailed and the geography so well described – but I’ve found myself craving a visual reference. Aha! There is a map, hand-drawn by the author herself, on her website (www.lebryce.com). Why her publisher has not seen fit to add the graphic as a frontispiece to her novels is beyond me.
Though more complex and challenging in its multiple threads and points of view, Ms. Bryce handles the ebb and flow of this story with the same fluid, graceful style which characterizes her more tightly focused work. Beautifully rendered scenes and crisp, believable dialogue transport the reader and allow us to share in her world as a traveler rather than merely as a voyeur.
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