Emissary by Thomas Locke (Legends of the Realm #1)

O.k. I have read several of Bunn's books. Since we are allowed to know that Locke is Bunn - I have to say this is the BEST book of his I have read thus far.

Hyam's mother is dying. Her request.... find your father and tell him I'm gone. Ouch. Just ouch, but this gives Hyam a mission, a quest. His dad left a long time ago. He went to live where they keep people who have wizardry and magic gifts. Three Valley's Long Hall (great name), and he use to live there. He didn't like it though and now, he is back.

It seems that his Dad has passed four years ago, and now things get crazy for Hyam. His Father, isn't his father after all. Ok then. Another whammy. Mom, isn't his Mother!! If he wants to know who he is, he has to seek out Trace, a mage who is suppose to have the answers to his past, and his future. He's about to find out about power, war, good, evil, make some friends and start on his calling. Romance, action, adventure - it is all packed in here.

Some people I have noticed are upset that they didn't feel this book pushed enough Christian views. I didn't feel that way, but I read into things deeper than many people and I know that in a trilogy there is plenty of room for things to change in the next books.

Carol :)

About the Book:

With his twenty-first birthday, Hyam begins a journey that will lead him to his destiny--or his doom.

Hyam has always shown a remarkable ability to master languages, even those left unspoken for a thousand years. But now the shadow of suspicion that was cast upon him as a child prodigy at Long Hall is lengthening, and he must keep his identity hidden--or face annihilation.

As Hyam's mother slips toward death, she implores him to return to Long Hall before he settles down to farm his land. This journey born from duty becomes an impassioned quest for the truth. War is coming swiftly, and Hyam must rely upon his newfound powers and the friends he meets along the way in order to unravel the puzzling past and ensure that he--and the realm--will have a future.

In a world where magic has been outlawed for centuries, one young man discovers that he possesses powers beyond his wildest dreams.

But he does not realize how pivotal this gift will be in the days to come.

Except for the healing arts, magicking is a punishable offense in the realm. The only places it is still practiced are the Long Halls scattered throughout the land--isolated haunts of wizards called mages and their long-suffering students.

But hidden rivers of power course deep beneath the earth, and not everyone has obeyed the edict banning magic. Vixens lie in wait on the Galwyn road. A mysterious race of telepaths comes and goes invisibly. It is even rumored that Elves still hide among the wizened trees. And somewhere beyond the badlands, a growing menace threatens the hard-won peace of the realm.

This young man could stem the ominous tide . . . but only by turning away from everyone and everything he has ever known. And facing dangers he cannot fathom.



MORE about the book:
Hyam is a likeable lad who will make a fine farmer someday. But he carries a burden few can fathom. As his mother slips toward death, she implores him to return to Long Hall, where he spent five years as an apprentice. It was there that Hyam's extraordinary capacity for mastering languages came to light--and soon cast him into the shadows of suspicion. How could any human learn the forbidden tongues with such ease? When Hyam dares to seek out the Mistress of the Sorceries, her revelation tears his world asunder.

He has no choice but to set out on the foreboding path--which beckons him to either his destiny or his doom. An encounter with an enchanting stranger reminds him that he is part hero and part captive. As Hyam struggles to interpret the omens and symbols, he is swept up by a great current of possibilities--and dangers. 

With lyrical prose that unveils a richly imaginative world, Thomas Locke takes readers on a journey into the Realm. There he invites them to awaken their sense of wonder. This cracking adventure moves like a contemporary thriller but harkens back to the enduring genre of classic fantasy.

About the Author:
Thomas Locke is a pseudonym for Davis Bunn, the award-winning novelist with total worldwide sales of seven million copies. His work has been published in twenty languages, and critical acclaim includes four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Davis divides his time between Oxford and Florida and holds a lifelong passion for speculative stories. Davis's screenplay adaptation of Emissary is currently under development as a feature film with a British production company. Learn more at www.davisbunn.com.

My book came from Revell in exchange for my honest review and nothing more.