CSFF April Blog Tour: Karen Hancock

Return of the Guardian King
Legends of the Guardian King Book Four
by Karen Hancock

Abramm Kalladorne is a king without throne or country. Traveling incognito through northern mountains under the assumed name Alaric, Abramm battles blizzards, fantasy demons, and doubt. Just to make things interesting, he leads a band of refugees complete with a few hand-wringing second-guessing nay-sayers and gossips.

Their destination? Fannath Rill, where Madeleine Abagail Clarice Donavan Kalladorne, Abramm's wife, hereafter referred to by her pet-name Maddie, has been waiting six months for his return. The rumor keeps reaching Abramm's, sorry, Alaric's ears of his own death. Will Maddie wait for him, or give in to gossip and marry the only man with enough military power to save the day? I guess we'll leave that to Eidon's Light—His will be done.

The tale that switchbacks like a mountain trail between Abramm and Maddie is part Donner Party, part Jewish Exile, and filled with courtly intrigue. I'm not going to ruin any surprises. And the book wasn't received until last week—so, in all honesty I didn't have time to finish it.

Hancock's a gifted storyteller whose rich description puts you in the midst of conflict. I love the names she chose for both geographical places and characters, and an occasional light peasant accent is a lovely detail of setting. Her work reminded me of C. S. Friedman's Black Sun Rising, and When True Night Falls but Christian. So when I learned that Karen Hancock's first four novels all won Christy Awards, I was not surprised.

Karen's other works are Arena, and the first three novels of her Legends of the Guardian King series: The Light of Eidon, The Shadow Within, and Shadow Over Kiriath.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0764227971
Karen Hancock's website: http://www.kmhancock.com/index.htm

Karen Hancock's blog: http://www.karenhancock.blogspot.com/

Visit other blog tour members to learn more about Karen Hancock's Return of the Guardian King:

Nissa Annakindt Wayne Thomas Batson Jim Black Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton
Frank Creed CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Janey DeMeo April Erwin Kameron M. Franklin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Rebecca Grabill Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Sharon Hinck Christopher Hopper Heather R. Hunt Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Lost Genre Guild Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium Rachel Marks Rebecca LuElla Miller Shannon McNear Caleb Newell Nicole Eve Nielsen John W. Otte Robin Parrish Rachelle Cheryl Russel Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder Mirtika Schultz James Somers Tsaba House Authors Steve Trower Speculative Faith Daniel I. Weaver