Among the best... (Aurian - Maggie Furey)

Member Name: emmalg

Product:	Aurian - Maggie Furey
Date:	17/05/01 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Really really well written

Disadvantages: Sad in places

This book is amazing! It definitely has to be among the best books I have read in ages (saying that though, I do read loads!). It is the first in The Aretefacts Of Power quartet comprising of Aurian, Harp of Winds, The Sword of Flame and Dhiammara.

The book is all about Aurian, a young mage. Aurian goes to study magic in a city quite far from her home after a near fatal accident. The arrogance of the magefolk in the city causes the mortals there to suffer, but so long as the magefolk are content, they will not lift a finger to help.

When Aurian is taken to the academy she is cared for by the mages and looks up to the Archmage, Miathan, as a father figure. What she is not aware of is the stuggle for power which is surrounding her in which she is a pawn and Miathan is the instigator. He hopes to bend the young impressionable mage to his will. Aurian befriends the mortals in the city, bringing the criticism of the other mages onto her and this accelerates the struggle for power.

There are legends of four artefacts of power which were lost following a war called the Cataclysm. One of these is found hidden under the Academy. The discovery and use of the magical weapon causes Aurian and many others to flee the city, she hopes to gather an army and goes in search of the other artefacts of power, the only things strong enough for her to try and save the city and its people. The clock is ticking though before she will be powerless to do anything.

Maggie Furey brings her characters to life by giving them strong personality traits so you begin to know the character well and you can understand their reactions in given circumstances.

Maggie Furey's writing is excellent, and in the first book (the only one I have read so far) the quality of the writing and the story make it very hard to put down. It is one of the few books where I have not found dull sections. The only parts I wished were over were just because I wa
nted to rush on and find out what else was happening!

I have just bought the sequel "Harp of Winds", so in a few weeks, you can expect me to write about that too!

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