The Light of Eidon - Book Review

The Light of Eidon, by Karen Hancock. 2003. 432 p.

I heard of this book through some of my fellow bloggers (sorry, I don't remember exactly who.) There seemed to be a general agreement that this book, and others in the series, are the cream of the crop when it comes to contemporary CBA (ie, American evangelical) fantasy.

LoE is set in a fantasy world that's loosely modelled on Europe and Africa, with monsters and magic thrown in. It concerns the adventures of a young man named Abramm, also known as Eldrin (his monastic/'baptismal' name), as well as those of his twin sister, Carissa. They're of the house of Kalladorne, the royalty of the northern kingdom of Kiriath.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot. One thing I appreciated about this book is that it kept me guessing, and I don't want to spoil that for potential readers. For the first third of the book I thought Hancock was one of those authors who telegraphs her plot twists miles in advance - but then she pulled the rug out from under me. And then she did it again, and again. The twists I expected were, pleasantly, not the twists I got. This pleasure might have been even greater, were it not for the publisher's blurb on the back of the book. For some inexplicable reason it gives away the major plot points. I recommend you skip it.

My other gripe with the publisher is this: the cover makes it look more like a cheesy romance novel than anything. My wife picked it up at the library for me and said she was somewhat embarrassed to do so. Later she asked "Is the story better than the cover?"

Fortunately, it is. Hancock is a good descriptive writer, and brings the landscapes and backdrops to vivid life. The action is exciting, and leads us to some exotic and interesting locales. And as I've mentioned, it's pretty suspenseful.

The dialogue struck me as about average for fantasy novels in general - the characters don't always sound real people so much as they sound like, well, characters in a fantasy novel! When they do talk like real people, they sometimes sound like modern Americans. But this is a minor quibble.

The main characters are drawn well and we get to see their reasonably convincing inner lives, along with some insight into human failings. I particularly liked the way Carissa's cynicism and hard-headedness protect her but also lead her astray. The minor characters tend to be more two-dimensional. One thing that rang false for me was this: one of the main characters falls madly in love with someone, but suffers in silence and says nothing. Suddenly one day the object of affection declares their secret, undying love! It all seemed rather pat, as we're shown almost nothing of their developing relationship over a period of years.

The spiritual aspects of this book were fairly direct. I liked some elements, particularly the more allegorical ones - flames, stones, heraldry, the rhu'ema, Sheleft'Ai, Eidon, and the debilitating disease which some characters display. I appreciated the struggles with faith and doubt. But I felt the book faltered when things got literal - one minute the characters are riding off on a quest, the next they're debating the technicalities of substitionary atonement doctrine. The correct religion, which the characters need in their lives, is very obviously contemporary evangelical Christianity. This may be perfectly fine for evangelical readers, but I felt these sections grated with the more symbolic and fantastic elements in the book. Non-Christians will likely feel preached at. Catholic readers may experience some irritation, as there are a few thinly-concealed barbs aimed at the failings of the insititutional church, the Pope, and 'works salvation.' (I know, Catholics don't believe in 'works salvation,' but there's a perception that they do.)

However, overall it's worth reading. I'm certainly planning on reading the next book in the "Legends of the Guardian-King" series. I can't quite figure out where the story's going to go next...

3 out of 5.

[PS: I forgot to mention the biblical parallels that are woven in, most notably the story of Joseph.]