Gryphon King

The Hope of a Thousand Years, Book 2 - a 'Wolf's Cub' Sequel

By: Mackay Wood

Narrated by: Cameron Beierle

A land beset by magic.

In the High Ages, all lands were one until sorcery and hatred ripped them apart. Athgar, last bastion of that fallen civilization, has been brought to the edge of destruction, drained of men and hope in a terrible war caused by a wizard's hunger for vengeance.

A young and untried king.

In his first tumultuous year of a kingship he never wanted, young Herric must prove his right to hold the High Seat of Athgar. With his foreign bride, witch-born Elaine, Herric faces rebellion and overcoming centuries of hatred to find a lasting peace.

A thousand-year-old prophecy.

As enemies gather, Herric and Elaine learn how much harder it is to forge a peace than wage war, especially as the sinister implications of an age-old prophecy - that the High Kings' last heir will unite man and mages, or lead all peoples into darkness - begins to affect Herric directly, and all his choices can lead to doom. Can courage, honor - and love - possibly prevail?

This is the stirring sequel to Wolf's Cub.

©2012 Books In Motion (P)2012 Books In Motion

Worthy successor! Very engaging epic!

This book starts off where the first one ends. This book focuses more on courtly intrigue / politics of dealing with mages and back stabbing lords.

Unlike a lot of other epic fantasies, this book does not slow down and burden reader with too much detail about the surroundings. There is enough for user to get a good feel for what is going on yet story moves along at a quick pace. Decisions are being made, and consequences of those decisions coming forth in short order.

The policies of making a peace, I found, as entertaining as the battle focused first book. Struggle to forge a peace with mages turned out to be challenge, if you ever wonder how things would unfold if a nation of mages were to be your mortal enemy then this is the book for you.

Again, there is no complacency from the king, yet kingdom is in a struggle for its survival. The magic is there, but it subtle and evil. I really enjoyed how it was used.

This book concludes the story, and it is only the second book; however, author did a great job flushing out characters to a point a reader would really care for them. The only gripe about the book is that it is very serious, and there is not much levity.

Narrator did a great job here again, and I have become a fan of Mackay Wood that I will be impatiently waiting for his next book

Excellent

Wish there were more books in this series. Narrator was fantastic. The only complaint the ending seemed rushed and need more of a epilogue