Runes of Sorcery (Runespell Trilogy) [Paperback]

This is another excellent book which gives a glimpse of the authors prodigous talent - later realised in the fourth book, 'The Lament Of Abalone".

Following on from the impressive debut, The Runes Of War, and the riveting second installment, The Lost Runes, the story flies headlong to a pulsating conclusion. Once again, the colour and descriptiveness of the writing is wonderful, making for easy suspension of disbelief and stunning mental imagery.

There is a continued natural flow to the development of the characters - the interaction of arrogant Hal, shy Casper and high priestess Brid is superb, with the ever-building complexities of a 3-way relationship dealt with very realistically.

The plot itself concludes skillfully, all the while enjoyable and refreshing as harsh choices and self preservation weigh down on the heroes much as the glacier on Keridwen.

A must-read book!

Nonetheless, the last hundred pages conclude rather dramatically, especially the episodes that occur on the Frosted Peaks, and do much to reestablish my faith that in future this author might well have much to offer. If able to apply the not inconsiderable level of descriptive strengths and dramatic action to a tighter plot development and greater depth of characterization, I have little doubt that this author could readily raise her storytelling efforts above the ordinary. Unfortunately, though catching glimpses of brilliance, overall the "Runespell Trilogy" rarely rises above the average, and then more often than not only with the richness of her descriptive imagery, which, without complexity and a more tightly focused plot, is not enough in itself to sustain the reader's complete interest. And, the final explication of the Runes' riddles seemed overwrought, riddled themselves and hardly open to the singular interpretation arrived upon.

Many were the times when reading this trilogy that I found myself exasperated and annoyed by its repetitive ploys and rehashed characterizations, as well as a slapdash approach to myth-making that seemed entirely out of place when compared to the loving attention the author directed towards the details of description. In the latter respect the only place she wavered was in providing a map that did not always geographically conform to the areas described, as with the locations of the Oldhart Forest and Bleham in book two, or, based upon the map, the impossibility of not previously passing through the Frosted Peaks on the journey from Laverna to Sequicornum in book three. A quibbling complaint, perhaps, but if you're going to take the trouble to provide a map, especially within the context 1,700 pages of relentless travels, one should probably make the effort to insure that the storyline does not stray in reference to its supporting document.

I see that Ms. Welch has written a new trilogy that is currently available in Britain. While I will not rush out to obtain it, I will nonetheless bear it in mind for a time when my reading has fallen upon leaner times. Who knows: with the writing talent the author has occasionally revealed in this series, her next trilogy might prove an unexpected gem?