Oath Of The Brotherhood-C. E. Laureano

Oath Of The Brotherhood C. E. Laureano Think/NavPress/Tyndale, Apr 18 2014, $14.99 ISBN: 9781612915876 King Galbreath of Tigh wanted nothing to do with his heir so ordered Lord Labrhas to raise his son. Labhras sired the lad as if Conor was his biological offspring training him to be a scholar. However after nine years of no contact, Galbreath demands his seventeen year old child see him at his fortress Glenmallaig. The monarch is disgusted to learn Conor’s time was wasted on worthless languages and history instead of sword fighting, and proclaims Conor is not his son. Diarmuid the Druid tells the distraught teen when he is ready come to him for answers. Fearing an invasion from the Sofarenden seafarers of the Northern Isles crossing the Amantine Sea, Galbreath wants to seal an alliance with his equally threatened Isle of Saire neighbor to the east Faolin; so he exiles his worthless son as a hostage to King Calhoun as a sign of good faith. At Calhoun’s court in Lisdara, Conor and the monarch’s sister Aine fall in love. While he is away receiving special training, war breaks out threatening the four nations on the Isle of Saire. The first Song of Seare coming of age fantasy is a fabulous saga because the Laureano world seems genuine and the lead couple a brave wonderful duo. The storyline starts slow as terms and names are introduced making the glossary a reader’s best friend but also providing a sense of a different setting. Once the audience adjusts to the vernacular, readers will appreciate Conor as a scholar warrior defending his faith and people, and Aine leading her nation in an insurgency against the evil who took over the kingdom. Harriet Klausner