The Warrior Revealed
The World of Evendaar Book Four
The Warrior Revealed is a fantasy quest that entertains and ensnares in equal measure.
In A. R. Winterstaar’s heartfelt and entertaining fantasy adventure, The Warrior Revealed, Queen Adelena is on a quest to save her daughter’s life; it will take her to the edge of the world.
Queen Adelena of Unisia is part demon and part human. Her daughter, Stella, is ill and dying. Together with the loyal men of the Queen’s Guard, Adelena travels through a portal that places her half a world away from her children and her throne. Meanwhile, at the royal palace, her other two children are placed under the guardianship of Prince Rainere Marchant, Adelena’s controversial lover. Adelena needs to find the dragon and the cure and return home before her enemies in the palace make their move against her and her family.
This is the fourth installment in The World of Evendaar series, and its story begins in the middle of the adventure. It takes the first few chapters to catch on as to what’s happening; the first chapter reads like a prologue that isn’t explained until the final third of the book, and the next two chapters consist of characters playing catch-up through dialogue.
Adelena originally comes from Earth. As an outsider to Unisia, she embodies the roles of the critical outsider as well as the insider who calls this world home. Consequently, the book deftly presents a world that is solid and detailed, revealing the problems of its societies without bias in either direction. On her quest, Adelena meets other cultures as well-developed as her own.
Adelena is an interesting, fleshed-out character. The book shows her flaws as well as her strengths. She is a gambler who takes risks to reach her goals, and does not always win. There is no contradiction between her role as a ruler and her role as a mother. Her relationship with Rainere is realistic; it is complex and complicated, loving and contentious, an intellectual sparring match as well as passionate and physical. Supporting characters are as multifaceted as Adelena. Character interactions are entertaining, and at times laugh-out-loud funny.
The book is a delight to read. The prose flows with warmth and humor, and the dialogue is dynamic; every word on the page counts toward forwarding the plot or developing the characters. Chapters alternate between plot lines, tying them together when the story takes place in locations separated by great distances. The main plot of the book never becomes predictable and is tied up at the end. At the same time, new complications are introduced and point forward to book five. The connection between the title of the book and the story is unclear, leaving unanswered the question of the warrior to be revealed.
The Warrior Revealed is a fantasy quest that entertains and ensnares in equal measure.
Reviewed by
Erika Harlitz Kern
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
