As i continued in my exploration of the sff genre, i stumbled across cephraels hand, which at the very least promised great cover art. See more ideas about character inspiration, male face and how to look better. Cephraels hand official author website of melissa mcphail. Prince ean val lorian is the last heir to the eagle throne in the dannym. It had moments of intense action and interest interspersed by lulls that seemed to drag on forever and it was difficult to listen to while working. Rezkin is an elite warrior who aims to restore order in ashai after caydeans attack on the kings tournament transformed former allies and trading partners into enemies. Shes the mother of twin girls who think boys in books are just better, and the adoptive mother to four very large cats who basically rule the roost. A pattern of shadow and light, book 2 the shirtmaking workbook.
The story isnt bad, just overly familiar, with far too many ideas i can trace a straight line back to wheel of time. A pattern of shadow and light, book 1 the dagger of adendigaeth. The world of independent publishing back then would be hardly recognizable to those entering it now. Your debut novel, cephraels hand was the winner of the written. I came across this recommendation in audible and it caught my attention, also this seems like a finished series so i dont have to wait for sequels.
In my analysis style, i do not simply read, i make notation in another file as i go along, including specifics for each character. Each character is likable and interesting, and each plot thread is connected to all the othersand thus actually matters. Mcphails love of writing and fantasy came from a childhood surrounded by music that blossomed into a passion for all art forms. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Ive never read cephraels hand, so i cant help you there. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cephraels hand. However, patience does pay off because the plots are all part of the same story and they begin to converge as the story progresses. Both of those are older but excellent and dont get enough love these days. Melissa mcphail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid fantasy reader. A selfpublished epic fantasy story thats got a bunch of interwoven plot threads, a well developed world with an interesting history, a large cast of characters, and a magic system that will.
A pattern of shadow and light, book 1 unabridged 2016 the dagger of adendigaeth. And within the pattern of the realm of alorin, three strands must cross. A pattern of shadow and light, book 4 unabridged 2017 the sixth strand. Cephraels hand is a book containing many stories and readers could find themselves getting discouraged early on because of the multiple plots. One man holds the secret to reverting this decline. Cephraels hand might hit the spot, but the writing suffers heavily from telling and not showing. Please enjoy this interview with melissa mcphail, author of the spellbinding epic fantasy, cephraels hand.
Ive only read this first of her books, but i think melissa mcphail will prove to deserve a place among the greats. At first, the plenty of complex characters may be overwhelming. After listening to the book for 5 hours i was unable to immerse myself in the world and was left with the distinct impression. Book 1 of 5 in the a pattern of shadow and light series. For me, cephraels hand was a tougher read than other indie books.
Our story is set in the mythical realm of alorin, three centuries after a massive war which almost wiped out an entire race called the adepts. As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by novel publicity, the price of the cephraels hand ebook edition is just 99 cents this week. Cephraels hand is the first novel in the awardwinning series a pattern of shadow and light. Im looking forward to seeing what book 2 does to these characters. However, cephraels hand had so much going on in it, that even after finishing it, i find it difficult to sum the book up in a few sentences to give potential readers a good synopsis of the story.
A pattern of shadow and light, book 1 unabridged melissa mcphail. Unlike jordans epic series, however, cephraels hand which i admit i am still about 5 hours from finishing has not panned out into anything beyond clumsy exposition and a lot of characters with very few distinct personality traits beyond royal, servant, female, etc. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. If you started the series on a different ereader, please contact the author for steps on how to get the ebooks in your preferred format. This is my first introduction to melissa mcphails writing. But for large worlds with epic stories, i would try michelle wests sun sword series. Sep 26, 2019 everyone sees characters differently, but these images capture enough of a characters expression or look that its close to how i see them in my mind. The awardwinning epic fantasy from melissa mcphail.
I began my publishing journey in 2010 when cephraels hand first found its way into print with a handdrawn map and a cover i created in photoshop. I decided to go with the audio format on this occasion, simply because its a long book and nick podehl is a consistently great narrator, particularly for books with larger casts. Yet the story isnt told from his viewpoint but from the viewpoint of those who have fallen beneath his shadow, from those who vilify him as a traitor, and those who. Novels books official author website of melissa mcphail. Top 10 scifi space opera book series inspired by star wars. The books particular way of detail gave the story an extra something that you dont find in every book. Often when buying books on amazon you take a chance that anything can be poorly written, or at least poorly edited with mistakes everywhere, and the writing can be. A pattern of shadow and light, book 3 unabridged 2016 kingdom blades. The story does a great job with action and suspense. Cephraels hand is a big book that takes place in big world, but it isnt overwhelming like certain other fantasy doorstoppers. A pattern of shadow and light audiobooks listen to the. The action scenes are well spaced throughout the story, with several of them occurring in the final few hours, giving us a nice crescendo of adventure, danger, and reveals.
I was in the desert then the mountains and meeting so many different amazing characters and creatures. But it was her studies at the delphian school in oregon that truly. She wrote a preface reminiscent of steven eriksons noteworthy one for the malazan book of the fallen, and cephraels hand entirely lived up to its promise though it was not the daunting read she warned against. Cephraels hand, book one in the series, was author melissa mcphails debut novel, and she continues to work on a pattern of shadow and light. A pattern of shadow and light, book 2 unabridged 2016 paths of alir. Cephraels hand by melissa mcphail, paperback barnes. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Cephraels hand interview with author melissa mcphail. All things are composed of patterns and within the pattern of the realm of alorin, three strands must cross. Cephraels hand was a very good book, but didnt quite reach great status, and certainly not fantastic status.