Tuesday, January 10, 2017

BOOK REVIEW: The Courage of Ansgar (A Windflower Saga Novella) By Aleksandra Layland



In a time not now and in a world not of our own... Kerys of Ansgar is a young woman with a lot on her mind. She's in her last year of studies at University, and it's exam preparation week. She's VERY concerned about where she'll go and what she'll do, once she's finished at school. Just ask her roommates, Emilia and Ronny; or her Uncle John and Aunt Johanna, who raised her after she was orphaned as a child. But one thing that is definitely NOT on her mind is spending this week at the Royal Palace along with three other young women of ducal rank, being introduced to the new King of Kimbria, and competing for his hand in marriage. She enjoys riding her tall mare at a fast pace, and she's a good sprinter, but this is one race she has no interest in running. No. Let it go to one of the others. The last thing she wants to do this week is to marry a stranger and become the Queen Consort of Kimbria. This novella is related to the third part of the Windflower Saga trilogy, "Far Haven: A Quest for Certitude. A Fight for Justice." which follows the lives and adventures of some of the members of the Ansgar family of Kimbria.


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REVIEW

The Saga is not finished...The Windflower Trilogy is over, but the saga is not complete as we get delivered COURAGE OF ANSGAR. Another branch off novella from the third book in the trilogy Far Haven: A Quest for Certitude. A Fight for Justice we learn more of a briefly mention character from Far Haven the nameless Ansgar Queen Consort who had done heroics during the time of Kimbria’s only war. In COURAGE OF ANSGAR, we learn her name and the story of how she did just that. Having read the previous books I really loved how we followed through not only the generations of this prestigious fictional family line but in the world, they lived in too.  Their world changes evolve with them as well. This is highly noticeable in COURAGE OF ANSGAR as television, radios, and taxis are mentioned among the castles,  Kingdom’s, servants, and horses. It is also interesting that Layland chose to have a side story about such a briefly mentioned character who was just briefly mentioned in conversation as Ansgar Queen Consort. After reading however you see the added value her story has to this epic saga of love, war, and peace.

COURAGE OF ANSGAR throws us back in a time that is not our own into a fantasy political adventure. Once thought friendly forces reveal their destructive true intentions for a war that can not be stopped. The heroics of one woman whom pretty much helps save the ducal line to rise up and fight against this evil threat amidst love, marriage and baby making.









ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Aleksandra Layland is a retired civil engineer and a federal civil servant who worked primarily for the United States Air Force as a senior installation engineering manager responsible for buildings, airfields, infrastructure, fire protection, and emergency preparedness. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Western Caroline Islands where she helped build school classrooms and cafeterias, low-income housing, and simple village water distribution systems. Her other interests include arts and crafts, family genealogy, religion, and spirituality, fostering peace in the world, and enjoying retirement with family and friends.












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