Copyright 2006 - 2007 Susan Sleeman
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Auralia's Colors Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Jeffrey Overstreet / Waterbrook Reviewed by Karri ComptonIn the joy and freedom and innocence portrayed in the writing comes the originality.I read a plethora of books. Some are fantastic. Some are mediocre. But most of them are unoriginal, either because they vaguely resemble a previously written work, or the plot is partially predictable. I won't say that Auralia's Colors is entirely unpredictable; however, the joy comes in soaking in every chapter, not in guessing the ending. In the joy and freedom and innocence portrayed in the writing comes the originality. Overstreet has created a feudal-type world in which the kingdom of House Abascar is spotlighted. The king's former wife (who ran away years ago and is presumed dead) forbade the commoners use of bright colors, to the detriment of all. Abascar has forgotten who it is and what it should become. And the only ones who seem to remember life before the forgetting are the Gatherers who have been banished from inside Abascar's walls. They may be mistreated and overworked, but they have a young friend and ally who has brought meaning back to their lives. Her name is Auralia. She doesn't know why she is named thus, or where she came from, but she knows where she is going and what she is supposed to do. She takes organic material from the world: fur from large cats, remnants of leaves and grass, flowers, natural dye and weaves them into gifts for her friends. She and her beautiful trinkets and garments are beloved by the Gatherers. But they cannot tame her or make her stay in one place too long. She is ruled by no one. On a day when Gatherers are able to appeal their banishment and gain access to the kingdom once more, Auralia joins the throng donned with her magnificent hand-woven cape of color. What will happen when she confronts the king and bedlam ensues on account of her? Will the kingdom welcome colors within its walls again or will someone pay the price for daring to break the law? Again, I think this is a very unique novel, one from which most readers can find enjoyment and wonder. Don't be surprised if you come away with questions and wonderings you haven't pondered in a while. Auralia's Colors tends to do that. I eagerly await the next book in The Red Strand series, Cyndere's Midnight. |
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About Karri Compton View this review and more at: www.kcreviews.blogspot.com |
Jeffrey Overstreet lives in two worlds. By day, he writes about movies at LookingCloser.org and in notable publications like Christianity Today, Paste, and Image Journal. His adventures in cinema are chronicled in his book Through a Screen Darkly. By night, he composes new stories found in fictional worlds of his own. Living in Shoreline, Washington, with his wife, Anne, a poet, he is a senior staff writer for Response Magazine at Seattle Pacific University. Auralia's Colors is his first novel.
Books By Jeffrey
| Auralia's
Colors, The Auralia Thread Series #1 Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Jeffrey Overstreet / Waterbrook Press 
A stunning new fantasy for all ages! Raised by thieves who found her as an abandoned child in the woods, Auralia is growing up in an exiled community of convicted criminals. When she develops an extraordinary---and forbidden---talent for transforming simple things into amazing manifestations of color, will it free her . . . or lead to disaster? 336 pages, softcover from Waterbrook. |
| Cyndere's
Midnight: A Novel Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Jeffrey Overstreet / WaterBrook Press In Cyndere's Midnight, the power of Auralia's colors brings together a bloodthirsty beastman and a compassionate widow in a most unlikely relationship. Jordam is one of four ferocious brothers from the clan of cursed "beastmen." But he is unique -- the glory of Auralia's colors,revealed in the book by the same title, has enchanted him, slowing his vicious appetite and awakening his conscience. When Jordam finds a woman weeping in the woods, his healing continues. Beside a mysterious well, seemingly the source of some of Auralia's colors, this beast and beauty form a cautious bond. Cyndere, heiress to one of the great houses, has always hoped to help the violent Cent Regus beastmen. To honor her husband, who shared that hope, she risks her life and reputation to reach out to Jordam. Jordam, too, will be tested. He will either be overcome by the dark impulse of the "beastmen curse", or he will stand against his brothers to defend House Abascar's survivors from a deadly assault. The novel picks up where Auralia's Colors left off and reveals more of the history and culture of the entire Expanse, a land which branched off into four kingdoms centuries before. |
Christian Suspense
To Die For
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