Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – The Saga of the Everking
Author – David G. Johnson
Star rating - ★★★★★
Plot – unique, informative
Characters – a great as the trilogy

Movie Potential - ★★★★★
Ease of reading – very easy to read
Cover - great
Suitable Title - yes
Would I read it again – definitely

* I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW *

In all truth, I had a copy of this short for a long time, but could never find the time to read it. Other things kept getting in the way, so when the author told me the omnibus was about to be released and asked if I could provide a review, I jumped at the chance to finally read it, knowing that it would help him, too.

It's been a while between my reading of the trilogy and this short story, but that hasn't dampened my enjoyment of it. In fact, The Saga of the Everking has little snippets of things that relate to the events and people in the trilogy and has spiked my need to re-read it again.

In this short, we're told the story of the Everking and how he united all the Qarahni people under one clan, until one mistaken decision led to his downfall and the separation of the individual clans. Reading this short took me straight back into the Chadash world. I was instantly transported back to familiar landscapes and people, despite the length of time it's been between reading the trilogy and this short. There's no disconnect between the two, though the stories only vaguely relate to each other.

In truth, this story made me miss the trilogy and the characters there. The author has such an amazing gift for storytelling that this world and these locations mentioned in The Saga of the Everking – though so different from what we as readers as used to – become familiar and crystal clear with his writing.

As for the story, I loved revisiting Goldain, who is one of the more mysterious characters of the trilogy, because of his unusual aptitude for both knowledge and battle. This story explains his past and how he became the way he is in the trilogy, while delivering a new story about new characters, at the very same time.

The use of The Grand Lorefather, Esa, as the catalyst for the story – a storyteller in himself – was genius. It let us settle into the familiar world of the Clans and reconnect with Goldain, before we were introduced to new characters. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how that was going to go, because I tent to find it hard to bond with characters in a short story. But, this was done brilliantly. We were introduced to the new characters through Esa and Goldain's conversations, then dipped into their world, through a flashback that took us way back in Chadash time. Only when the story of the Everking was complete and understanding dawned as to why his story was so important, did we return to Esa and Goldain, for another glimpse of the impact the story had on these characters.

Overall, another genius piece of writing from someone who has already become a favourite author of mine and an instant buy. If you've read the Chadash Chronicles, then read this. If not, then buy the omnibus and read ALL of it. You won't be disappointed.