Knight of The Dove

By William A. Kooiker

Amaria Eversvale, the Knight of the Dove, was a proud soldier and icon of the Illidor army, but in avenging the brutal murder of her husband, she calls upon the dark gods. Her life has become a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978877764
• ISBN13: 9780978877767
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Kerlak Enterprises
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An Amazing Read

Like the other reviewers of this book, I too must conclude that this is an amazingly addicting book. The book starts with the tragic origin of baby Amaria, but instead of it being a single paragraph of tragedy, we are quickly filled in that this tragedy is one that has happened to several people, but Amaria is the first to come out of it alive. And instead of the usual "well as she grew..." information, we quickly jump 20 years ahead to see that baby Amaria has grown to become a woman of power as a Captain in the Illidor Army. But just as we see a couple of positives in still young Amaria's life, we witness the greatest tragedy of all, the death of her husband. But we are soon shown that Amaria is no mere woman, but one that can bring about the demise of her enemies with ease. Upon taking her revenge for her husband's death, Amaria wanders to the free city of Valgamin where she is quickly recruited on a secret mission to help rid certain evils from the city, however we quickly learn that this is more than meets the eye going on in Valgamin. Thus Amaria journeys to rid the city of evil, but in doing so unleashes a greater evil, causing the pained widow to begin a crusade of revenge that will leave her enemies drowning in their own blood. As I stated, this is a fantastic book, it's just the right length and there is no pointless journey's for the main character, Amaria, to go on. And just when you think you know what's going on, you get the sudden realization that all is not what it seems. Mr. Kooiker does a masterful job of describing the scenary and the bloody battles that Amaria wages on her foes. The action is almost non-stop and with plenty of suspense as to what will happen next. And best of all, even though there are several questions that are given and few that get answered completely, this book leaves enough energy to continue onward into other books. If you like to read fantasy stories, pick this one up, you will definetly not be disappointed.

Couldn't put it down!

It's rare that I come across a book that I'll finish in two days. This book was one of them. The momentum just continues to build as it moves along. It's fast paced, gripping, but easy to follow. The characters are extremely realistic (not cardboard cutouts and one-dimensional) and very easy to love/hate. The main character, Amaria, is extremely well developed! The author is talented; his writing is at times very dark, and at other times absolutely beautiful. Any fans of fiction (fantasy or not) will most-likely enjoy this one. I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed it.

Very interesting, gets better and better as it goes on

Knight of the Dove, by William A. Kooiker, is a fantasy novel set to follow up the short story "A Dove Before Dawn". The main character, Amaria Eversvale is a prodigal young knight with a troubled past (the plot of "A Dove Before Dawn") that haunts her in the present. The book is about her journey, inner and outer, to find redemption. The plot is handled well enough, and the story moves briskly without going too fast. I was happy to find that I was able to enjoy the book without having to double over for fear that I had missed something. This is not to say the the story is simplistic, but that it makes for an easy and satisfying read. The book started out a bit slow, in my opinion, but I believe it was for the better as the characters were fleshed out very nicely and the story grew more interesting as a whole. I found myself, near the end, turning the pages faster and faster as the plot grew ever thicker, though never overwhelming. Kooiker never drones on in his writing, but he's also never lacking description. I really did enjoy the way in which he described settings and characters, for he does it in a way that it remains interesting, but never reaches the level of "fluff". One thing I do have to say is that while I found a few of the characters a tad bit uninteresting near the beginning, they grew and latched onto me by the end in a way that really did make me care for them. Almost every character that Kooiker writes about is interesting in some way. His characters are very human, very few being paragons of virtue or bad to the bone villains. This is a quality I like very, very much in storytelling, and something I admired in this book. I do have a few minor criticisms about the book, however, none of which really detract from the reading experience very much. I did notice a lot of mis-spellings or mis-usages of certain words. They did not occur often, though they were noticeable, at least for me. Another thing I noticed was that the dialog felt out of place at times; characters would use complex words where only simple words might have been needed. It's a little hard to explain, but it only took away from the believability of the conversations slightly. Once again, minor criticisms, but I thought they were worth a mention. So, overall, this book is definitely a good read, and although I feel it's a little rocky in the beginning, it really is worth it to read it through to the end. If you like characters that are interesting and a plot that's interesting but never overwhelms, this is a definitely a book you should read.

Wonderful!

Knight of the Dove is a stand-alone volume by author William A. Kooiker. With it, Kooiker accomplishes a top-notch, beautifully written piece of fantasy fiction. To put it bluntly, I loved this novel. This is a strong tale with memorable characters and a fast-paced, captivating storyline. Kooiker writes wonderful prose, and is extremely descriptive. You can almost feel the bitter air of winter, or hear the hinges of the wheels on the wagon. However, he doesn't waste words, nor bog down the narrative with pointless, endless description. He paints a realistic picture in your mind, then steers the story in a progressive pattern. His style is very much accommodates the concept of intelligent writing that still keeps you turning pages quickly. The plot of Knight of the Dove is actually more of a "theme" . . . that being the internal dissection of the main character, Amaria Eversvale. She is an embittered, tormented solider who has a very mysterious quality about her that slowly reveals itself throughout the tale. Within the book, Amaria is presented with choices that play upon her indecisions, and her anger. The reader is truly given no sense of where the story is headed, or how it will end. While I won't give away any spoilers, I will say that I felt that the conclusion was excellent, perfectly fitting the mood and style of the book. This is a self-contained novel, and honestly, I can't recommend it enough. It's not the greatest fantasy book written by any means, but it's VERY good. Try it out!

Great Story

Knight of the Dove introduces the character of Amaria , an angst ridden widowed soldier. And then goes on to tell how she gets caught up in the schemes between the gods of corruption and deceit. Knight of the Dove is a great story. And the strength of the book and writer are the story and his storytelling. The writing is perhaps more skillful than artistic. And the book could have been perhaps slightly improved with a better editor. The character dialogue is also a little succinct in places. And reader who has played in fantasy role playing will find the setting and the style of characters familiar, but not stereo types. Whether you've played in RPG or not, if you like fantasy, you should like this book. I enjoyed this book, and I'll be looking for any new novels by Mr Kooiker