Lord Brother

By Carolyn Kephart

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563152770
• ISBN13: 9781563152771
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Sterling House Pub
• Length: 185 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Triumphant sequel to Wysard

Everything I said about the first of this series (Wysard)applies to this book as well (see my review under Wysard on this site). The book can be reviewed as a reader and as a writer: As a reader, it draws me into it, transports me to another world of magic and treachery, romance and suspense, with memorable characters who I feel I know and care about. As a writer, the book inspires me to write more myself and aspire to do the same, with beautiful imagery and eloquent language. Bravo! Once again, I join those clamoring for the next book in the series!Sirius Recommends Book Reviews at sirius-books.com

Wonderfully done!

When last seen Ryel Mirai, Lord Adept of the wysard-citadel Markul, was preparing to leave Lady Srin. In this sequel, Ryel heads North, to the city of Hallagh. There he finds Redbane and takes the Bane of the Red Esserns upon himself. Ryel must fulfill the prophecies of the Foretold, which he learns from Riana, The One Immortal. Dagar's depredations MUST be stopped and Edris' rai must be brought back from the Void. Many twists pop up in this book. Every time I believe Ryel is almost omnipotent, the author does something unexpected to make his powers seem childish in comparison. The character of Dagar, the evil villain, was done especially well. He seemed almost unbeatable, which added a delightful tension to the whole story. If you have not read the first book, WYSARD, I recommend you do so before beginning this second book. Though you would be able to understand all that happens, it would flow nearly as smoothly. Wonderfully composed novel!

fabulous, vividly descriptive epic fantasy

The Lord Adept of Markul Ryel Mirai allegedly seeks the truth behind the death of Edris, his mentor for twelve years, but the wysard actually searches for a spell that would enable him to bring back to life his teacher by rejoining the soul with the body. As Ryel starts on his dangerous quest, the daiman Dagar has other plans for the wysard. Dagar plots to return to this world by occupying Ryel's "corpse" after his obedient servant Lord Michael Essern completes a special mission deadly to his chosen "host".Ryel continues his quest to save Edris, but has side adventures on the way. He liberates individuals suffering from Dagar's sorcery and nears the inevitable battle with the daiman. The price of defeat is not just losing his life for defeat to Dagar will allow the daiman to use the wysard's body to commit atrocities at a level unheard of on the unsuspecting world.LORD BROTHER is a fabulous, vividly descriptive epic fantasy tale that brings to life a different real that seems so real under the brilliant tutelage of Carolyn Kephart. Though the action never lets up, the support cast makes this good vs. evil novel so much fun to read. Also adding to the fun is that Ryel is a strong hero but Dagar is an even more powerful villain. Newcomers to the series will want to obtain WYSARD while joining in the chorus of readers shouting at the author to release the next tome in the Ryel saga.Harriet Klausner

A Virtuoso Performance

The best books are like good music: They seduce you, they comfort you, they transport you to another place and time, they unsettle you, they make you see things as you hadn't before, they make the blood surge in your veins and make your heart pound like you're on a roller-coaster ride down Mount Everest.Lord Brother by Carolyn Kephart is such a novel. It's a tremendous, virtuoso perormance of the writer's art that takes the reader to fantastic highs and lows, often within the span of a few paragraphs; it's brimful with inspiration, imagery, memorable characters, and crackling energy. It's a novel of nervewracking suspense, aching romance, heart-stopping beauty, and breathless terror...and the fact that it's only the author's second book makes it all the more impressive.Lord Brother continues the adventures of Ryel Mirai, Adept of the sorcerous Arts of Markul, who is searching for a way to restore the "rai" or spirit of his mentor, Edris, to a physical body, and defeat the will and the minions of the daimon Dagar, who wish to plunge the World into evil. Ryel's quest, begun in the equally-impressive Wysard (see my review, he said in a shameless fit of self-promotion), leads him from his lonely tower in Markul to the Steppes home of his boyhood, to the magnificent city of Almancar, where he meets its ruler Priamnor, and Priam's sister Diara, whose daimon-induced madness Ryel heals. But a fight between Ryel and a Dagar-goaded Priam leads to the former being wounded, then healed by arch-enemy Michael Essern, Dagar's human protege. Wysard ends, and Lord Brother begins, with Ryel meeting Srin Yan Tai, a wysardess of great power, who gives Ryel information vital to his mission.Lord Brother takes Ryel further in his travels, through the northen city of Hallagh, the grim wysard-enclave of Ormala, the home of Dame Gwynedd, a wysardess who keeps a dramatic secret -- and to Riana, the One True Immortal, whose tremendous impact on both Ryel and his story cannot be overestimated. These places, and what goes on in them, make Lord Brother a feast for the mind -- there was not a momonent in reading it that I wasn't entranced, thrilled, or seduced by the power of Ryel's story, and by the force of Kephart's writing. Her gifts for descriptive prose and the surprising plot-twist serve her well, even better in some instances than in Wysard. Kephart's ability to surprise the reader is rare indeed, especially in a genre where too many writers seem content to follow the same worn-out footpaths, and to write the same old Tolkienesque prose. Kephart does neither of these; she is an original in almost every respect. As an example let me cite this wonderful moment just past Lord Brother's midpoint, where Ryel attempts to save another of his friends from Dagar's cruel depradations:"He opened his eyes to the snow, and murmured a phrase. The white flakes began to fall thick, and a rising wind began to blow it about ever more violently, until in a minute's space the entire courty

A great story, and a great sequel

Carolyn Kephart does not disappoint with this much-anticipated sequel to her first novel, Wysard. Both her voice and writing style are mature and very readable, which helps make her more colorful character's archaic dialog flow smoothly. She is very good at describing her scenes, and you should have no problem following her vision as you read. Both Wysard and Lord Brother were written at the same time so the transition from one book to the other is seamless. If there were one thing I would mark as a negative it would be the type face chosen by the publisher, which I found to be somewhat difficult to read, but please don't let this detract from the excellence of the story. Carolyn Kephart is a wonderful writer with an equally wonderful vision, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.