Wednesday, May 20, 2009

LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP

LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP
Volume 3 of the Myrridian Cycle
By Debra Killeen
Helm Publications
ISBN 978-0-9820605-1-3
April 1, 2009
$15 Trade Paperback
228 pages
Fiction/Fantasy/Science Fiction/Young Adult

What’s wrong with enjoying a good book? Why does the genre of a book determine what people read? I found my mind wondering about these two questions as I finished the third book of the Myrridian Cycle. I normally would not have read it since it is categorized as fiction and fantasy. Originally, I saw the book in a list of science fiction books. Everyone is missing an outstanding series by judging this book into either category except outstanding storytelling fiction.

LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP is the third in a series of books the need to be read in order. Each book is developed around one character with challenges, successes, uncertainties, and failures which are what makes this series so memorable. This particular volume focuses on the not so likeable Bishop Edward Fitzroy, who was the illegitimate child of a former king of Myrridia.

Edward finally has achieved his life’s goal by becoming the Primate of Myrridia upon the death of Archbishop Francis McHenry who had a slow miserable death due to being poisoned. Edward has long anticipated his rise to be the head of the church since he could never rule through the system of royalty in this medieval time period. So who is responsible for the poisoning and why?

Edward has also recently clashed with the new king of Myrridia, who is also his nephew. King Robert might be young but he has a sense of fairness and looking out for the good of the people of his country, not just the easiest or best thing for himself, which has not been known for many generations in this ruling family.

The newest character is a seminary rival from Edward’s youth, Aldric who definitely has his own ambitions and dreams. Also, the spunky nature of Nicole, keeps the pace fast and the characters realistic. As the characters of Gus and Kenneth are also developed into the lives of the others from the previous books, the Myrridian books are feeling more like a family of friendships and characters.

Book one, AN UNLIKELY DUKE, won first place for YA fiction in ReaderViews Literary Awards. A PRINCE IN NEED is the second book.
What I find amazing is that each book is written better than the previous one. Of the three books, LEGACY OF THE ARCHBISHOP is outstanding. I have two complaints about this particular book. The first is that it ended and the second is that the fourth book is not available yet. I am looking forward to both the fourth and the fifth books in this series.

Debra Killeen has worked in the pharmaceutical field and moved into the clinical research field, while being interested in history. These three books are obviously loved by the author who is a true storyteller.

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