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Holly Lisle

© Debbie Ledesma

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find strange men dragging you fro from your bed. A green light glows, illuminating your room. You fight as the strangers drag you into the green light into another world. This is one of the many vivid images created by Fantasy author Holly Lisle. She is the author of several different Fantasy novels filled with interesting characters, adventure and magic. Her books span several intriguing Fantasy worlds that entertain readers most every time.

One of her first novels is Fire in the Mist. Faia Rissdote returns to her village after months out with the sheep to find everyone dead from a plague. She cremates the village by fire, using her untrained magical talent. This brings her to the notice of other mages who bring her to the city for training of her magic. In the city, she is considered a savage, but is befriended by Medwind Song, a powerful sorceress who comes from an even more primitive culture. There are interesting characters and uses of magic. This book demonstrates Ms. Lisle's talent for telling an excellent story.

Bones of the Past brings back the characters from the previous book. In this story, Medwind Song discovers some very old scrolls of an ancient civilization. She travles to a jungle where she must fight tree gods and other magical beings to save some children. Helped by characters like Faia from the previous book, this book has a lot of action and some grim moments.

The third of of the Arhel sequence is Mind of the Magic. Faia Rissdote is the focus of this book. She is told by the gods to bring down the barrier that separates her realm from the rest of her world. This could lead to the destruction of all life on Arhel. Faia handles this difficult task in her own way to the gods chagrin. This brings an entertaining series to a satisfying end.

Ms. Lisle created a vivid world and story with her Secret Texts trilogy. Diplomacy of Wolves begins the story of Kait Galweigh who is a young woman and diplomat. She has a dangerous secret that makes her an outcast in her society that would destroy her if they knew. The second book, Vengeance of Dragons, has Kait searching for new hope for her people when a prophecy collapses, leaving everyone in despair and unable to fight the rising evil. In the final book, Courage of Falcons, Kait and some fugitive wizards must fight the necromancers known as the Dragons and another evil in the being Luercas. These books are Fantasy with an edge, full of vivid writing and memorable characters.