My Sister's Keeper

Edited by Karen E. Taylor.
Renaissance Ebooks, 2005.

"Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa'necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness. In those days there rose up three women, Asharen, Danae, and Rowan. They built Shaurone to hold back the brothers' darkness. And then there was Abelard who will be born again into his own lineage to ride once more beneath Rowan's banner. Mage-paladin to the God Kalirion the Lord of Light, healing and prophecy, Abelard's return will signal a godwar. Should he fail or perish, then only the Children of the Risen Dead will stand between the Fathers of Darkness and the destruction of the world."

"My Sister's Keeper", the first volume of the "Journey of the Sacred King", introduces background story touched on in "The Dark Brothers of the Light" series and "In the Darkness, Hiding". We meet Isranon and his prince, learn of the prophesy involving the three brothers and find Josiah, a sailor-mage and the tormented re-incarnation of the legendary battle mage, Josiah Abelard. This follows the prophesy quoted above, as Abelard's reincarnation is the harbinger for the advent of the second godwar.

Set in the world of Daverana, "My Sister's Keeper" is the story of Aejystrys Rowan, an empowered warrior involved in the first godwar. Her history begins in Chimquar, the Lionhawk's tales, chronicled in the novel "In the Darkness, Hunting". She is one of the three women mentioned in the prophesy.

In "My Sister's Keeper" Janrae establishes the politics, races and deities of this world in rich detail. Passages such as

 This novel is favored with sympathetic characters and the strong writing we've come to expect from a Janrae Frank novel.

Aejystrys Rowan of Shaurone is an apostate paladin and the daughter of Saer’ajan, the Sharani Queen,.
The queen has banished Aejystrys and extracted from her a promise never to harm her sister, Margren. Aejystrys killed an unarmed woman in a moment of madness, and is now divorced from her past, her child, her family and her God, in whom she has lost faith. Aejystrys is truly exiled. To return to the land is a death penalty.

Her sister, Margren, has betrayed her people and fallen in with the forces of darkness. She has become a necromancer and seeks to establish her own kingdom, destroying her sister, mother and the house of Rowan in her thirst for power and revenge. Margren is gripped with an insane jealousy and is willing to sacrifice all she grew up with to satisfy it. She hates Aejystrys with an unhealthy passion, and covets her mother's kingdom.

When her Mother's kingdom and the lives of those Aejystrys Rowan loves are threatened, Aejystrys returns from exile, even though to do so is to risk her own life.

Solid plotting, intense action, quick pacing and vivid description make this a must read. The story’s internal logic flows. Events are nicely foreshadowed by mood, scenes, dialog and interaction between the characters, leaving the reader with a sense of excitement, hope or impending doom as the author reveals her tale. Magic is colorful and powerful, used to great effect and skillfully portrayed. Fight sequences are tense and gritty, and the sense of danger to these characters is real, adding to the enjoyment of the read. I give it a 5 out of 5. Don't miss it.