From the Ashes

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly crafted urban fantasy.
Review: From The Ashes is a fabulous book. It is set in a present day Rennaissance Festival environment with interlude flashbacks to late 1500s England. As the story unfolds, the author creates a believable, realistic world where magick is commonly used--by those who know where to look. This world, backstage of the Pendragon RenFaire, runs side-by-side with the mundane world of patrons and commerce. The characters are well-written, each with personal weaknesses to deal with and strengths they must learn to use, and the relationships formed are believable.

The book opens new doors in literary courage. The primary romantic relationship is between two women, though it is not a book about homosexuality. Much of the story is the development of this relationship, but it is not a romance or a love story. All the main characters use magick, but it is not a fantasy story, nor is it about witchcraft. There are many struggles and battles, but it is not about action.

Simply put, it is a fresh look, incorporating many previously successful ideas, but putting a new face on them. It may even be a new genre.

...I eagerly await Book II.

Rating:
Summary: Tour de Force about Renaissance Festivals and Romance
Review: Ryna Tully is a "Road Rennie," one of the talented folks who entertain at Renaissance Festivals, and she's been doing it all her life. She has red hair, is literally and figuratively hot-headed, and is still hurting from a breakup with Liam, a dashing character from the Village Militia. Ryna isn't looking forward to running into Liam over the next seven weeks at the Pendragon Festival, and she is in a foul mood at the beginning of the book.

Bea Saunders' brother Daniel has finally talked her into assuming a role at the Ren-Fest. The kind-hearted Bea becomes Phoenix, an exceedingly cranky old herb-witch who, over the course of the book, develops a suitably caustic and funny way of dealing with the Festival patrons. Liam sets his sights on Bea, and she is flattered, but as the story goes on, it's not Liam she becomes emotionally entangled with but Ryna.

So, at heart, this novel is a romance, but it is also oh-so-much-more. The book is immense, and every page is packed full of colorful characters, the hustle-bustle of the crowds, and all the wit and humor found at a Renaissance Festival. Seen mostly through Ryna's and Bea's different perspectives (with some flashbacks to the 1500s), the story unfolds at a pace in keeping with the best stories of old. I am reminded of all the interconnectedness of an Austen novel, the breadth and scope of Dickens' work, and the wit of The Canterbury Tales.

Ultimately, Ryna and Bea's relationship is central, but there are so many sub-plots running throughout the novel that many of characters become dear to the reader's heart (mine being the gender-reversed Robyn Hood & The Merry Maids who count one lone male, Lord Marion, as a member. They get into a lot of funny scrapes.)

The book truly is a tour-de-force about the Renaissance Faire traditions. From the Ashes contains a wonderful mixture of the Gypsy, Irish, Italian, and English characters we associate with the Olde World: Knights, Lords, and Ladies, peasants and witches, fairies and rogues, minstrels, fortunetellers, a little bit of Magick, and Harvey, the Privy Monster. To keep us on track, the author has provided a glossary of the peculiar lingo that the Rennies use as well as a character listing.

If you enjoy Ren-Fests, King Arthur, Robin Hood, or stories about Merry Olde England, or if you ever wanted to be a part of a benevolent group working toward an entertaining and rollicking common cause, this book's for you. I highly recommend it.

~Lori L. Lake...

Rating:
Summary: I'd rather go to a Ren Faire instead....
Review: Still, "From the Ashes" has a lot of appeal for both Rennies and Mundanes (if you have to ask, you probably are one, but the definition is loosely folks who don't participate in Ren Faires, sci-fi cons, etc.) Anyone who's ever attended a RenFaire or been curious about one gets a good look at what goes on behind-the-scenes. In some ways, too good of a look, though. Brunner's anecdotes are interesting in relation to character development, but they bog the plot down.

Essentially, the story is about friendship, good and evil, that takes place against the Magickal backdrop of Pendragon Faire. Ryna, who is a career Rennie and magickally gifted, has been in the Faires for so long they're ordinary to her. Plus, she's working to overcome a romance-gone-bad with Liam. Bea, who just started in the Ren Faires, is seeing the event through fresh eyes, but having some 'rookie' problems. Liam is attracted to Bea, but Bea is feeling more interest for Ryna. The story between the two is engaging and interesting.

For a first novel, "From the Ashes" is not bad, just not quite mature and developed. Brunner does wonderful character; however, the balance between that and plot is uneven because of too many side trips.



Rating:
Summary: A Magical Book
Review: The magic of Renaissance faires is that, for a few weekends a year, you can visit times far past and lose yourself in the world of the rennies, the people who become the peasants, nobles, gypsies and thieves populating the medieval villages. There's plenty of that magic in Meghan Brunner's From the Ashes. There's also plenty of real Magick.

Ryna is a gypsy, as unlucky in love as she is talented in music. Her fiery red hair matches her temper. She grew up in Renaissance faires, and her family is a group of gypsies that travels year-round as full-time rennies. She takes the magic--and the Magick--that surrounds her almost for granted. She's recently had her heart broken by the dashing, yet sinister, Liam.

It's Bea's first year at the Pendragon Renaissance Faire and everything is still novel and wondrous for her. While Bea is still a newbie, her character Phoenix is already fitting in as if she'd always been there. When Ryna and Bea meet, it's as if they've known each other forever. The two quickly form a close friendship, and Ryna begins to see the faire--and life-through new eyes.

Someone isn't happy about their burgeoning relationship, however, and dark forces are being drawn into play to keep them apart--forces that have been at work for longer than anyone could possibly suspect.

From the Ashes is Brunner's first novel, and it's an impressive debut. Brunner self-published the massive doorstop of a book, but don't let that intimidate you. While she could have benefited from a good editor in places, her spirited writing draws you in and surpasses any flaws. Her descriptions are priceless, bringing the world of the faire alive even if you've never been to one before. I laughed out loud over and over at the antics of the peasants. Her depictions of everyday life in the faire were the highlights of the book for me. It made me eager to attend a Renaissance faire.

I also enjoyed her use of Magick, which is such a part of the character's everyday life that they barely think about it. They use their gifts to do things like lock doors after they're already in bed and open doors when their arms are full. This approach gave the supernatural elements a much more realistic feel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys magical realism and good, hearty sheep jokes.

Rating:
Summary: refreshing
Review: This is a wonderful book that reminds me of one of my favorite Renaissance Festivals. It's quite uplifting. When I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is open the pages to laugh along with Ryna and Bea, and all of the other life-like characters of the Renaissance Festival family. The concerns of the characters are real and down to earth. It's quite easy for the reader to identify with many of them. This book presents a side of Rennydom that most patrons never even know exists, aside from wild stories that they hear passed on by urban legend. The book lets the imagination soar with how life could (should) be with just a bit of Magick.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing
Review: This is a wonderful book that reminds me of one of my favorite Renaissance Festivals. It's quite uplifting. When I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is open the pages to laugh along with Ryna and Bea, and all of the other life-like characters of the Renaissance Festival family. The concerns of the characters are real and down to earth. It's quite easy for the reader to identify with many of them. This book presents a side of Rennydom that most patrons never even know exists, aside from wild stories that they hear passed on by urban legend. The book lets the imagination soar with how life could (should) be with just a bit of Magick.

Rating:
Summary: Live the faire and feel the magick
Review: When magick spills over between this world and the Otherworld, you have Pendragon. New author Meghan Brunner holds her own with some of the best story tellers of our time. Her annecdotes of the fun, heartache and hardships that happen during the mythical Pendragon Renaissance Faire bring to life the ambiance of faire and put the reader into the middle of the action, pranks and out-and-out fun. But over and above that, she weaves a complex tale of karma that spans centuries and blends true magick, mystery, passion and loyalty that keep the reader wanting more.

If I have any reservations, it would be that at times the faire annecdotes slowed the pace of the story more than I might have liked. However, these same annecdotes so enlivened the characters, both the main and secondary ones, and were so wonderful just for themselves, that this was a minor drawback to the book as a whole.

All in all, From the Ashes is a marvelous work of fiction and a phenominal achievement for a first-time author. I look forward to the upcoming installments to this intriguing story.