Lyskarion: The Song of the Wind (Cullum, Janice A., Chronicles of the Karionin.)

Rating:
Summary: I have a signed copy!
Review: I received this book from my grandmother for my fifteenth birthday two years ago, and I've just finished reading it for the second time. I rarely read books twice, but this one is so well-written, I think I enjoyed it even more this time; I caught on to things I'd missed, and picked up on some more subtleties I'd overlooked initially. This is a wonderful book, that's really all there is to it. J. A. Cullum has created an entirely new and original world for us, Tamar, with its own language, traditions, astrology. . . it's incredible, and makes for a rich, engrossing read. The characters are intriguing and (for the most part) very likable, in a story that is familiar (essentially, save the world) and yet so well told that the moral is never lost. I have been eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series for nearly two years, and unfortunately haven't found it yet. . . hopefully soon. The first book, Lyskarion, is a magnificent start. Well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Originality worth reading
Review: I've read enough fantasy over the years that characters and events in the stories don't often surprise me anymore. Not so with Lyskarion. Janice A. Cullum displays some truly original ideas. There's sensitive animal-lover Del who can sway hive mentality to his own designs. I hope to see this character used more in the next book. I loved Errin, part ingvalar, were-folk who shape shift into dolphins so frequently that they live on the beach and don't bother with clothes. Living crystals are intriguing, especially when realizing they have their own agenda and can bind or reject their keeper. Lord Jerevan mentally plants information on his crystal so he can access it later. There are travels to different lands, contact with different races, exploration of different gods and religions, and purely despicable villains.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous fantasy
Review: In an age when wizards were dying out Cormor, the last great wisard directs a minor wizard, Derwin, to find a child and train him to become the next great wizard. Cullum displays a wonderful understanding of prejudice, bigotry, power, love, and social pressures. Her shapechanging characters come alive, believably.
Who would have thought that insatiable hunger would be used as a weapon to force wizardry training. Cullum has done this, while making the results believable and acceptable.
A fine read which will keep you on the edge of your chair.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended to fans of the high fantasy literary genre
Review: J. A. Cullum's Lyskarion: The Song Of The Wind is an epic fantasy set in the world of Tamar, where nine humanoid races are being drawn into a war that threatens to engulf the world. The future of Tamar depends upon four young wizards who must learn to grow beyond their differences and accept one another in this perilous novel of fate, conflict, and hope. Lyskarion is enthusiastically recommended to fans of the high fantasy literary genre.