Peter Last

THOUGHTS…

     The Light of Wills protects the most important aspect of humanity: choice. In turn, it is guarded by The Keepers, a lineage of kings and queens who pass the sacred duty from generation to generation. The Light of Wills is so powerful it must always be guarded by two individuals, a husband and wife. But when King Aldric and Queen Everlyn’s land is beset by the evil Kaleb, they are forced to transfer the Light into Elizabeth, their newborn daughter, and send her away to hide in safety in a land across the sea. Without the help of the previous generation, how will Elizabeth learn the secrets of her power and rescue the land of her birth from Kaleb?

     The plot of the story is typical of the genre but also contains a few twists which I didn’t see coming. Obviously written for a younger audience, it still managed to hold my attention through the young life and development of Elizabeth as she learns about her heritage and the power which resides inside her. The perspective of the story is well thought out, keeping the reader confined to what Elizabeth knows and little else. Though this builds a certain amount of frustration as the reader tries to understand her back story as well as the extent and limitations of her powers, it serves to restrict the story to a measured pace as the full stage for this saga is set. Though some secrets are kept from Elizabeth for silly reasons, obviously just to build suspense and spread the introduction to the story over an entire volume, it ultimately works to maintain interest in the coming story.

     The Keeper’s Light is at its weakest in the realm of writing mechanics. Sentence structure can be weak or unclear, occasionally requiring a second pass to fully comprehend. Additionally, the author tries to draw parallels which don’t ring true and leaves the reader wondering what exactly she is trying to convey. Finally, though the vocabulary of the volume is extensive and varied, unsuitable words are occasionally used seemingly with the sole purpose of varying the vocabulary at the expense of clarity. Though the above issues are relatively few and scattered throughout the text, they had an annoying habit of pulling me out of the story, just when I was starting to get engrossed.

     Character development in this book is one-sided. Set as a fairytale of sorts, the one-dimensional caricature of evil shown in Kaleb works. Council members, villagers, and other characters are also somewhat stagnant in their development with personalities declared up front and remaining unchanging throughout the duration of the book. These personalities tend to tie into the stage and setting of the story making them feel realistic if not a bit wooden. Despite light treatment of peripheral individuals, the main characters are developed more intentionally. Dispositions are vibrant, unique, and more vivacious than the rest. Though the fast-paced plot disallows a significant amount of development, it is employed where possible to fairly good effect.

     The Keeper’s Light is an interesting and engaging story which starts out slowly but quickly builds momentum until the final pages. The plot is generally well paced, dwelling on things it should while simultaneously keeping the pace quick; although, major plot points which should carry great weight are occasionally glossed over in just a few sentences. The writing mechanics of the book are mostly solid, though scattered instances of improper word usage and poor sentence structure made it difficult for me to lose myself in the story. Finally, given the plethora of characters, their development is handled well, touching on those who are important to the plot while allowing peripheral characters to stay on the periphery. Plot is often the hardest aspect of writing, yet it is the strongest area of this book, and with just a bit of work in the areas of writing mechanics and character development, the next book in this series could be better than okay: it could be fantastic.