The Wrekening
Jayel Gibson
Synergy Books
ISBN: 1933538309
Fiction, Fantasy
Reviewed by Kevin Aguanno

The second novel in the Ancient Mirrors series, this book tells the tale of how a group of friends saves the world from utter destruction at the hands of an evil enchantress and two warlocks, each seeking the forbidden power of the ancients to control armies of stone demons and dragons buried under the earth.  These armies are brought to life with the power of thirteen ancient crystal shards hidden throughout the world.  The band of friends race against time and against the three evil magicians to find the shards and destroy them before the stone armies are turned loose on the world.

The story revolves around a strong female character, Cwen, (a warrior/thief) who is the rogue niece of the queen.  Cwen is a complex character who has suffered severe abuse in the past, and as a result, she is an angry, fearful woman whose relationships with the men in her life are all troubled. 

Aside from the interesting quest full of swords and sorcery, this story is really about trust.  Cwen has to learn to trust her estranged father who failed to protect her from her abusers years ago.  She has to learn to trust that her friends really care about her and have her best interests at heart.  She has to learn to trust that her newest friend, who yearns to be her lover, will not take what he wants from her and then discard her when he is done.  Mostly, however, the story is about how the seemingly overconfident Cwen learns to trust in her own heart and in her desire to find caring men who can help heal her hurts.

The book does have some weak points: there are times when the plot advances in leaps and bounds without much transition, leaving the reader a bit confused.  For example, at one point Cwen has to decide whether to turn her back on her family and the queen in order to follow the treasonous recommendations of a fearsome creature long thought dead.  She chooses treason, but her reasons for doing so are far from clear at the time.   As well, some of the thirteen quests are described rather tersely.  This book is well over 400 pages as it now stands, so I get the impression that sections may have been taken out to try and reduce the length.

Still, I would recommend this book as it tells a good story with fascinating characters.  There is depth to the character development that hints at the work author Jayel Gibson has done in earlier works and plans for future works in the series.  Well worth the read.