by Helen Garda

Created on: January 16, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

In the beginning of January for the past several years, new installments of Barb and J.C. Hendee's Noble Blood series have been released.

The newest title in this exciting series is Rebel Fay, released January 2, 2007.

The book begins with the group of main characters Magiere, Leesil, Wynn and Chap struggling to reach Leesil's homeland, the Elven Lands.

What sets this book apart from the previous ones in the series is the amount of new characters that are introduced, as well as others we have seen briefly.

The series builds with each book giving us more and more information about each character's past and present history and personality. In the beginning of Rebel Fay, new readers may not initially warm to lead character Magiere, as she is usually very cold, pragmatic, and downright unfriendly at times. Fans of the series will be surprised, however, at her softer side coming through more and more; elaborations of the feelings between her and Leesil are discussed more openly in this installment.

The book focuses mainly on Chap, the flesh-born Fay trying to lead Magiere away from her darker half, and helping Leesil to find his imprisoned mother (one of the main reasons for their journey). Here we learn much more about Chap's true nature, as well as much more from his point of view.

The fight scenes are exciting, and there are enough of them to remind the reader of the underlying tension throughout the book.

The descriptions of the surroundings are great; the Elves live in very unique houses which are written about in good detail, but it does not overwhelm the reader. It's enough to give you an image you can keep in mind while all of the books events are unfolding.

I'm a huge fan of this series, and I was not disappointed with this latest book. The story has been moved along very well; there are many aspects of it that may be hard to follow for first time readers of the series, but it is easy enough to follow. The Hendees do not go into the past at great length to help new readers catch up, but they give just enough information for them to be able to follow along well enough. Fans of this series will enjoy Rebel Fay: Welstiel gets closer to his goal, Chap makes a life-altering decision, Wynn develops new abilities, Leesil is closer to dealing with his past, and the future is looking very dark for both him and Magiere.

Overall, it's a great book and an excellent series installation. The writing is always great and descriptive, the characters are well developed and still developing, and the story is very original and captivating.

Learn more about this author, Helen Garda.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.