Wind and Fire – Cheryl Landmark

This book was a free e-copy from the author Cheryl Landmark in return for a review here, and first things first I must apologise to Cheryl for how long it has taken for me to get around to this book, honestly I really need to set up my phone to read books so I can keep up to date better. Wind and Fire was first published as an e-book back in December 2009 but in June 2010 was published in paperback by Asylett Press. And it would seem that Landmark recently signed a contract for another book Pool of Souls with Asylett Press again, well done. Landmark has clearly worked really hard to get to this point, what with self-publishing her first book Shadows in the Brook back in February 2009.

Nineteen year old Tenya lives a quiet life of drudgery in a remote village in the Ardis Valley, working long days for her cruel step-mother, ignored by her depressed father, and suffering disturbing visions at night. Life is going to change dramatically for Tenya one night when she finds herself snatched from her bed by the minions of Zardonne, the Demon Master. Tenya finds herself dragged kicking and screaming into the happenings of the wider world of Tellaron which has been taken over by the evil Zardonne and his demons which have poured out of the Dark Rift. The only person who actually tried to stand up to him was the Mistress of the Wind but Zardonne has imprisoned her in a tower of ice where she can do him no harm. It turns out that the Mistress of the Wind is Tenya’s long-lost mother Elea…..so Tenya’s visions are not just nightmares but a hint of the power she also has. Can Tenya stay alive long enough to reach her full potential and rescue her mother?

The actual story of Wind and Fire took the not unfamiliar fantasy quest format i.e. Lord of the Rings. With Tenya being joined by a small band of other characters as she embarks on a journey across mountains, deserts, and forests to rescue her mother. Maybe not the most original story I’ve ever read but it was still enjoyable. The descriptions of the scenery and the people/creatures that Tenya and her friends encounter are very detailed so it felt like I was seeing everything they were. However sometimes I did notice there was an over excessive use of adjectives in scenes of action which just interrupted the flow. I had a similar problem with Tenya herself as she would often have long moments of reflection. I don’t have a problem with reflection actually it was a great way to get to know Tenya who is still pretty young mentally from her sheltered life. But again I found that the reflections were just a little too excessive with much of the information gained from them being repeated several times.

Overall though Wind and Fire was a very good novel for a new writer. Even though there were faults, they certainly weren’t major ones, if anything the reason they bugged me is because I could see how good the book would have been without them. I think Landmark has potential and just needs to refine her technique as she already has the imagination.

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