Lord Brother
 Carolyn Kephart
 (Reviewer - Colleen Helme)
 2002 Sterling House Publisher
 ISBN: 1563152770

Ryel Mirai, Lord Adept of the great wysard-citadel Markul, continues his search for the lost spell. The spell capable of rejoining body & soul, thus bringing his beloved instructor, Edris, back to life. But someone seeks to thwart Ryel's quest: Lord Michael Essern, a dedicated student of the Arts of Death sworn to allegiance to the daimon Dagar, who seeks to return to the World re-embodied in Ryel's form.

Associate Reviewer Colleen Helme writes:

In Lord Brother, the story from Wysard continues with Ryel undertaking his quest to stop Dagar & his minions from plunging the world into unending torment. Through events beyond his control, Ryel is cast into the dark world of a shadowy cult & must not only escape, but save others with him. As he strives to find those destined to help him, he uncovers damage already done, & his progress becomes a never-ending battle to help them before they are lost to the dark.

In his journeying, Ryel is drawn ever deeper into the beginnings of the magic of the Art. He begins to understand that to be truly great, he must lose himself & trust in his power. With twists, turns, & a few surprises, he finally finds what he is searching for, but it is not always in the way he wanted.

I enjoyed Wysard, & had looked forward to a continuation in Lord Brother. With so many new elements, however, it was sometimes confusing. Still, on the whole, it brought the forces of good & evil to a satisfying conclusion, with a strand of the story open for another book.

Lord Brother is an action-packed sequel delivering even more layers to a fantasy world with a character-driven plot. Ryel is a great hero, & I look forward to more from Carolyn Kephart.
(10/19/03)

Colleen
2003©Colleen Helme
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I have been an avid reader “forever” & live in the Rocky Mountains with my husband & four children. In my spare time (when I'm not reading!) I do watercolor paintings, make music, & WRITE! My first fantasy novel, Child of the Flame, is being published this year by American Book Publishing.