Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Ale Boy’s Feast: The White Strand of Auralia’s Colors



Publisher’s Blurb
The king is missing.
His people are trapped as the woods turn deadly.
Underground, the boy called Rescue has found an escape.
Hopes are failing across The Expanse. The forests, once beautiful, are now haunted and bloodthirsty. House Abascar's persecuted people risk their lives to journey through those predatory trees. They seek a mythic city - Abascar's last, best hope for refuge - where they might find the source of Auralia's colors.
They journey without their king. During a calamitous attempt to rescue some of his subjects from slavery, Cal-raven vanished.
But his helper, the ale boy, falling through a crack in the earth, has discovered a slender thread of hope in the dark. He will dare to lead a desperate company up the secret river.
Meanwhile, with a dragon's help, the wandering mage Scharr ben Fray is uncovering history's biggest lie - a deception that only a miracle can repair.
Time is running out for all those entangled in The Auralia Thread. But hope and miracles flicker wherever Auralia’s colors are found.



My Review
Assuming you have read the previous three books, The Ale Boy’s Feast is a marvelous conclusion to the series. The wonderful descriptions and relatable characters return in full power, but the ending comes with a peculiar twist. Without giving away any spoilers, I will say that it reminded me of Ted Dekker’s novel Red, when one bit of information turned my whole perspective upside down.
One element of this surprise came from chapter eleven of Raven’s Ladder, “The Six Tricksters.’ Krawg’s story becomes an important plot device, a hint of things to come. While I already enjoyed that story, I can now read it with greater appreciation and understanding.
Jeffrey Overstreet is an amazing author, and I am sad to see this series come to an end. Overall, I give this book and the entire series five out of five for its brilliant imagery, unique plot, and amazing characters.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through Waterbrook Media’s Blogging for Books program, but was not required to give a favorable review.

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