The Golden Spark by John Allen Royce has been named an Independent Publisher Highlighted Title for August 2011. (see online)

The Independent Publisher (IP) Highlighted Title designation honors newly-published books exhibiting superior levels of creativity, originality, and high standards of design and production quality.

The honor is awarded each month to the top new US titles published in the USA by independent publishers, selecting the best of new independent books each month. Being chosen as an Independent Publisher Highlighted Title brings well-deserved attention to the book, author, and publisher.

The Golden Spark is Book 2 of an award-winning trilogy adventure into mankind’s past, The Legend of the Great Horse. A horse-loving teenager is lost in history with only her knowledge of horsemanship to help her survive. Sequel to Eclipsed by Shadow, winner of the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for YA Fiction.

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer | Billy Burgess

I was very impressed by this book, reading it in only two nights. The author, John Royce, has beautifully written a wonderful epic that combines fantasy with history, a mix between Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings and The Time Machine. He uses his great knowledge of the history of horses to give us the first adventure of the Legend of the Great Horse. The dialogue and descriptions are cleverly written to entertain and educate both young adults and adults.

The main character is a teenager named Meagan, and she is a horse lover. Being an animal lover myself, I was instantly connected to her. You are hooked within the first few pages, as Meagan loses a loved one and gains a new friend, a palomino foal that she names Promise. But Promise isn’t like other horses, she is the Great Horse – a fallen angel from the time of Adam & Eve. Due to financial reasons, the Foal is sent to live on a pasture until she is old enough to be ridden.

During this time, Meagan meets the mysterious Mrs. Bridgestone. Mrs. Bridgestone tells Meagan about the legend of the great horse and that she believes Promise is the great horse. Mrs. Bridgestone wants the horse for her own. Three years passes by and Meagan rides Promise for the first time. Magical, long white wings stretch out of Promise, flying Meagan back in time where she meets cavemen, Romans, monks, knights and other life-threatening dangers.

Eclipsed By Shadow is a fast, action-packed adventure from start to the heart pounding cliffhanger. The author did a marvelous job blending history and fantasy together in this first book of the trilogy. Fans of horse books and fantasy adventures will enjoy reading this. Once you finish reading the final page, you’ll be longing for the next installment.

Eclipsed by Shadow is the 1st volume of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, a time-travel adventure through history — on horseback. The book won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

Library Thing Early Reviewer | MrsRenee

I was excited when I found out that I had won a copy of The Golden Spark to review. Many thanks to Library Thing and the Early Reviewers group for the opportunity to review this book!

The Golden Spark, book 2 in The Legend of the Great Horse series opens with the last chapter of book 1 in the series, Eclipsed by Shadow. It follows the adventures of a young horse-loving teenager, Meagan who is lost in history trying to find her way home to the 21st century.

Meagan’s first magical journey finds her waking up in a horse stall with a magnificent horse as a fierce storm is tossing the great ship to and fro. She soon finds out she is in Mexico around 1519 and she has only her love of horses and her 21st-century horse knowledge to help her as she struggles to get home.

History comes to life as her journey takes her from Mexico 1519 to Medieval Europe, Rome, the Black Sea and to 20,000 B.C. North America. With each stop Meagan searches for the Great Horse whom she believes is responsible for her time travels and is the only one who can help her find her way home.

My kids and I LOVED this book! It brings history to life and we sat on the edge of our seats while we read this book.

I do, however recommend reading these books in order as it was a bit difficult to follow along with the second book without having read the first one. I’m looking forward to reading book 1, Eclipsed by Shadow!

See review on LibraryThing…

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an intriguing and fun time-travel adventure through history — on horseback. (Published Spring 2011)

Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

Library Thing Early Reviewer | jll112

This is the first book I read by Royce and I have to say I was very entertained. Time Travel is my favorite genre, so I knew it would appeal to me on some level. However I would not have thought a book that helps you to understand the equestrian “how to’s” would be interesting. But I enjoyed it very much.

This would make a good “Choose Your Own Adventure” book so you could determine when she jumps through time. This book made me recall a scripture in Job that talks about the strength, power and fearlessness of the horse:

“It laughs at dread, and is not terrified. Nor does it turn back on account of a sword.” Job 339:22

See review on LibraryThing…

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an intriguing and fun time-travel adventure through history — on horseback. (Published Spring 2011)

Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

Library Thing Early Reviewer | SusieBookworm

Just as good as the first Legend of the Great Horse book.

I like John Royce’s writing because he manages to write historical fiction that includes not only good historical details, but also details about the history of domestic horses and the evolution of horse riding. Not only does he include a lot of facts about horses, he manages to make those facts interesting for people who are not really that interested in horses.

Royce also keeps his books appropriate for almost all ages of readership: teenagers are able to get into and enjoy the books, yet they are still appropriate for much younger readers.

After traveling to prehistoric times, the Mongol invasions, medieval Europe, 1500s Mexico, 17th century France, and early 19th century England, it will be interesting to see where the Great Horse takes Meagan next.

See review on LibraryThing…

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an intriguing and fun time-travel adventure through history — on horseback. (Published Spring 2011)

Book I: Eclipsed by Shadow won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer | “wnk1029″

I recently read The Golden Spark as part of LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Since this was the second of the series, I checked out the first book from my local library, with the vague knowledge that it was about horses and time-travel. I enjoy reading about time travel; horses, not particularly. I was, however, willing to give it a chance.

Though the second book could possibly stand alone, I was glad I had read the first one and would recommend it to anyone picking up The Golden Spark. It tells the backstory of the heroine, Meagan, who is involuntarily being transported through time by her horse who just happens to be a Great Horse — a reincarnation of the very first horse ever created, who is actually an angel whose job it is to bring humanity back to the Garden of Eden. This part of the story is a bit complicated, but since the book is more about history than the mythological/spiritual aspect, it ends up not really playing a huge role in this book except as the means of transportation from era to era.

In this book, Meagan visits Mexico circa 1519 as a groom to Cortes’s horse. This section is violent and frightening, definitely intended for a more mature audience, but an interesting, historical read nonetheless. Meagan’s next stop is 1666 England & France, where she becomes a handmaiden and stable hand in King Louis XIV’s court at Versailles, followed by 1816 England, where she is taken into the quiet home of a country farmer and his family.

The horses are the driving force of each of these eras, and Meagan’s experiences revolve around their care, training, and the ways in which people used the horses in each of these time periods. Going into the book with very limited horse knowledge, I feel that I learned quite a bit about horses, and have gained a greater appreciation for their place in history. I enjoyed reading about how the horses were cared for on the Spaniard ships, the techniques used to train them in 17th century Europe, and what a fox hunt would actually be like.

The downsides? The books tend to read more like a series of novellas rather than one continuous book. Each jump through time seems to break into what could essentially be a stand-alone story. Though the heroine occasionally will mentally refer back to previous people she’s met in her travels, it isn’t really clear what she’s learning from these experiences. In each era, she has the advantage of more modern knowledge of horses and their care, which helps her make a place for herself in each society, but doesn’t really add anything to her character’s development or growth — she remains the same Meagan who gets by because she knows more about horses than anyone else around her.

I would definitely recommend this series to those interested in exploring history from a different perspective, as well as those who already have a love of horses. Due to the violence in the first book, as well as in the first section of this second one, I would hesitate to recommend the book to younger or more sensitive readers, though the language is very readable and should be able to be handled by those with middle-school vocabulary and comprehension skills.

I’m looking forward to reading the third book when it comes out; I can’t wait to see how Meagan’s travels come to a close and get some answers to some of the questions that are still unanswered!

See the original review on LibraryThing