Amazon Vine Voice | Kilgore Gagarin

Second salvo in an excellent Young Adult series for horse afficionados (see review on Amazon)

Let me state at the outset that this is a rip-snorting tale and an overall fun read. The author is very proficient in his craft and there is little to quibble about the structure, pace, language, and overall writing of this book. I continue to be impressed with the quality of the writing and rhetoric. I leave arguments over historical accuracy and the details of horsemanship to others.

The second in a planned three book series (The Legend of the Great Horse) continues to follow 16 year old Meagan Roberts through time as she is transported by the magic of the Great Horse. When last we saw our intrepid equestrienne, she, and her horse, were about to be executed for witchcraft in 1616 Western Europe. Escaping through time, Meagan finds herself transported to a ship captained by Spanish Conquistador, Hernan Cortes, in the year 1519. This section is reminiscent of some of the most violent parts of the first volume of the series (which is not a bad thing, but readers must understand that this is not a girl’s bucolic romp through time on the back of her winged horse). The use and impact of horses in the Spaniards’ battle (and slaughter) of the Aztecs gets this volume off to a stirring start. The author describes the scenes with neither condemnation nor approval. The conquest of the Aztecs is an historical fact, and Meagan, like us, is primarily an observer of the process.

The next two sections of the book find Meagan in France in 1666, then in England in 1816. In both cases, we see a less violent, more pedestrian look at the role of horses in the advancement of civilization. More time is spent on the societies of the time, primarily the integration of the horse in everyday life. Though less exciting than the opening section, the author continues to impress with fascinating details about horses and horsemanship. Being thoroughly ignorant in those areas, I found this to be continually interesting, to my surprise. As a child, I found Farley’s Black Stallion series to be thoroughly dull. Royce brings a detail, and supplies historic context, in a way that should be interesting to any reader. When next I have the chance to observe dressage I will bring with me a touch more understanding of the art, thanks to the author of this book.

Being the second volume in a series, I think this book can easily be read without having read the opening work (still recommended to do so). The historic segments easily stand alone as discrete stories of their time and place. Overall, this work contains a lot less violence than the first work, and is thus less problematically recommended for younger readers. The stirring fox hunt near the end of this installment probably won’t sit well with absolutist animal lovers, but the classic rendering of the rendering of the fox at the end of the hunt does not take place. Rather, the joy of riding raucously through the English countryside is the main focus.

I’m greatly looking forward to the eventual conclusion of this series, and expect that the trilogy will become at least a minor classic, if not a more respected work over time.

Tally ho!

Note: The book reviewer received a free review copy of “The Golden Spark” via LibraryThing’s “Early Reviewer” program. This review has been posted on that site as well.

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy. Published Spring 2011.

E. A. Lovitt “starmoth” (Gladwin, MI USA)
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This sweeping historical fantasy should have an impact on its reader that penetrates far beyond the boundaries of the usual YA (Young Adult) novel. It teaches lessons about history and horsemanship, and what it really means to be `civilized.’

Eclipsed by Shadow reminds me of “The Carousel,” a ballad by Buffy Sainte-Marie: “Flying horses they are just/ Little girls who wish too much…” Teenage equestrienne, Meagan Roberts gets the filly of her dreams, born on the summer solstice of the new millennium. Unfortunately, the foal’s mother dies and the little palomino filly comes with an ancient warning:

“…So born of loss and mother’s grief, the Great Horse takes a mighty leap. Eclipsed by shadow, the golden spark/ Shall wing her rider into the dark.”

When Meagan takes that first ride on her filly, she is swept backward into Time and is forced to experience the dark side of the relationship between horse and human.

The overall vision of Eclipsed by Shadow is difficult to comprehend, because this is only Book I of a projected trilogy. The narrative ends abruptly and reads more like a series of short stories as Meagan occupies brief periods of prehistory and history. Each segment vividly describes our evolving relationship with the horse: slaughter and eat; sacrifice to the gods; kill for pleasure (I wish Meagan could have visited Xenophon’s Greece instead of Trajan’s Rome).

Bad guys are painted with a broad brush, but good guys are delineated with respect and care. I wanted to stay in Rome with Horace, the poet/gladiator. I hated to cut my visit short with Chouchou, the laid-back medieval warhorse. The author’s portrait of Meagan and her equine friends is especially sensitive, illuminated with the touch, scent, and emotion that only a true horseman could know and understand.

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse. The second volume, The Golden Spark, is due to be published in 2010.

Amazon.com | Tyler Tichelaar

| Eclipsed by Shadow is an epic history of horses, complete with time travel, and educational material, but best of all, it is strong historical fiction.

The plot is pretty simple. Meagan learns from an eccentric neighbor lady that her newborn horse may well be “The Great Horse” of legend that has reappeared over the centuries. The Great Horse first originated as a horse meant to help Adam and Eve when they left the Garden of Eden.

I knew from what I had already heard about the book that it would include time travel and Meagan would experience how horses were used throughout the centuries by mankind.

When I started, I was a bit disappointed to see the first section went on for so long. I wanted to get right into the time travel, but once I started reading, I was thoroughly captivated by the plot and how well the author, John Royce, built up suspense in the first section. I actually think this was my favorite part of the book as Meagan learned about the legend of the Great Horse and also avoided having her horse stolen.

As for the time travel sections, the scene in prehistoric North America was brief and not quite as interesting as the later ones because after all it was prehistoric history, but I thought both the Rome and the medieval section were well done. Even though the book reads like a collection of short stories because of the different time periods that the characters do not cross over into, Royce successfully created some believable characters in each section.

Throughout, the book successfully blends fiction, character and plot with history and more than solely the history of horses. I am not interested in horses, but historical fiction, but I did come to appreciate the history of horses without ever being overly bored by the book containing too many details.

Anyone who loves horses or who loves history will love Eclipsed by Shadow, and readers will be impatient to read the next two volumes in this trilogy about the Great Horse.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D., and author of “The Marquette Trilogy”

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse. The second volume, The Golden Spark, is due to be published in the summer of 2010.