The first pre-publication review of Eclipsed by Shadow was given by Lynne Scanlon, aka The Publishing Contrarian.
The Publishing Contrarian | Lynne Scanlon
Smart dialogue and jaw-dropping action make Eclipsed by Shadow a surprise page turner. Although it is a kind of road trip book, there is no clicking your heels together three times to get back to Kansas in this story. The journey Meagan, the 15-year-old heroine, takes is nothing akin to traveling the Yellow Brick Road in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Eclipsed by Shadow is the first volume in a new trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse. Knowing that, the reader also knows there will be a cliff-hanger ending, and there is. The author, John Royce, who really knows his horses and his history has crafted an extremely erudite novel that pitches Meagan and the reader into the thick of events you remember reading about in History classes lo those many years ago.
This time history truly “comes alive” as Royce turns Meagan into a living, breathing participant among historically accurate depictions of events. The dialog feels real. (”Be you a Tatar? For the nones, say be not a Tatar!”) The action never ends. (Charioteers, rampaging Mongolians!) The fear is palpable. (I won’t give it away!) And always, there are the horses.
Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the new fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, arriving this Summer with a fresh and original look at the colorful role of horses in civilization. The story follows the time-travel adventure of a modern horsewoman lost in history.