‘The Legend of the Great Horse’ trilogy – Page 22 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy concludes this Summer!

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is concluding this Summer with Book #3: Into the Dark. Publication is on June 20, 2012, the Summer Solstice,

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is concluding this Summer with Book #3: Into the Dark.

Publication is on June 20, 2012. The date is the Summer Solstice, which is part of the story’s legend. The opening volume was released on the Summer Solstice in 2008.

The story is about modern rider carried back through history. Book #1, Eclipsed by Shadow, won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

The series is award-winning fiction for ages teen to adult. Information is available on the website: TheGreatHorse.com

Written Arts Awards: The Golden Spark is “Magical and Enchanting”

“The Golden Spark” is a tale that will appeal to young readers of fantasy and particularly readers interested in horsemanship. The story is magical and enchanting and the writing moves along at a nice pace as we follow Meagan on her journey through history.—Kam Aures, Written Arts Awards – Rebecca’s Reads

The following review of The Golden Spark was given by Kam Aures for Rebecca’s Reads. The title was honored by selection for their literary contest, the Written Arts Awards:

Rebecca’s Reads | Kam Aures

“The floor rolled sharply and Meagan fell hard against a wall. A tide of cold water sloshed over her feet. All around in the darkness were piercing screams of horses and the thudding concussion of hooves. The floor rolled the other way and Meagan felt herself sliding. She leaned to stay against the wall…”

So begins “The Golden Spark,” John Royce’s 2nd book in “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the 1st book in the series, “Eclipsed by Shadow” as the author provides a special note to those who haven’t in the beginning of the book. He gives a brief summary and then reprints the last chapter of the first book so that those who are unfamiliar with the tale can get caught up. I found this to be a nice touch.

Another helpful addition is the seven page glossary at the end of the novel. Being that the story is set in time periods long ago there are many unfamiliar terms used throughout the book. The glossary is extremely helpful in deciphering the meaning of these words that are not used often today.

“The Golden Spark” is a tale that will appeal to young readers of fantasy and particularly readers interested in horsemanship. The story is magical and enchanting and the writing moves along at a nice pace as we follow Meagan on her journey through history. I think that it could easily be turned into a movie. I look forward to the continuation of Meagan’s story in Book 3.

The Golden Spark is the 2nd book of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an award winning time-travel adventure through history—on horseback! The story follows the journey of a modern horsewoman lost in the distant past.

The trilogy books have won multiple national awards including the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the 2010 Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

Further information about this unique ‘creative non-fiction’ novel can be found at TheGreatHorse.com.

Book II: Horse Ahoy!

This excerpt is from The Golden Spark, Book #2 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an adventure through history―on horseback.

The year is 1519 and the Conquistadors are bringing horses to shore … from where they have been absent for many thousands of years.

“Once more upon the water,
yet once more!
And the waves bound beneath me as a steed that knows his rider!”

—Lord Byron (1788-1824)

WITH A GIANT splash, the water closed over the horse’s head and sprayed against the side of the ship. Meagan gritted her teeth: it was not getting any easier to watch. Each time she had finally convinced herself the horse had drowned in the ocean, the animal’s head popped up, mane and forelock plastered back like a mythological beast rising from the sea. Giving a spraying blast to clear its nostrils, the horse would whinny and turn to shore. A cheer went up from the men and the horse was away.

For two days the Spaniards had held the town. Native emissaries visited, alternating with scouting parties in full war paint. Dark, slinking figures moved everywhere. And now came the call for the horses.

A splash signaled another horse departing for New Spain. Meagan walked down the line of stalls to El Morzillo. She patted the black horse, pushing him away as he nudged for treats. His ears had been stopped with cotton and his tail braided to reduce the drag of the water.

Meagan moved slowly to avoid startling the skittish stallion. It seemed strange to take a finely bred horse out of a lavish stall and unceremoniously toss him into the ocean, but the Spaniards did exactly that, and each horse had survived the trip and was now bucking and running across the beach.

The Golden Spark (Book #2 of the Legend of the Great Horse trilogy) won the 2011 Written Arts Awards for best Science Fiction/Fantasy.

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Links:

» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.

» Order Books

Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!

Eclipsed by Shadow - Book #1 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy - Bookcover (straight-on, drop shadow) 142px by 203 px

The Golden Spark - Book #2 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy - Bookcover

Into the Dark - Book #3 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy - Bookcover (straight-on, drop shadow) 142px by 203 px

Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer: The Golden Spark “Clothed with Thunder”

Book II of The Legend of the Great Horse continues John Royce’s sweeping historical fantasy about horses and horsemanship, and I am very much looking forward to learning why 16-year-old Meagan Roberts was flung backward into time. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to label this trilogy as a work of juvenile fiction. It is much more than that.—E.A. Lovitt, Amazon ‘Hall of Fame’ Top 100 Reviewer

The Golden Spark, Book #2 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, by Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer E.A. Lovitt:

E. A. Lovitt |Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer

“CLOTHED WITH THUNDER”

Book II of The Legend of the Great Horse continues John Royce’s sweeping historical fantasy about horses and horsemanship, and I am very much looking forward to learning why 16-year-old Meagan Roberts was flung backward into time. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to label this trilogy as a work of juvenile fiction. It is much more than that.

In this middle volume, Meagan travels to Mexico with Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, the Spanish Conquistador who brought about the fall of the mighty Aztec Empire, partially through his employment of horses, which the Aztecs had never seen. Meagan wins the approval of the Spanish Captain by caring for his war stallion during a storm at sea.

Her next time-jump lands Meagan in the court of Louis XIV of France, the Sun King. His Manège du Grandes Ecuries du Château de Versailles (the Riding School of the Grand Stable of Versailles) influenced the development of equitation in 17th Century Europe. Although the author accurately portrays Louis XIV’s passion for elaborate equestrian performances, the King’s relationship with Meagan, who is posing as an English stable-hand, is scarcely believable. Although Louis spoke French, Latin, Spanish, and Italian, I don’t believe he ever learned English (he had no reason to), and he was an absolute monarch who distanced himself from ordinary people behind an impenetrable thicket of court etiquette. One had to be a nobleman just to empty the King’s chamber pot.

However, Meagan’s relationship with Nero, the high-strung dressage gelding is the highlight of this adventure in time. The horses are the true nobility in this book, not their sometimes cruel and ignorant masters.

John Royce saves the best for last: Meagan’s final time-jump in The Golden Spark lands her in with the family of a horse trainer in Regency England. The description of our heroine’s participation in a neck-or-nothing foxhunt is alive with the colors, scents, and sounds of a spectacle that has now been voted into extinction in the country of its origin. This author’s narrative is the next-best thing to actually saddling up and following the hounds.

See original review on Amazon.com

Further information about this unique ‘creative non-fiction’ novel can be found at TheGreatHorse.com.