The Ring of Eman Vath

LOCAL AUTHOR

A fantasy realm has been created that will ensnare any fan of such things with the ropes of pure enjoyment, threatening to maintain its hold for as long as the pages of Hal Emerson’s The Ring of Eman Vath (In the Land of Aeon Book 1) is able to do so. Swords and magic are two ingredients that authors blend to give us what is known as a sword-and-sorcery fantasy novel. Emerson, however, takes readers to a realm where it is not magic that makes wonders happen, but a thing called knowledge and the power of Words, capitalized throughout.

The staff-carrying Valinor, with his burnt black eyes, is more than a man. He is known in many stories as the Mage of the Eryn-Ra, and he is a Sorev Ael, something one might look at as a sorcerer, when he really is but a servant of the world in the truest sense. Named after the legendary Sisters, AmyQuinn is the beginning of the end of the pleasure Valinor has known from always working alone and never taking on apprentices. When AmyQuinn saves his life in a town called Dunlow, Valinor decides to take her to Var Athel, where she can train to become a Sorev Ael.

I wish it were that simple, that this was simply a story of an apprentice girl learning what she can from her teacher, but it is not. Something dark is on the rise, a troubling darkness in the form of raiders led by a man dressed completely in bone who calls himself the Kalac Kull. Having lost one of his little brothers to the Kalac Kull, an Islander named Samson leads his men to battle in the sea, while the path of a thief named Wren will lead him toward finding a most powerful item.

In some instances, I felt that the author put too much effort into making Valinor this figure who inspires nothing but awe from those in his presence; however, his humanity made up for that as I neared the end. For now, Emerson leaves us with only small details about the kingdoms, as this particular plot is centered upon the coming together of Valinor, AmyQuinn, Samson, and Wren, while making it possible for the reader to get a good taste of Emerson’s talent to create and vivify fantasy-type fighting scenes like the best of them. To those who love those fantasy worlds that keeps on getting bigger and bigger with every turn of the page while following heroes of the warrior, thief, and sorcerer variety, this is one spellbinding series you don’t want to miss.