Rebellion by Rachel Cotterill

 

       

                             

Ebook: 371 pages

Genre:  Fantasy Adventure Fiction

Publisher:  Rachel Cotterill (10 Oct 2010)

Source: Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

First Two Paragraphs : Prologue: His attention was caught by the snapping of a twig down in the valley. He held himself still, forcing even his breathing to silence, and turned his eyes to follow the sound. The disturbance came not a moment too soon; he'd been starting to doubt the quality of his informants. 

It was a few moments before the girl emerged from the dense cover of the trees. She walked barefoot up the slope, a purposeful look on her face, and though she looked up she didn't seem to see him hidden between the branches. She was a thin child, short for her thirteen years, with stunning red hair which flowed down her back. She looked so like her mother.

My Opinion: This is a well written novel and despite it being fantasy a genre that does not normally appeal, it proved to be a better read than expected. Thanks Rachel for encouraging me to read your novel.

Although Fantasy is not a genre I am fond of I was impressed with the writing and the way that Rachel has created a whole fantasy world in this first novel in the trilogy the Chronicles of Charanthe. It is a strange world but through the protagonist Eleanor you will be able to step into this world where children are taken away from their parents at birth to be educated. Upon graduation the students are awarded lifetime job assignments, but Eleanor’s posting is not the dream job she had always hoped for. The job offered to her is one she feels far below her abilities so she decides to reject the offer. This is where her problems begin as suddenly free for the first time in her life, she recalls the legends which tell of a secret society of elite assassins, who live outside the laws of the Empire and who may or may not truly exist. As she seeks out the truth she has many adventures, of which if you are not a fan of this genre may seem incredibly far fetched, as she cheats, steals and kills her way to succeed.  I coped as I liked the way the author portrayed her characters and it was a fast paced read. I did however find the descriptions of weaponry, fighting and even torture a little too much at times, but this was a personal issue and other readers probably love all this fast paced action. 

If you are a fan of this genre or someone that likes to stretch their comfort reading zone from time to time than I recommend you try the work of this talented young author. I will also admit that I am looking forward to reading Revolution, which is published today 11.11.11, to see how the story progresses and the characters develop.

Author Profile – Rachel Cotterill

Born on January 06, 1983 in The United Kingdom Rachel now lives with her husband in the Cotswolds. When she's not writing, she's studying for a PhD in computational linguistics. On her website she describes herself as a writer, photographer, computational linguistics PhD student, and someone who collects skills the way other people collect stamps - so far including dry-stone walling, taekwondo, sugarcraft, EFL teaching, rope-splicing, skiing & snowboarding, knitting & crochet, cooking, juggling, and coppicing, an enterprising young lady indeed, she also enjoys learning a little of the languages of the countries she visits, so that she can ask for directions when she gets lost.

If you are unsure if her novel Rebellion is going to appeal to you, the first few chapters are available to read online here

You can find out more about Rachel her writing and her photography on her website Rachel Cotterill, her Goodreads Author Profile  or her Flickr Profile.

Chronicles of Charanthe Website  Rebellion is the first Chronicles of Charanthe novel. Revolution, the second, will be published in November 2011, and the final book of the series, Reformation, is due in 2012.

 Revolution - Chronicles of Charanthe 2 is published today 11.11.11