Path Series

Path of Fate, Path of Honor and Path of Blood by Diana Pharaoh Francis is a very creative and spellbinding series of novels. In this trilogy a healer named Reisil learns that her original path in life has hit a sharp turn when she is chosen by her ahalad-kaaslane, or animal familiar, a beautiful goshawk to walk the path of the goddess and help save the land of Kodu Riik. Like most Science Fiction/Fantasy novels our hero is bestowed with a special power that terrifies the noble populous, but gives hope to the poor people who are being afflicted with a bizarre plague that not even the best healers can cure. In addition to political unrest and the plague, there is an evil race of creatures called Nokulas who have an affinity for human flesh! Whats stranger still is that these creatures were once people!
Soon, Restil learns that the Nokulas and the plague both stem from a cursed city named Mysane Kosk. This once flourishing city was transformed into an evil realm of shadows and darkness during a battle between waring lands. Throughout this trilogy our Heroine meets new friends and makes new enemies. Coupled with her ahalad-kaaslane and her extraordinary powers Restil and her friends must cure the plague, destroy the Nokulas and learn the secrete of Mysane Kosk before open war destroys whats left of Kodu Riik.

I gave this series a ratings of 4 out of 5 green faries for 2 reasons: One reason was because I did not like how Restil, our heroine who controls this great power and is chosen from the goddess to save her world, gets is snubbed by the same people she is protecting and instead of her telling them off and standing up for herself, she hides away! I would have like to see her tell those people off and say "Hey! I saved your butts, how about a Thank you?!" The second reason was that I didn't like was the end. I don't want to spoil it, but the way her and her true love end up was disappointing.
Now for the parts I liked...all the rest! I love animals, so I really enjoyed how the ahalad-kaaslane were linked to their pet familiars. I also enjoyed the entire cast of characters ( but I didn't like when a certain one was beheaded ). I felt that many of the story lines in this series were very original and imaginative. I absolutely recommend this series! Also, kudos to whoever did the cover art, it was beautifully done and really draws your attention to the books.

Standing Firm

Today I decided, since The Compass Rose series is my first review, to check out what other people have said about the the novels. I went onto amazon.com because that is where I bought the book from, and learned that Gail Dayton had received mixed reviews concerning these 3 novels. So, I added my review and decided to make another post about The Compass Rose, The Barbed Rose and The Eternal Rose (which, btw, when into second print). I still believe that this was one of the best books I've read. I was so eager to learn what each page held that I snuck the book to work with me and read while I was there. I was excited to discover who would be the next "marked" person to join their magical army, how they were going to solve their personal differences and how they were going to defeat the enemy.
True, this is not a book for kids, and if people were paying attention they would have noticed that Gail Dayton is a romance novelist, so what do you expect. The men and women that form this diverse group are joined spiritually and physically with a connection that the magic draws from. They become a family, not a bunch of people rolling around in the sack, as some of the reviews lead you to think.
Another aspect of this series I enjoyed was that unlike most science fiction/fantasy novels where there was not a chosen "ONE" but a chosen "FEW". Kallista may have been the leader and the only one who could use the magic, but without the rest of her family there was no magic to use.
So, despite what others say I stand firm of my positive review for the Compass Rose series by Gail Dayton.

The Rose Trilogy

A great example of a series of books that I just could not put down until finished is the Rose trilogy by Gail Dayton. The 3 novels: The Compass Rose, The Barbed Rose and The Eternal Rose follow a women named Kallista Varyl. Kallista is a Captain in the army who also, as do other women in the army, wields magic. The story starts off with a great battle that causes Kallista to summon help from The One to help her save her people in what looks to be a losing battle. She is then Godmarked with a great power. With her bodyguard by her side they go on to find out that she must find the other "marked" people that The One has chosen to complete their group. With the other "marked" people holding the power and her wielding it, she must defeat a great evil. That is the gist of the story. The many things I liked about this series is that the author really makes you comes to care about each marked person, not only about the main character. Gail Dayton gives them each a personalty of their own. She also throws in interesting tidbits like how their ruler asks them to become "Ilian", which is a like a harem, or family in which they all must marry each other. This book has, love, comedy, drama, magic, demonds, intrigue, action all the elements in a novel that keeps you up all night, not able to put the book down. I highly recommend this trilogy to all my Midnight Guildies!