Erekos by A.M. Tuomala

Book Details
Erekos by A.M. Tuolama
eBook, 575 KB
2010, Candlemark & Gleam
ASIN: B00440DQ2Q

Synopsis
Her sister swore that she would never let her die; now the entire world may pay the price.

In a land where gods walk beside men and witches defy death, war changes everything. Scholar and warrior, witch and king, priestess and corpse—all must come together to save their world from the ravages of the coming tempest.

For three hundred years, Erekos and Weigenland have fought to hold the borderland between the two nations. As the first storms of the flood season scour Erekos from the swamplands to the feet of the mountains, the Erekoi king discovers a dangerous new weapon that might be able to end the war: the witch Achane, who has raised her sister from the dead.

Achane and her sister, dragged apart on the very doorstep of a temple, must work to find each other again before the magic that binds them also kills them. In the process, Achane must overcome her grief—and the temptation of the king's plans for Erekos.

Meanwhile, on the mountainous border between the two warring lands, the student Erlen finds his research interrupted by the encroaching conflict. Driven by a militant love for this neutral territory and its people, he determines to defend his newfound homeland at any cost.

In a land where gods walk the earth and myth manifests along the rivers and in the mountains, ordinary men and women must fight to make their own stories before the war unwrites them all.
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Erekos is an epic fantasy, but one without elves or knights; it is a love story, but a story about the love of a woman for her sister, a scholar for his subjects, a king for his land and its people. It is a story about how stories are made, and how reality becomes legend in the telling. Above all, it is a story about humanity, and what makes us human.

Review
Erekos took a very long time for me to finish solely because it was not my type of fantasy. A healer/witch who cannot deal with the death of her sister raises said sister as a zombi. But she wasn't your mindless, shambling dead. Her soul was trapped in her rotting body. There were monarchs, there was war and there was a beautiful intricate world with a Middle Ages feel.

The zombi aspect attracted me to the book, but ultimately it wasn't a zombie book the way most of us think of it. This was much closer to high fantasy than the darker stuff I usually like and I found myself unable to connect with the story or characters.

Unfortunately, Erekos was just not my style. Those who love fantasy that feature earthy magics will adore this. Actually, earthy is a good word to describe the entire theme. Everything felt very nature based. I hate to give a book so well written such a low rating, but I feel that those who like their fantasy darker will want to skip this.

Rating