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CM . . .
. Volume XXI Number 2. . . .September 12, 2014
excerpt:
Tomorrow’s Kingdom is the third and final book in “The Gypsy King” trilogy. Persephone continues her quest to unite the various tribes of Glyndoria and bring lasting peace and harmony to the kingdom as their rightful queen. However, at the beginning of the novel, she has been captured and is being held on a ship sailing to an unknown destination. Throughout the book, she must confront the various enemies who are plotting against her. The evil Regent Mordecai and his henchman, General Murdock, continue to try to thwart Persephone at every turn, and in this book she has a new enemy in the form of Lord Bartok. Persephone seems to evade one catastrophe only to be faced with another even more disastrous problem. Like most fantasy novels, Tomorrow’s Kingdom is plot driven and revolves around Persephone’s quest to gain the throne and rule Glyndoria. The action is fast-paced, and the adventures never end. Readers will be on the edge of their seats cheering on Persephone, Azriel and the other “good guys”, and, if the action is occasionally exaggerated and unbelievable, one only has to remember that this is fantasy after all! Persephone again shows herself to be an independent and capable young woman who finds herself thrust into the underhanded, scheming world of politics. Subterfuge and deceit are the norm. The subplot of Mordecai and Murdock and their army of New Men plotting to take the throne continues from earlier volumes. As well, Lord Bartok is now an implacable enemy who thinks nothing of sacrificing his own son and daughter in order to gain his desires. Interestingly, author Maureen Fergus portrays Persephone, a female leader, as more interested in communication and co-operation as methods of gaining and maintaining control. She is willing to listen to members of the various tribes of the country, and even lowborn citizens feel able to express themselves to their new queen. Characters are consistent with the first volumes of the trilogy and tend to be either good or evil, with virtually nothing in-between. The romance of Persephone and Azriel also continues from the earlier books; the two are now married, and Persephone is expecting their child. This infant will grow up to be the long-awaited Gypsy King and fulfill the age-old prophecy if only his parents can keep themselves and the baby safe until that time. Tomorrow’s Kingdom is full of fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action with enough battles to appeal to any fantasy/adventure reader. As well, there are comic scenes, and there is also plenty of romance so most young adult readers will find something to enjoy. The cover art suggests that the book has young adult females as its intended audience, but the fight scenes and overall action will also appeal to young adult males. Like other fantasy novels, this one is quite long at over 450 pages. However, individual chapters are short, and the action is non-stop so it is quite approachable for most young readers. Not everyone from the earlier two books, The Gypsy King and A Fool’s Errand is allowed to ‘live happily ever after’, but the royal family of Persephone, Azriel and Baby Finn does survive as, in every good adventure tale, right eventually triumphs over wrong and ‘tomorrow’s kingdom’ becomes a reality. Highly Recommended. Ann Ketcheson is a retired teacher-librarian and high school teacher of English and French who lives in Ottawa, ON.
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