A
frantic mother, facing the planned murder of her new baby by her husband (and
the baby’s father), sends the child out to sea in a watertight cask. A
fisherman finds the cask entangled in his nets, and believes he’s the
replacement for the son who died. When the boy is 15, events force him to leave
behind his father and the life he’s known to do battle with evil and – unknown to
him – save his kingdom.
For
from the beginning of C.S. Lakin’s The
Crystal Scepter, we know what the boy, who’s name is Perthin Quay, does
not – he is an heir to a kingdom.
For
the past two years, C.S. Lakin has been publishing her Gates of Heaven series –
and convincing me there’s a lot more to fantasy than I realized. She has
created a world that’s familiar – but one that’s also very different than the
reality we usually encounter in fiction (or life). These are wonderful stories,
but they’re not written chronologically. Instead, Lakin is taking different
aspects of this world she’s created and diving deeply into it.
The Crystal Scepter has all of the
excitement of its predecessors in the series – dragons, sea serpents, a magic
land buried under ice, an evil king and a desperate queen, and a young hero who
does not seem to fit the role of hero, physically at least.
Lakin
has utilized a number of Biblical and mythical themes. The story of Perthin,
for example, includes both elements of the story of Moses and David. She also
blends mythical stories as well, like the Gorgon or Medusa (the one who could
turn you to stone if you looked at her face directly). A heavenly army merges
to help Perthin when he faces what looks like the insurmountable forces arrayed
against him.
Underlying
the story and its sub-stories are the themes of grace and redemption, of using “the
least of these” to accomplish great things, and the hidden royalty in all of
us.
The Crystal Scepter is a rollicking
good story.
Related
My
reviews of the other Gates of Heaven novels:
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