Storm Chaser by Sheila Rance

Storm Chaser by Sheila Rance
Buy Storm Chaser by Sheila Rance at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Linda Lawlor
Summary: Maia, the Sun Catcher, has to make the perilous journey back to the cliff caves of her childhood to retrieve the moths that create the singing silk.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 288	Date: May 2014
Publisher: Orion Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9781444006216
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The ancient trade routes of the East, monitor lizards and eagles – an intriguing combination which gives this very good series an aura all of its own. The heroine Maia is faced with several challenges as the book opens. She is learning to face her destiny as the Sun Catcher, with all that that entails – a life far from the only home she has ever known, strange rules and rituals, and the probability that carrying out her new duties will eventually blind her. Add to that the intrigues of a royal family determined to get rid of her and reclaim the role for themselves, and it is little wonder Maia is daunted by the way her life is turning out.

Maia is headstrong and brave in equal measure, and her determination to follow her dream to become an Eagle Hunter as well as the Sun Catcher leads her – and her companions from the first book – into many adventures, trials and serious danger. More than one person would like to see her dead, or at least under their control, and soon alliances begin to shift, meaning she cannot always be sure who she can trust.

Despite the exotic background there are themes here which will be familiar to any reader moving from the securities of childhood to the confusions of adolescence. Choosing a path in life, accepting the demands of society or challenging them, and making new friendships are always there, be it in a boarding school for wizards, the Wild West or a run-down hotel on the coast. There is always the in crowd, the mean-pretty girl and a host of new skills to learn, and the beauty and simplicity we see here only underlines the universal nature of Maia's experience. The drama never changes, only the setting.

That being said, this book, like the first in the series, is highly original. People in the Bronze Age were much more aware of their environment than we are, and anything they could not understand was seen to be magical. If Maia does not catch the sun, the crops will not grow. You must block your ears to enter the moth-garden or the whispering will drive you mad. And some people in this story do indeed seem to have extraordinary powers: the thought-stealer bends people to her will, for example, and the mysterious Watcher reads people and foretells the future.

This book suffers a little from the problem which besets all sequels: how to reintroduce all the information needed without drowning the reader in back story. This book succeeds, but only just: you must either be patient and keep reading – all that matters to the plot becomes clear eventually – or get hold of the first book and read that before starting this one. Either way, it's well worth the effort: it's an exciting adventure which takes the reader across sea and land to all manner of wondrous places.

You'll probably want to read this series in order for the full effect, so try Sun Catcher by the same author first. Another very good series set in the Bronze Age is by Michelle Paver: Bookbag loved Gods and Warriors and the second book, The Burning Shadow

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You can read more book reviews or buy Storm Chaser by Sheila Rance at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Storm Chaser by Sheila Rance at Amazon.com.

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