Review: Exciting Prequel Novella
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2012
Spirit's Oath is a novella which acts as a prequel to the main series; It focuses on Miranda Lyonette and is set four years before the events of the first book. It's being released today as a "thank you" from the author & publisher to the fans of the series. The book features Miranda as a twenty year old who has just taken her spiritualist vows and also gotten hold of a wind spirit. Things however aren't looking good for her when her family drags her back to her home and reveal what plans they have for her.Her parents and younger sister don't share her enthusiasm for her spiritualist duties and want to marry her off to a man, who wishes to enter the higher social circles and his marriage to Miranda will pave that way. What he doesn't count is Miranda's attitude and the presence of a certain ghosthound whom readers will recognize from the latter books. The tale is about nineteen thousand words but feels much longer than that due to the sheer excitement, which is packed into the story. Miranda's stubbornness and her innate sense of justice is brought to the fore very strongly and this was an aspect which I enjoyed reading. The reader also a good look in to the dealing of the Lyonette family and this perhaps shapes the way Miranda does and feels about certain things in the future books.The book is a bit predictable due to the nature of all prequels, this is something that is very hard to avoid. This book is no stranger to such a theme however the author tries her best to make the eventual ride a pleasant one as much as possible. It is a book which thoroughly integrates Miranda's past with her story in the future saga. I very much enjoyed this trip as it showcased the formation of the bond between her & Gin. I can't wait to see where she ends up in the next book as in the end of the third book, her life takes a rather strange turn and she gets a new partner as well. Kudos to the author for giving the reader a short but vital look into the past of one of the main characters of the saga.