Review: Fantastic world building and wonderful characterization. (Warning: Might be a little spoilerific, due to extreme enthusiasm.)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2014
There's something wonderful about being able to slip inside a book and live in it. Author M. A. Ray's voice is that of a storyteller of old, the kind who carried the tales of a society from village to village in order to pass on news and share traditions.The Service picks up with Dingus, Vandis, and Kessa in Kingsport preparing for moot--the time when the Knights test their young folk to see who has what it takes to become a knight. Dingus is trying for his leaf, as are the squires we met in Hard Luck. It isn't easy for Dingus, a young man suffering from PTSD and the aftereffects of being bullied and abused most his young life. We get to have a closer look at how Dingus interacts with his world and the people around him. We get to see Vandis in his role as Head and love him for it. We get to see peppy Kessa kick butt in arm-wrestling contests.Best of all, we get to see the pride and joy Vandis feels as he watches Dingus succeed at the tasks laid out for him.The beauty in this story is the deceptively easy style of writing that carries you from place to situation with nary a stutter and leaves you enthralled throughout. I felt as proud as Vandis as I read but I won't say more for fear of ruining things for you.One of my favorite characters of the series so far is Father Krakus. His character has grown near and dear to my heart for many reasons, a lot of it having to do with how much he's grown and changed and I can't wait to find out how his latest trials effect him in the next book and the next.These stories remind me of a particularly well-written, detailed fairy tale. You'll love them if stories about underdogs, about the broken finding redemption, about honor and justice appeal to you.Thanks for writing such a great story!