Kwin

Good read. Easy to get into. Epic fantasy that's an easy read is hard to find. Well written with interesting characters. There's a moral to this story nicely stated. Well done.

Kwin is a novel that just skips along. It's the story of a soldier who uncovers life in a strange and hostile country when he goes with his best friend on a rescue mission . Allowing himself to be taken as a slave and separated from his friend, he's exposed to this other society from the bottom of the pile.I found this book a hugely enjoyable read. It has action, romance and fantasy, beautifully balanced together. While it's never flippant about serious issues and shows some of the ugly side of society, it does have enough likeable characters for you to follow and hope for. It's serious and light hearted in all the right places.It's quite a long book but it's so readable, I just flew through it over a weekend.

Kwin Longbow is a warrior. Not just a warrior; he’s the commander of the Western Battalion. His close friend, Gareth, is his second-in-command.The king has ordered Kwin to wed Shona, daughter of one of his most important retainers. Unfortunately, just before the wedding, Shona – along with a lot of others from her father’s estate – are kidnapped by raiders from the neighboring kingdom to be sold as slaves.Kwin’s duty is clear – he has to leave Tippet and enter Wayvern to rescue his bride – even though they have yet to meet. Along the way, he and Gareth – because Gareth couldn’t let his best friend go alone, could he? – are enslaved, sold to different masters and have a number of harrowing adventures.Kwin eventually finds Shona, but by then the prospect of marrying her has lost a bit of its luster. Not that she isn’t still a lovely young lady, one that Gareth, for example, can’t help finding incredibly attractive, it’s just that he has had his horizons broadened.It’s not a surprise ending, by then, but it is unquestionably satisfying. This was a truly engaging read.

I have read many books from this author, but this one really had me hooked from the moment Kwin set out with his best friend to rescue the bride he has never met. Honour and duty are the name of the game in this tale, but I loved the way the characters developed and changed while enslaved. There's a real mystery to solve here too and the book had me turning the pages as Kwin and Gareth became increasingly more desperate to regain their freedom and to discover Luka's secrets. All in all a great and satisfying read!

I really enjoyed this. Kwin is betrothed to Shona but before they can get married she is kidnapped and sold into slavery in neighbouring land Wayvern. Taking his friend the two set off on a rescue mission. This story is packed with magic and adventure and the thrill of romance against the odds.