Book Review: _Aurian_ by Maggie Furey

Aurian is the first book in the "Artifacts of Power" series. It is by newcomer Fantasy author Maggie Furey. An Epic Fantasy, the book has a lot of action and adventure provided by an intriguing plot, sympathetic characters and memorable settings. Fantasy lovers, who like their books with a little depth, will find an interesting Fantasy world to explore in this book. The plot moves quickly in this book. Aurian is a powerful mage of Earth and Fire magic. After an accident, she goes to the Academy of magic in the city of Nexis. There she learns to use her magic, falls in love and finds an enemy in the Archmage Miathan. In this world, the Magefolk are prejudiced against mortals. Aurian breaks the rules by having mortal friends and falling in love with the mortal warrior Forral. Miathan gets angry at this and unleashes the power of the Caldron on Forall and Nexis. The ensuing deaths and escape starts a quest for Aurian to find a way to defeat the Archmage. She is helped by other characters in her quest. Sympathetic characters gives this book its best feature. Aurian is the main character, a strong mage, but also a warrior. She has a strong sense of honor and caring instilled by her mortal lover and teacher Forral. Anvar is a young man, unaware of his parentage, who becomes Aurian's friend and companion on her perilous journey. Many other realistic secondary characters aid these two on their quest through different settings on this world. Like other Fantasy books, Aurian has an interesting world full of different settings and cultures. Aurian travels from a quiet, secluded valley to a busy city and ends up in the fierce Southern kingdoms. There are diffferent mortal cultures as well as winged people called Skyfolk, Leviathans (whales) and intelligent dragons that speak in lights. Something of interest for every Fantasy reader can be found here. Aurian is the beginning of a long, complex series. Maggie Furey's writing is clear and descriptive with lots of action and adventure. Plot, characters and setting work together to create an interesting Fantasy story that readers shouldn't miss. Since this is a first book, it does end with a lot of loose ends. The other books are: Harp of Winds, Sword of Flame and Dhiammara.