Book Review: Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner

Once in a while a book comes along that sets your imagination on fire. You can't put it down. You want to finish it as quickly as posssible to the exclusion of everything else. That's what happens when you read Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner. There are dragons, adventure and action to catapult readers into this Fantasy world. This Fantasy book has likeable characters, a gripping plot and strong themes.

Likeable characters draw the reader into this book swiftly. Lanen Kaelar is a young woman from a farm who dreams of talking with dragons. She embarks on her quest, unaware of her parentage. Lanen is courageous and stubborn with a streak of wanderlust. She is helped by other characters like Jamie is her mentor and foster father. He gives Lanen the stability needed to survive her quest. The dragons are the other interesting characters that give the story life. Akhor is the silver king of the dragons. He longs for contact with humans. He is drawn to Lanen from the beginning and gets help from his mentor Shikrar the Keeper of Souls. These characters give impetus to a gripping plot.

In Lanen's time, the dragons have withdrawn from humanity to live on an island. Humans can only venture there every few years at the risk of being destroyed by storms. They want to collect a rare plant that heals and restores youth. Lanen ventures on one of these expiditions to meet dragons and befriends Akhor. While on the island, she discovers her father Marik wants to sacrifice her to demons. She must keep a fine balance between helping the dragons and keeping alive. This gives the plot some fast moving action and adventure that readers will enjoy. The plot adds to the strong themes of the book.

Love and sacrifice are the major themes. Akhor and Lanen try to deny the impossible growing love between them. Added to this is her desire to help the dragons free the lost souls of the lesser dragons from their torment. These themes combine to give the book a powerful story that can't be put down.

Characters, plot and themes makes Song in the Silence a must read for Fantasy readers. It is hard to put down once started. Those who like dragons in their books will enjoy Akhor, Shikrar, Idai, Kedra and the others. Romance lovers will find the relationship of Lanen and Akhor different. Elizabeth Kerner has provided a wonderful addition to the genre. Though a complete story, there are enough plot threads for another book. Hopefully the author is working on the next one.