Author: Louise Cooper
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2000
This story focuses on Shar, an orphan, who lives with her Uncle Thel on Summer Isle. We learn about Shar’s gifts, she can call elements and communicate with cats. Her dream is to become an initiate of the Circle, but her Uncle wants her to study with the Sisterhood and on the eve of her departure to the Sisterhood she learns of an assassination plot to kill the head of the Circle and her Uncle seems to be involved. Reluctantly she begins her new life with the Sisterhood, but she doesn’t forget the need to discover the truth behind the plot.
Shar’s abilities to call elements hide a darker power and finds her dragged into a plan to summon dark creatures to plot the High Initiates death. Shar discovers her role in the assassination plot and fights to safe her sanity and the life of the only person that can protect the world from demons.
Personal Thoughts – this book is based on a world created in an adult series called the Time Master. Due to having read this series I was familiar with the magic, the concepts of the gods and the world. However, anyone unfamiliar with the earlier series by Cooper, would find this book doesn’t explain in any detail the relationships of the characters with their gods and how the world in connected. Therefore may be a little confusing at times.
I thought Shar’s abilities are used entertainingly. Shar’s relationship with the elements and the cats in this story were both enchanting and aids the tenser scenes in the book. This is very much kids dragged into the big plans of adults, with rebelling but still having little power over the outcomes. I would have liked to see more power given to the younger characters of this story, though at least Shar grows. Overall this is an entertaining yarn.
