Book Review – The Golden Cord

Author:
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: April 2008

Drake is sent on a journey meant to be short and simple. Yet no journey through the Thornwoods could be termed simple. Constrictor vines, vicious ants and thorn vipers were the least of his worries. Aevians top the list, beginning with the bloodthirsty and aggressive griffins and wyverns. Only by hiding in the thorny woods and taking hidden paths does Derek have any change of bringing his two guests to their destination. His fellow travelers, however, are dwarves on a daring quest to face the one who set the aevian plague on this world – Draglune, the Iron Dragon himself. Although Derek knows by leaving he may never see his home or his beloved again, he too feels called on this quest.

This is Mr. Genesse’s first foray into writing a fantasy fiction novel after denying his calling for years. He has crafted a world where humans are dogged by dragons, wyverns and other aerians. Living in towns protected by thorn trees with paths whittled through forests, humans use what they have available in their natural world to fight for survival. They also have the use of Earth magic assists in their struggles against the unnatural and the already dead. Ghosts walk this place also, haunting those they can easily control.

For a first novel, this was a fairly good attempt at world building. Mr. Gennesse has crafted believable characters that have layers to their motivations and emotions. There is a sense of dogged tenacity in the humans, in their determination to survive in this inhospitable world. The author has certainly captured the malice and evil that drips from the dragon and his minions. He may borrow heavily from archetypes but manages to lend his own bent to them.

Each aspect of the story taken by itself seems well-built. Yet the process of knitting these pieces together falls short of impressive. The weakest point of the entire story is the romantic relationship between Drake and his beloved. I appreciate the lack of sugary sappiness, but the shift between death-defying action and enduring love was not believable for me.

Even knowing this, however, I would be willing to read the next book in the series. Mr. Genesse has the rest of the series written and I am interested to see what will happen with Drake and his quest to save the world. This is a promising book from a writer working to perfect his art.

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