Book Review: The Crown of Silence

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Crown of Silence     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Storm Constantine
Class/Genre:   Fantasy
Series: Magravandias Chronicles # 2
Tor, Mar 2001, $27.95, 431 pp.

At fifteen, Shan lives a relatively contented life working along side his father gathering crops in the isolated village of Holme. However, everything changes when the ferocious invading Magravandas ravage the village. The atrocities are numerous as men are viciously murdered and women brutally raped. They kill Shan's family and brutalize him leaving him for dead.

Taropat the wizard arrives after the soldiers leave and informs the survivors that "the demon of death" marches the land. He takes Shan with him and trains the lad into focusing his hatred and using magic as a weapon of retaliation against the Magravanda Empire. Taropat seeks a hero while Shan seeks vengeance thus a marriage of convenience is forged between the tutor and the student. As he starts to learn more about Taropat, Shan joins a quest seeking the Crown of Silence with each member of the alliance planning to take control of the artifact.

THE CROWN OF SILENCE, the second tale in Storm Constantine's Magravandias Chronicles, is a well-written epic fantasy that will thrill genre diehards. The story line has exciting moments that bring alive an engaging plot, but at other times the tale seems bogged down with too much explanation of the mythos behind the legends. Shan is an interesting character fueled by loathing to become all he can be and more as he converts from peasant to mage. Taropat is also a captivating player, but no more on him because his background is pivotal to the novel. Although not quite as entertainingly smooth as SEA DRAGON HEIR, Ms. Constantine adds depth to her mythical realm with an overall strong entry.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner