When saviors need saving, when healers are wounded, only risk, heartbreak, and courage can find a way out. After a life-long separation, nineteen-year-old twin brothers Sheft and Teller are finally reunited in the Seani, the small resistance community where they were born. They are the Seani’s last hope in its secret collaboration with down-trodden villagers and beleaguered forest-warriors against the ruthless Spider-king. But an unknown poison has left the brothers with only thirteen hours to live. While the Seani leaders frantically struggle to find an antidote, four childhood friends of Teller’s risk their lives in enemy-occupied territory to save their promised saviors. Meanwhile, Sheft’s beloved Mariat must outwit the fierce boar-men who have captured her and then faces the most wrenching decision of her life.
Assessment:
Plot: Dale is particularly gifted at creating a web of stories, interlacing multiple plot lines to bring a rich, three-dimensional world to life. Dale is able to switch between storylines in a fluid, balanced manner that makes each transition a refreshing turn.
Prose: Dale's prose is at times breathtaking. There is also an inherent profundity to much of the writing.
Originality: While some truly fantastic creatures emerge from the pages of Time Candle, many aspects of the book will remind readers of famous fantasy series like Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, Dale's imagination knows no bounds as evidenced by her clever creations that elicit both curiosity and horror.
Character Development: Each character is wholly unique and distinctive, with Dale unfolding the many forms human beings come in.
Date Submitted: May 15, 2018
Twin brothers, Sheft and Teller, have been separated for a long time, and now they will be meeting each other in an unusual manner and in a very dangerous place. Teller’s mission is to bring his brother to the lair of the oppressor, the Spider King. Will he betray his brother or help him escape and reach the place where a small group of resistance forces are working to set their country free? But things don’t follow through as planned, for the twins find themselves in a deadly situation and poisoned. With only thirteen hours left to live, can their rescuers locate the antidote to the deadly poison in time to reclaim their lives? And why won’t Teller wear the toltyr, the pendant that proclaims who he truly is? Time Candle by Veronica Dale is a heart pounding, tantalizing fantasy that is every bit as entertaining as it is exciting.
I was pulled in by the compelling plot, and right from the opening lines I knew I would love this book. The plot follows a tale of two brothers, but there is a subplot that follows the story of Mariat and that creates the suspense which makes this story even more engrossing. Veronica Dale writes with confidence and her prose features a great setting with powerful images. Although the setting is imaginary, it leaves readers with beautiful sights, great smells, and a geography they can easily imagine. Time Candle is character driven, but the plot is boosted by a memorable conflict and the reader gets caught up in the read, watching out for the exciting and satisfying denouement. This book was absorbing and utterly entertaining. Five stars.
Meet twin brothers Sheft and Teller, separated from each other for a long time by tragic circumstances. In a world where a Spider King sows terror and oppresses the people, Teller is ordered to bring his brother to the king’s underworld. Sheft has been expelled by the village council, despoiled, wounded and, with hands and feet tied, is sent away on the back of a mare.
Now, he will be meeting his twin brother in the dangerous Riftwood. Can Teller accomplish the mission entrusted to him and bring his brother to the enemy or will he join him and hasten towards Seani where a group of resistance fighters are waiting? A twist in the story will find the twins racing against time to save their lives. And what will become of Mariat, captured by fierce boar-men? Can she free herself? Time Candle by Veronica Dale is a fast-paced, tantalizing tale that features a huge conflict and the theme of freedom from oppression.
Veronica Dale’s novel features great imagination, from the powerful setting — a land ripped apart by conflict and featuring very exciting places — to the gripping plot and the fascinating characters. This is a story that is conflict-driven and, from the very beginning, the reader’s curiosity is aroused by the image of the banished and wounded man on the back of a mare. Time Candle has great prose and plot-driven dialogues. There are many emotional moments that will arrest the attention of readers. This is a book I read over one night. It’s gripping, absorbing, with a satisfying end. Five stars.
Time Candle, Book Three of the Coin of Rulve, series is about twin brothers who have been separated for most of their lives. They are about to encounter each other again. Sheft has been wounded and expelled by the town council, while brother Teller's duties charge him with apprehending a wanderer regardless of the fact that it happens to be his twin.
They may be twins, but they seem nothing alike. One is charged with duty and truth and the other is the Teller-of-Lies. One has found love and the other is alone. While both struggled to survive a harsh upbringing, one managed to escape while the other remains haunted.
The forces that separated them bring them together in a clash reflective of a changing world. As each begins to absorb the other's loneliness, special challenges, and vast differences, they slowly evolve to join forces against a poison which threatens their entire world, learning that the foundations of their evolving relationship and lessons learned about one another may be the last hope the world holds.
Great journeys, the victims of a deadly poison, the erosion of final hope, and issues of forgiveness, justice, and a wounded hero charged with saving a land where "...only those emptied can be filled to the brim” makes for a downward spiral into a crushed world where two brothers' relationships and backgrounds serve as examples and microcosms of what is to come. What will it take to meld two disparate forces into one in an event that will either embrace the kingdom and recharge it with hope, or cause the world to succumb?
Time Candle's story of magic, exhaustion, abandonment and redemption is a powerful addition to the series. While newcomers should be able to access and enjoy the story line, it's the prior reader of the Coin of Rulve series who will gain the most from this addition, because it flushes out characters, builds upon prior scenarios, and takes readers in unexpected directions they may not have prepared for in previous books.
The result is highly recommended for fans of the series, weaving a complex blend of psychological challenge and growth into an overall fantasy about peoples and kingdoms on the edge of destruction. All this builds towards a sweeping climax that will conclude in a final book in the series, with Time Candle carefully crafted to keep readers on the edge of their seats, anticipating the grand finale.
Time Candle by Veronica Dale is an epic fantasy novel that follows a pair of twins as they fight against the odds to survive and come out on top. This is a novel that would appeal most to a mixed audience of adults and young adults who enjoy fast paced fantasy fiction. Teller faces a dilemma as he has been ordered to bring his own twin brother, Sheft, into the Spider-King’s underground stronghold. Teller has to decide if he will follow orders and betray his twin, or if he will help Sheft reach the resistance working to free their country. Each choice will end in a betrayal, and both choices have deadly consequences. Will Teller choose his brother or the Spider-King?
Time Candle by Veronica Dale is a fast paced novel that reminded me a bit of the TV show Supernatural except without the vampires, incubus, and in a different time period. I found myself quickly enthralled by Teller as he was forced to decide where his loyalty lay and which choice he could live with. I personally liked Mariat’s character the best as she showed her strength and ability to survive when she went up against the boar-men who held her captive. The element of poison that left the twins with only thirteen hours to live really added a feeling of deadly suspense to the plot line. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and I hope that Veronica Dale decides to write a follow up novel. Five stars
