Having started to read this story almost immediately after finishing "The Bard of Azure and Gold" (Adrian Drake) it could have found its self at a bit of a disadvantage due to the inevitable comparison between the two. However, this was not the case. "The Blood That Binds" has all the aspects I most love in a fantasy tale: enchanting characters, lyrical writing style, intriguing story line and a feeling of excitement and anticipation.

Although, to all intents and purposes, the story comes to a conclusion at the end of this book I do hope that there may be a book 2 waiting in the wings.

The Blood That Binds, by American author Rie Sheridan, is a softly lyrical tale set firmly in the Tolkien tradition. If you are in search of cutting edge fantasy then look elsewhere. If however you are looking for a gentle fairy tale that is not demanding, then I can happily recommend TBTB!

Our two main heroes are Prince Roland, the young son of King Frederick and Roland's loyal companion, Stefan, an orphan who had been taken into the Kings service from the day he had been found, apparantly abandoned in the forest. The plot holds no surprises and is a little formulaic. Take a couple of brave yet untried men, throw in a quest for some magical jewellery, add a terrible villain and a beautiful elven Princess, and don't forget a wizard to help our heroes along and you could write this story yourself!

To expand... Roland and Stefan on a trip away from the castle on board a trading ship are attacked by a band of Roland's wicked cousin Norfulk's men. The purpose of the attack is twofold... Norfulk wants the throne and intends to eliminate any competition. He also wants to recover certain magical artefacts which will help ensure his success. To reveal much more of the plot would be unfair to Rie Sheridan, suffice it to say that the boys escape, meet up with a beautiful elven Princess, get embroiled in some adventures, discover a few secrets from the past and are instrumental in resolving the future of two races.

Before I conclude this review in a fair manner, I have to have a gripe about a number of things.

Firstly the evil villain, Norfulk. He really is a cardboard character, a pantomime baddie, who has been drawn very one dimensionally. If the book were a pantomime then all the kids in the audience would be booing and hissing as he entered stage left, twirling his moustache and rubbing his hands in evil glee as he throws another orc on the fire. I mention this because this lazy characterization irritated me, Ms Sheridan can write and I'm sure she could have made a better job of Norfulk if she'd only tried. Another of the things that niggled me was dialogue. For the most part Sheridan handles the dialogue well, but occasionally slips in a phrase that jars, are you really comfortable with an Elven Princess saying "He fancies me."? To me it just doesn't feel right, but maybe that's just me and undoubtedly fans of the tale will be accusing me of being 'too picky'. Well if I'm going to be accused of that I might as well be in for a penny and add that Rie's decision to introduce a character who talks like a cockney barrow boy might have seemed like a good idea at the time and indeed might have worked for her American audience, but it didn't travel too well. To me it was the equivalent of finding a character from Lord of the Rings talking like Bart Simpson!

Ok, so I've explained what I didn't like, are there any plus points?

I'm pleased to say that there are. The main one being that Rie Sheridan has the ability to evoke a sense of magic with her prose and whilst I know comparisons are generally odious, I have to confess that at certain points in the tale I was drawn into the world created by her in the same way I was when I first read about Middle Earth. To me this is the essence of fantasy, to create a world that draws you into it. I believe Ms Sheridan has a great book within her, she displays hints of an ability to produce something really good.

Sadly, The Blood That Binds, isn't it, but the story shows enough of Rie's talent to make me look forward to her next offering.