The Traitor's Heir:The Knight of Eldaran #1 By Anna Thayer

I received this book from Kregel Publications for no charge in exchange for my honest review of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Description:  

Like many from his village, young Eamon Goodhand dreamed of joining the Gauntlet, the army of the overlord Eldered. Now he is about to complete his training and swear his loyalty to Eldered and his commanders, the Hands, who uphold Eldered's tight control of the land.

Entering into the service of the Gauntlet, Eamon's gifts, particularly his potent Sight, quickly become valuable to his superiors and he advances to the command rank at a speed that arouses the suspicions of fellow officers.

However, Eldered's bloody rule, and Eamon's personal friendships, start to challenge the young soldier's assumptions about what might be true, and worthy of service. And soon Eamon must conceal a fatal secret: he is sworn to both Eldered and to Hughan, the rightful king of the land. Yet he may not forswear the vows he has uttered in all good faith so however he serves, his name will be traitor.

As tensions and military skirmishes increase, Eamon finds himself trusted by both his masters. How can he possibly maintain his integrity, act justly to his fellow officers of the Gauntlet, and act on behalf of all the warring people of the land?


My Thoughts: 

The Traitor's Heir is the debut novel of Anna Thayer. The Traitor's Heir is the first book in her series, The Knight of Eldaran, and it is a good book.  I do not read a lot in the Fantasy Genre but there are a few that I enjoy and The Traitor's Heir is one of them.  When I read the book description and the fact that this is Anna Thayer's debut book, well I really wanted to read it.  Eamon Goodhand wants nothing more than to be part of the Gauntlet, the army of Eldered, an overlord who took the kingdom long ago. Eamon has second thoughts about joining the Gauntlet after talking to a friend of his and then decided when another of their friends tells him what the Gauntlet has in store for him and Eamon swears the oath and his loyalty to Eldered. As his superiors realize the strong gift of Sight Eamon has they are quick to move him up the ranks, which causes fellow officers to be suspicious. After his ship is taken over, Eamon and another soldier are captured and taken to a village. There Eamon gets a big shock, a friend who he thought gone, was standing there in front of him. Hughan is alive and is the rightful king of the land. Eamon finds himself sworn to Eldered and to Hughan, no mater who he serves he is a traitor.

The Traitors Heir is a great book.  Anna Thayer did a fantastic job creating this whole world of fantasy. Anna Thayer transplants her readers into this world with vivid descriptions, high action, and suspense. As I read this book, I felt like I was there experiencing the events with our characters. From start to finish this book kept my attention and moved at a great pace. There are many twists and turns throughout that really keeps the reader guessing. As someone who doesn't read much in the Fantasy genre I found myself really enjoying this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy like The Lord of The Rings and Narnia, you will not be disappointed. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this trilogy. I give this book 4 STARS.