Book Nook

August 12, 2010

From page one of her debut novel, Catherine Banner weaves an enchanting tale of triumph and tragedy. The Eyes of a King is the story of a war-ridden land called Malonia. Leo North is a teenager not too unlike his peers. He attends the local military school and hates every minute of it. However, Leo is immediately fascinated with a book he finds in the snow, a book in which strange writing appears all by itself. The book tells stories of mythical land, England. It tells of a man skilled in magic who has been exiled there. Leo reads of how the banished prince came to be in this man’s care, and he learns of the girl fated to help the prince return. Banner does not breathe life into her characters; they are so real that they live and breathe of their own accord. It is impossible not to be glad in their successes, not to weep in their hardships. This story strikes a chord of familiarity. There is something that reader already knows and recognizes in their own lives. All in all, Banner has written a great rainy day read as she explores Malonia through the eyes of a commoner, the eyes of a foreigner, the eyes of a magician, and the eyes of a king.

Heather G.
Oak Grove Library Page.