Morris, Tee
LEGACY OF MOREVI: Book One of the Arathellean Wars
Tee Morris
Dragon Moon Press
Trade Paper 2005
ISBN#
1-896944-29-9
Second in a series (if you count the opening title of MOREVI: THE CHRONICLES OF RAFE & ASKANA, by Lisa Lee & Tee Morris, review this site), LEGACY OF MOREVI is for fans of swashbuckling sword & sorcery in an alternate Sixteenth-Century world. This series is also for readers who enjoy the competition of females against males.
In THE CHRONICLES OF MOREVI, the handsome and charming privateer Rafe Rafton and his shipmates crashed into and through a magical sea crossing called the Rift while trying to outrun Spanish galleons. On the other side of this terrifying barrier they found a land of magical people divided politically into three realms, and Rafe immediately fell into favor with two of them. Thinking to play one against the other, Rafe soon discovered himself caught by The Black Widow of Morevi, fierce leader of the central country which is totally matriarchal. Rafe chose sides, but working with Askana was a challenge almost beyond bearing. They fought for her country, they fought each other . . . and they fell in love.
Years later, in LEGACY OF MOREVI: BOOK ONE, Rafe is Queen Askana’s pampered concubine. Problem is, Rafe can’t even get respect from his own daughter in this female-ordered world. But, along comes a war with the elves of Arathelle and the story heats up nicely. Rafe and Askana must make a Rift crossing, for they have proof that the elves are allied with Spain. Unfortunately, all is not well in King Henry VIII’s court, so Rafe and Askana fight for their lives yet again. The ending is a real cliff-hanger—I do hope the author is typing fast!
Tee Morris pulls off this second installment well without Lisa Lee’s help, though I wasn’t at first convinced since I got a bit confused at the beginning of the book where Askana meets the new queen of elves who is also Askana’s first daughter now grown (took me four pages to figure which “she” was which). Guess there was some enchantment that grew the child to adulthood quickly, a fact that was not at first understood by this reader. But the swashbuckling action and light humor from the first book are found in this volume, so if you enjoyed CHRONICLES OF MOREVI, then I do recommend LEGACY OF MOREVI. The characterization and world-building are brilliantly done, guaranteed to hold any sword & sorcery fan captivated for hours.
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