King’s Sendina’s Prophecy Offers Seamless Pick Up From The Door In The Stone

Author Rob King, in Sendina’s Prophecy, keeps the “Kavenland band” together.

The principals who became familiar and friends when reading King’s The Door In The Stone are back for another run at crossing the Great Road, escorting children into the Forest, and finding the Kavenland army and safer surroundings. The second of three book adventures of King’s characters bloom with adventure, right from the start. You can easily drift into a fantasy world and get a feel of walking beside Ariana, Vic, Noll, Em, and Larkin as they battle the Hill People.

King puts a tight grip on readers, starting with Page 1, as he sets the scene of what these mythical beings are facing.

“Hordes of men and women crept quietly through the Kavenland camp in the misty-gray predawn light. The eerie silence was broken only by the surprised and muffled grunts of the men and women on the wrong end of those weapons. The Hill People had launched another sneak attack on the Kavenland army.”

There are no breaks for your imagination in Sendina’s Prophecy. Offerings range from good versus evil, romance, an underground city, and families being reunited; King takes readers by the hand and allows all the dots to be connected at a reasonable rate.

Ariana easily becomes a fan favorite. The ferocity demonstrated by Arina is something to cheer long and loud for. Think a combination of Xena: Warrior Princess and Wonder Woman; this is the power exhibited by the Hill People’s worst enemy. Whether wielding a sword or pulling back on a bow to fire an arrow with precise accuracy at her enemies, Ariana remains a strong, central member of the present and future of Kavenland.

Followers of Em, first in The Door In The Stone and now Sendina’s Prophecy, knew that she was able to talk with dogs and cats. Now, fantasy continues as horses and unicorns are added to Em’s ability to communicate with animals.

Crossing the Great Road, then traveling through the Forest, it’s the battlefield description that is King’s strongest point in painting a picture of what often monumental hurdles must be defeated. Count the villainous Kynwas, who can shoot lightning from his fingers, among the enemies who won’t go away quietly.

The differences among people have persisted for more than 1,000 years. It was about this amount of time that anyone, until now, had attempted to make their way through the uncharted forest. The attention to detail presented by King is what keeps your interest. When Ariana finds her family and Noll, a character King created who has basketball-sized shoulders and walks hunched over in attempts to look smaller and fit in with others, reunites with his mother, it’s obvious that these are individuals you can connect with.

A favorite rescue between battle scenes is when Vic, who has feelings for Ariana, frees his favorite female. Before her capture, Ariana saved Vic in a battle with an Archipelagan soldier. So, when Ariana broke ranks from the Kavenland army and was captured, she was destined to go one-on-one with the silver-haired Gryphon – a fight to the death.

Tracking her whereabouts in the dark of night, Vic locates Ariana and breaks her free from the chain holding her for a scheduled dawn fight. Throughout Sendina’s Prohecy, the message of working together, teamwork, is what makes Kaveland’s army and people stronger.

It is quick and easy to walk through the Forest and feel safe. Galeran, who has found 800 years of solitude by remaining in the Forest, and Noll, too, are among the good guys protecting the caravan of children marching through. King describes Noll evolving into a passive protector himself, all the while entertaining the children with stories of battles he participated in.

No shortage of characters and obvious make-believe tendencies, such as having a paste that can make one invisible, King paints such vivid pictures of scenes on each page that you want to take the brush and color yourself in the ongoing action.

Everyone needs an escape, at some point, from life’s everyday challenges. Sendina’s Prophecy is the elixir you’re looking for.