Starbinder (Eye of Eternity #0.5), by Mark Timmony
The Book
Synopsis:
Forged in betrayal. Tempered by the stellar winds. Chosen by the stars.
For five hundred years since the Sundering, the order of the Shaluay Starbinders has been dwindling. With their Starwells lying dormant, key artefacts of their order lost and their seers driven mad by the powers that broke the world, only one hope remains to the man who leads them; a fifteen year old girl.
Born to a clan of Wanderers, Reiana has been raised by a harsh grandmother who blames her for the death of her daughter, Reiana’s own mother. When bandits attack the clan’s camp, Reiana leaves the safety of the caravans to pursue the abductor of her younger cousin, heedless of the dangers.
But when a creature of the Void takes notice can Reiana’s own untapped abilities save her, or will the truth of a betrayal see her lost forever? Starbinder is an action-packed prequel novella to The Blood of the Spear. If you like flawed heroes, fast-paced storytelling, and intricate world-building, then you’ll Love Mark Timmony’s character-driven introduction to the epic fantasy series, The Eye of Eternity.
My Review (4.5 out of 5 )
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Starbinder in order for the Escapist Book Tour. This hasn’t influenced the review or the score.
Starbinder is a really loose prequel to The Blood on the Spear, being both parts of the Eye of Eternity series, by Mark Timmony. In this short novel, we are going to follow the story of Reiana, and the fate stars have set for her.
Despite being a short novel, Mark Timmony makes an authentic tour-de-force of his writing skills and worldbuilding, with so few pages, he creates an excellent story that gives brush strokes on how the world works and the intricacy of its magic. It’s also important how good he avoided slowing the pace with info-dumping passages, getting this to the absolute minimum.
We are fastly thrown into the story, starting with an action scene which shows another of the strengths of Timmony’s writing, as he’s excellent at weaving action sequences. The plot advances really really fast, only slowing in the moments we are introduced to the mysticism of Reiana’s grandmother, and when we are let known more about the Sundering and the Shaluay Starbinders. All the elements fusion perfectly to reach a climax which feels like the cherry on top of the novel.
In summary, Starbinder is a great demonstration of the talent that Mark Timmony has. A great novel, which serves either as an introduction to the world, or that can also be read after The Blood on the Spear; also, another pro, you can read it in one sit, so you can’t make excuses about it, right?
Do you want to get your own copy of Starbinder? Check this giveaway!
Prize: A Paperback or Hardcover Copy of Starbinder!
Starts: September 15, 2022 at 12:00am EST
Ends: September 21, 2022 at 11:59pm EST
Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/79e197ac54/
The Author/s
Mark Timmony
Mark Timmony was born in Sydney and grew up on the Northern Beaches. He’s wanted to write for as long as he can remember and has several notebooks filled with illegible scribblings from childhood to prove it. The desire to write led to work as a bookseller and he spent almost a decade working as a genre specialist in Sydney.