Moonbeams - Review

When I reviewed her first book, Jewels,  I said “I won’t tell you anything more because I don’t want to spoil the fun.  Just take my word for it and get yourself a copy of Jewels by local author Lakisha Spletzer.”

When I reviewed her second book, Werelove: Dusk Conspiracy, I wrote “…when Ms. Spletzer matures as a writer and finally finds her groove, hers is a voice that will be reckoned with.”

I have just finished Moonbeams, which the writer tells me is book one of a trilogy, and I’m here to tell you that with this offering, the Inverness, Florida writer and single mother of two can, in this reviewer’s opinion, be honestly and favorably compared to a young Ann McCaffrey!  If I need to be more specific than that for you, pay attention TOR, Penguin, Random House, Bantam, Earthlight, etc.  This is the coming out party,  and this is your chance to pick up a smoking hot new Sci-fi/Fantasy writer.

It is the end of a long, hot muggy summer in a small Virginia college town.  It’s Friday night, and friends Cory, Rob and Megan are tired of playing cards, and Cory and Megan are tired of losing to Rob.  Their decision to pack up the cards and drive to the next town over to do a little clubbing abruptly turns their world – and their lives upside down.  Cory sees a flash of light in a dark field, and convinces Rob to pull his car over and sets off to determine the source.  Rob follows Cory to assist his friend dragging a kicking, screaming, and whining  Megan, every step of the way.

They’re not quite certain of the source of the flash of light, but when they arrive at where Cory believes was its source, they are physically drawn into the Veil, a brilliantly crafted middle earth sort of place with elements similar to those worlds fashioned by the likes of Tolkein, Lewis, Goodekind, Anthony and McCaffrey, yet done so in a way that is fresh and new even to a reader intimately familiar with those names and places.

Moonbeams and all its descendant manifestations is uniquely the world of Lakisha Spletzler.  My only disappointment with Moonbeams will be remedied when part two of her trilogy is ready for prime time.  I grade on a half step five-star scale, so I give Moonbeams 4 ½ of five.  If I used an incremental 10–point scale, this would have been 9 out of 10.

Moonbeams, ISBN 1451559852, ©2011 Lakisha Spletzer, is available through the author’s website, CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com, including trade paperback and Kindle^® version.  Other e-pub versions are available at Smashwords.com.  Cover art for Moonbeams was created by J.D Holyfield.