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Description
"The Chalice of Life"
A Review

"The Chalice of Life" is the beginning of a long journey for seven strangers that join their talents together to save their home land from a terrible fate.  Author Karen Anne Webb joins together a sorceress, a thief, a bard, a warrior, a healer-priest, a Tigroid, and a shape-shifter to find a lost prince who is the key to bringing peace and order to their world.

Karen Anne Webb’s writing provides such description that the reader feels as though he or she is witnessing the story unfold before his or her very eyes.  Webb combines fantasy with reality to create a world that is both practical and believable.  Her ability to blend religion with a remarkable story is outstanding.  Webb’s talent allows her to continue the story smoothly without having to stop and explain what has just been said about a character’s religious beliefs.  In contrast with other fantasy authors who give their characters lines such as “Praise the Goddess!” without allowing their religion any substantiality, Webb’s characters do actually practice their various religions.  In addition, Webb also includes quotes from many different religions including Buddhism, Judaism, and the Bahá’í Faith.

Webb’s characters come from many different backgrounds and social standings and each represent certain aspects of a human being: there is pride, courage, selfishness, deception, compassion, faithfulness, and enlightenment.  Even though all of these characters come from different places, they are able to trust each other and become good friends.  Through their travels they grow closer together and, in a way, become a family; showing that even though people are not all the same, we can put aside our differences and accept others for what they are.  Karen Anne Webb’s characters bring out the best of each other and encourage us to do the same.  She also melds many different genres into her story, including adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction, and religion, which enhances the plot of The Chalice of Life and makes the reader wonder what will come next.  Overall, it is a very good book that older youth and adults would enjoy (or in other words, 15 and up; perceptive junior high school students with excellent vocabularies should also find it engaging).

"The Chalice of Life" is the first of a planned eight-book series, and ends on quite a cliffhanger!  From a very advanced ancient civilization, to a sword that won’t stop talking, and everything in between, Karen Anne Webb’s "The Chalice of Life" is truly an amazing tale that will keep you reading for hours on end.

(Karen Anne Webb, The Chalice of Life.  Book 1 of Adventurers of the Carotian Union.  Published by Dragon Moon Press, 2006.  ISBN 1-896944-33-7, $19.95.  Currently not carried by the Distribution Service, but can be ordered at most online bookstores [Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.] or through your local bookstore.  Also visit www.chaliceoflife.com for further explorations of the worlds through which the adventurers travel, previews of the next books, and author info!)

Description
"The Chalice of Life"
A Review

"The Chalice of Life" is the beginning of a long journey for seven strangers that join their talents together to save their home land from a terrible fate.  Author Karen Anne Webb joins together a sorceress, a thief, a bard, a warrior, a healer-priest, a Tigroid, and a shape-shifter to find a lost prince who is the key to bringing peace and order to their world.

Karen Anne Webb’s writing provides such description that the reader feels as though he or she is witnessing the story unfold before his or her very eyes.  Webb combines fantasy with reality to create a world that is both practical and believable.  Her ability to blend religion with a remarkable story is outstanding.  Webb’s talent allows her to continue the story smoothly without having to stop and explain what has just been said about a character’s religious beliefs.  In contrast with other fantasy authors who give their characters lines such as “Praise the Goddess!” without allowing their religion any substantiality, Webb’s characters do actually practice their various religions.  In addition, Webb also includes quotes from many different religions including Buddhism, Judaism, and the Bahá’í Faith.

Webb’s characters come from many different backgrounds and social standings and each represent certain aspects of a human being: there is pride, courage, selfishness, deception, compassion, faithfulness, and enlightenment.  Even though all of these characters come from different places, they are able to trust each other and become good friends.  Through their travels they grow closer together and, in a way, become a family; showing that even though people are not all the same, we can put aside our differences and accept others for what they are.  Karen Anne Webb’s characters bring out the best of each other and encourage us to do the same.  She also melds many different genres into her story, including adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction, and religion, which enhances the plot of The Chalice of Life and makes the reader wonder what will come next.  Overall, it is a very good book that older youth and adults would enjoy (or in other words, 15 and up; perceptive junior high school students with excellent vocabularies should also find it engaging).

"The Chalice of Life" is the first of a planned eight-book series, and ends on quite a cliffhanger!  From a very advanced ancient civilization, to a sword that won’t stop talking, and everything in between, Karen Anne Webb’s "The Chalice of Life" is truly an amazing tale that will keep you reading for hours on end.

(Karen Anne Webb, The Chalice of Life.  Book 1 of Adventurers of the Carotian Union.  Published by Dragon Moon Press, 2006.  ISBN 1-896944-33-7, $19.95.  Currently not carried by the Distribution Service, but can be ordered at most online bookstores [Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.] or through your local bookstore.  Also visit www.chaliceoflife.com for further explorations of the worlds through which the adventurers travel, previews of the next books, and author info!)