Dew, August 2001, 6.99, 432 pp.
ISBN 0886779219
Camden DeKatherine never questioned his role in his family's empire as everyone served the Flame including him. That belief ended on his twelfth birthday when his father died. His older brother, Alec, now the Duke, shut him out and Cam felt like a stranger in his own home. He found comfort in the Wind who called to him and realized he was that Aspect's Chosen.
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Cam's Uncle Celestus saw that his nephew was born to serve the Wind not the fire. He realized he found the fourth and last person he needed to form a circle consisting of all the Aspects. He persuaded Cam's family to let the boy stay with him while they mourned the loss of their patriarch. At Tavencroft, Cam was accepted for the first time for who he truly was but he knew that he was involved in a heretical conspiracy that would either kill him or set him free.
Fiona Patton has created an imaginary world where the religious, metaphysical and political aspects of life are intertwined to form the bases of a person's identity. Branion is an island nation that has been led by the same ruling family for the five hundred years of its existence, but what Cain and his cohorts plan to do is change the existing order or die trying. Cain is not an easy person to understand, but when the true nature of his character becomes apparent the reader will be with him heart and soul. The antagonist has many redeeming qualities but his obsessive need to prove his theory right turns him into the villain of the piece. THE GOLDEN SWORD is a fantasy novel that will appeal to many readers on several levels.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner