Saturday, March 15, 2008

Debut Showcase: Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey

MAD KESTREL (Amazon USA, UK)
by Misty Massey (website, blog, argh!)
Tor Books
Trade Paperback
Excerpt

Blurb:
In a world where infants with magical powers are torn from their parents to be raised by the mysterious and powerful Danisoba, who have a monopoly on magic, Kestrel has managed to keep her abilities concealed—and herself free. First hiding in back alleys as a street urchin, she hid when they killed her parents, and then served as a young tavern maid before escaping to sea, where magic is cancelled by water.

Now an adult, as the quartermaster of a pirate ship, Kestrel loves the freedom of living on the seas. But her way of life could end if anyone on board learns her closely guarded secret—that she has magical control over the wind.

One day a black ship appears, and her life changes. Its captain is a handsome rogue of whom Kestrel is strangely, constantly aware.

When Kestrel’s captain is led into a trap and is arrested, she gathers her crew and sets sail in relentless pursuit. . . .

This one looks like a lot of fun. There's been a lot of pirate fantasies out lately, and I haven't read any of them. Well, now I'll get my chance, because Tor generously provided me with a copy of this novel. I'm especially intrigued by her being able to cancel out her magic by living at sea, yet she still has some sort of magical control over the wind.

Look for this as a Featured Debut soon.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The canceled magic/wind control intrigued me too. I'll be eager to read your debut coverage of this one!

Tia Nevitt said...

Thanks! It looks fun.

Carole McDonnell said...

Handsome pirates definitely float MY boat. Just wondering how --if infants with magical powers are taken from their parents-- main character hid her powers. Am sure her parents had something to do with hiding her. Or could a child be so preternaturally wise that even as a little infant she hid her magical talents? Blurbs are so hard to write...to get all that info into such a short word count. -C

Anonymous said...

Definitely looks interesting, especially the magic system. I'm curious to know what you think of it.

Tia Nevitt said...

Wow - a lot of you are interested in this one. It will make for fun reviewing.

I have two books I'm halfway through, and when I'm done with those, I'll dig into this one.

ThRiNiDiR said...

sounds interesting!

Anonymous said...

Misty Massey now has the first chapter of Mad Kestrel available for reading at her website.

Tia Nevitt said...

Cool! I've updated this post.