Book Review of Liars and Thieves by Diana Wallace Peach

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My Review of Liars and Thieves by Diana Wallace Peach.

I must say Liars and Thieves kept my attention and I stayed up past midnight for two nights until I finished reading the book. There’s a map at the beginning of the book. I even printed out the map and follow the characters and events throughout the story.

My Review

In Liars and Thieves, Diana built a believable world of three races and three characters representing each. The goblins dwelt in the mountains. They were terrakinetic, a skill in their possession in manipulating, moving, and transforming rocks and minerals into altered shapes, into alloys, into machinery. The changelings inhabited in the jungle in human form but could shift into animals and insects, known for being thieves and spies. The elves lived in the river plain but invaded the changeling’s territory when cutting trees.  

Borderland was a common area where the Council meet. The Council leadership comprised of nine members—three representatives from each race. All races were free to live and work and die in the Borderland. The Veil in the far north held the secrets of eternity. It divided the Known World of the three races to the unknown. Those who had attempted to cross through had never returned. The common denominator for all three races was the crystals. The goblins mined them, elves needed them to power their weapons and homes; and changelings used them to shift shape.

Naj, the half-elfin, half goblin, used reasoning to make decisions. Alue, an elf who acted on her impulse, and made mistakes at every turn. Talin, the changeling, gained the queen’s favorite by being her spy.

After building the foundation of the fantasy world, Diana skillfully unfolded the chaos and resolution-seeking among the races and the characters. Over the years, the explosion in the north collapsed the mine. Some members from all three races disappeared, but there were no remains. Each race was suspicious over the others for killing their kinds and stealing the crystals. When Naj, Alue, and Talin questioned by their leaders, they selected and omitted details to report only what the leaders wanted to hear.

Individually, these three were not enemies to each other. They acted on the commands of their leaders. During trials, when one was in danger of being executed, the other tried to extend the defense. As reflected in the actual world, these races tried to form an alliance with one race to go against the other. When circumstances changed, they retreated and changed their mind to protect their own interest.

Diana skillfully made her imagination visible in the lines such as:

“Waves bulged along the Veil’s magnetic lines like sound along an instrument’s string.”

“The elders leaned toward each other, their murmured comments passing to the ends of the arc and back like ripples in a pond.”

“The ancient goblins gasped as Naj’s skull flattened and muzzle protruded, baring deadly canines. His limbs shuddered and contracted. Shoulder blades and hip bones tilted as his body contorted on the floor and spine lengthened. Joints tore apart and reformed into new connections.”

I developed a personal liking for the characters and wanted to know what happened to them next. I stayed up for two nights to read this book. There were two FREE chapters for Book 2, and I can hardly wait for it to be available.

Liars and Thieves Global Purchase Link: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B08FGQ2W3Q

Amazon and Goodreads Ratings

Author the Author

D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, bats, owls, and the occasional family of coyotes.

Author Links:

Website/Blog: http://mythsofthemirror.com

Website/Books: http://dwallacepeachbooks.com

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/D.-Wallace-Peach/e/B00CLKLXP8

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myths-of-the-Mirror/187264861398982

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dwallacepeach

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