A Shore Too Far

A Shore Too Far
Kevin Manus-Pennings
2011

This new fantasy offering is the first in the Daughters of Damendine series, and it's a very intriguing read. Kara is both Princess and High General of her father's kingdom, Avandi. She's much more 'in touch' with her warrior-side, and her first instincts always reflect battle strategy -- a trait her older brother Eric points out to Kara, causing her to actually see the difference. Where he sees people and their personal obstacles, she sees military statistics and odds. Kara does finally get what Eric is saying, but it takes a while. This journey to discovery is at the heart of A Shore Too Far, and is also what kept me reading.

The story revolves around strange 'demon' visitors who have appeared on the northern shores of Avandi, north of Abringol. Kara is sent by her father to assess the threat and deal with it accordingly - which also includes negotiations with this new people. There's a lot of waiting, of trying to see past the obvious and track down the illusive truths just out of reach. The characters are interesting - there's a lot of backstory hinted at, backstory and relationships I really want to know about and hope are addressed in future installments.

The pacing of the story was a little slow for me - I felt like this was more of an introduction to set-up the series, and for us to see the progression and development of Kara and the other characters. The actual chronology of the tale is short, but it's stretched out, which actually works with the events, but still. I kept thinking I was being led to a huge build-up, and then things just drifted down again. Still, characters are interesting and the concept is intriguing. I'll be interested in seeing how future novels proceed.

Digital copy provided by author for review.