Spirit of the Knight

Mingling America's contemporary times with Scotland's Medieval Age, fantasy/paranormal author Debbie Peterson fodders her readers wildest imagination in her novel Spirit of the Knight from Wild Rose Press. Primarily set in Scotland at a castle that dates back to the early 14th century, the story bounces between the past and the present, sometimes confusing readers about which one is being represented as the line between the two ages is blurred. Maybe even done intentionally by the author to show that time is continuous. Regardless of which era one character is in, a character from another era can understand him/her and the two can shares feelings, thoughts, and the sentiment of love. Even enjoying the same bridge that served as a respite for each of the characters during their own lifetime. Symbolically, life and time is like a bridge. It is always there and not defined by man-made eras.

Audiences are introduced to American born Mariah Jennings who travels to a Medieval castle in Scotland to paint the Gothic citadel. Her assignment is to make the portrait for a book sponsored by a wealthy entrepreneur who wants to immortalize ancient castles in a tome before they are destroyed and their past forgotten along with them. This premise engages readers, making them aware about a disturbing trend in modern times to erase past structures along with their history and significance.

As the story evolves, readers are introduced to a garrison of Scottish knights that are all ghosts, killed in battle at Dupplin in 1332 and bound to the castle and its surrounding grounds by black magic. Unknown to them is a company of female apparitions from the same time as the knights that roam the castle and grounds. A PG-rated romance develops between Mariah and Sir Cailen Braithnoch, one of the ghostly knights. Making their romance more interesting is that Mariah has been painting portraits of Cailen since she was a little girl, sketching a knight whom she had never met and did know ever existed.

The author demonstrates that the line between the past and the present is blurred, giving the reader a sense that time is continuous. That death cannot divide people. Lives continue in spirit form, and people's memories are the reservoir that stores their experiences whether they remember those experiences in their present life or not. Audiences are familiar to this concept, which has been addressed in a number of popular ghost stories like the 1937 film Topper and the 1946 motion picture The Time of Their Lives.

Peterson incorporates many ancillary characters, often too many that play a small role in the partnership of Mariah and Cailen. Her writing style is engaging and her knowledge of the Medieval Scottish diction gives the story authenticity. The biggest drawback is that Peterson drags out the scenes, and readers find that the story has not moved in several chapters.

Another drawback is that Peterson's malicious characters don't quite fit. She leads the reader to believe that black magic has cursed the ghostly knights and ladies to stay at the castle and its grounds, though it isn't entirely believable. PG-rated characters, Peterson can conjure up easily but with evil characters, the writing struggles. Out of no where, these evil-like characters mean to destroy Cailen though their motives are not substantiated. The author tells audiences that these characters are evil but it comes off as contrived. Quite satisfying is that Peterson writes Cailen so he doesn't feel cursed being a ghost while the woman he loves is mortal. Talking about alternative lifestyles, it works that Cailen is a ghost and Mariah is mortal and the two are in love.

This new author surprised me for couple reasons: her charactors are well blended into storyline with paranormal aspects blended into the book.

I liked the storyline because magic was involved. Medieval period was a great plus because that is one of the reasons I picked that book.

Writing as detailed enough that I could enjoy the story and descriptions of the era.

Of course I treated this book like fun and I did not go into details. Perhaps that is why for me this book was a great entertainment.

Solid 4 stars.

Wildly imaginative! Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Simply a GREAT read!