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Neo-opsis Review
Kath, A Novella
of the Okal Rael Universe
ISBN 1-59092-094-5
Mekan’stan,
A Novella of the Okal Rael Universe
ISBN 1-59092-093-7
By Lynda Williams
Fandom Press
Kath and
Mekan’stan are wonderfully easy books to read. The print is large. The
books are slim. You could read them just about anywhere.
If
you haven’t delved into the Okal Rael Universe, these two books, Kath and
Mekan’stan, are a nice easy way to get your feet wet. They introduce you to
Amel and some of the people that have influenced his life. They also show you
some of the detail and structure of the Okal Rael Universe.
If
you have read The Throne Price, an Okal Rael novel by Lynda Williams and
Alison Sinclair, I am quite sure you will enjoy both Kath and Mekan’stan.
The Okal Rael Universe is rich with detail and these two novellas add to that
richness, filling in some details of Amel’s life, and introducing us to some of
the people who have touch his heart.
In
the novella Kath we get to see a bit more of the class structure of the
Okal Rael universe. Amel, whose name was Von before he was recognized as a
pureblood, seeks to find the woman he loved, and what may have become of his
son. Kath is not so much a love story as it is an exploration of
behavior and survival in a society as rich as the Middle Ages.
Mekan’stan is a bit more complicated than the novella Kath.
In Mekan’stan
we have the clash of two very different societies. Amel comes from a society
where dueling with swords is an acceptable way to get justice and where a
polygamous relationship is honest. Ann comes from a society where justice is
found without violence, and if you are not monogamous with the one you love
then you are not truly in love. Throw in some gun running and kidnapping, and
you have a story that keeps you wondering what will happen next.
Review by Stephanie Ann Johanson.
Originally
published in Neo-opsis #5, 2005.
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