REVIEW: A Hero's Tale by Catherine M. Wilson

A Hero's Tale by Catherine M. Wilson
Publishing information: eBook (Kindle Edition)
Publisher: Shield Maiden Press, 1^st October 2008
ISBN 10: 0981563635 (Paperback)
ISBN 13: 978-0981563633 (Paperback)

ASIN: B001MBUDNU
Series: When Women Were Warriors
Copy: Supplied by Author
Reviewer: Kathryn

Blurb: “In Book III of the trilogy, Tamras must make her own hero’s journey. She ventures into the unknown and encounters a more formidable enemy than any she has ever faced. Character is destiny, and the destiny of Tamras and all her people will depend upon choices that come less from the skills she has been taught than from the person she has become, from her own heart.”

A Hero's Tale is the final part of Catherine M. Wilson's When Women Were Warriors series, and it follows on directly from the end of the second. Together in the forest, Maara and Tamras find allies in the strangest of places, but their happiness doesn't last. Whilst Tamras learns valuable lessons from the new allies, it's only a matter of time before her luck runs out.

Like the previous volumes, I found the writing mostly clear, concise and enjoyable to read. The character development continued very well, and whilst the number of characters sometimes became a little hard to manage, Wilson left enough clues in the text to get a good idea of their differences. I'm finding it hard to find praise for this book that I haven't applied to the previous two, because it really is – once again – more of the same.

Thematically speaking, Wilson again puts a lot of emphasis on love, but a lot of thought is put into the other topics such as betrayal and hope, as well as a look at the differences between cultures and communities. Tamras finds herself in various locations in this volume, and each community feels different. The Northerners speak in a different manner, the people of an important settlement have the opposite system for their rulers to Tamras' home – yet they're all in what we'd now consider the same country. These discussions and explorations build the world in a way I've found few series to do, and I enjoyed how it made me think.

In terms of criticism, I found myself becoming a little uncomfortable with the erotic scenes. It's not so much that I have a problem with eroticism, but whilst they originally offered some character development, it feels like they were elaborated on to fill the time. I felt that I'd read it before, that these actions had been done earlier, and it took away from my enjoyment a little. They were still tasteful and had an air of beauty around them, yet I wished them over more often than not.

The pacing gained in the second part also seemed to fall flat with the start of this volume, with the plotline seeming to just fade. I did find myself a little confused with the plot and all its nuances, but I would say that's partially due to the inconsistent method in which I read the book, but thankfully it's summarised a number of times towards the end. I was a little surprised by the ending, but I found it pleasant all the same.

To summarise, I felt A Hero's Tale was a slightly weak end to a powerful and emotional series, and whilst I enjoyed this volume the least of the three, I still took a good amount of pleasure and enjoyment from it, as well as a level of sadness upon reaching the final page.

N.B. In a previous review, I mentioned the books felt like one book that was split up - I've been informed by the author that it was indeed a single novel that was split into three parts.

Plot: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Style: 8/10

Overall: 8/10