Reiffen's Choice: Book One of the Stoneways Trilogy: 1

Reiffen's Choice by S.C. Butler is the first book of the new young adult fantasy series, The Stoneways Trilogy. In a world filled with so much wonder that the presence of talking animals, dwarves, and shape shifters seems mundane, twelve-year-olds Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris desire the good-natured fun of young people everywhere--sneaking extra candy, visiting friends, and complaining about school--all the while enjoying a safe home among adults who love them so that mortal dangers remain the stuff of myth. When Reiffen, the heir to a great throne, is kidnapped, Avender and Ferris must put away the comfort and security of home in order to rescue him. But they are running out of time. Will Reiffen succumb to the temptation of wielding the power of magic--a power so great that his soul and self will be forfeit and death and destruction will follow in his wake? Mr. Butler wields the power of words like a delicate knife. I was entranced by the first paragraph of his book.One warm spring day in Valing, a large, fat bear sunned himself on the gray stone of the Neck. His russet coat gleamed, sleek as a nokken's: the long mountain winter didn't seem to have bothered him at all. Half-asleep or half-awake, he lay comfortably between the orchard and the top of the cliff, where the scent of the apple blossoms was almost as lovely as the hum of the bees. Behind him the lake glistened a deep and sparkling blue. Except for a long plume of spray from the falls to the west, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Valing? The Neck? Nokkens? Three unknown things in the first paragraph and I didn't care--the charm of the description carried me along. Mr. Butler has written an innovative creation mythos to anchor his story, much the way J.R.R. Tolkein created a founding mythos to secure his world in The Lord of the Rings. While I could find logical nitpicks because of my technical background (training that I rue at times), in general, I found his mythos enchanting. Though the character development of Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris fell flat at times because of a wandering viewpoint, Mr. Butler told their stories with an empathy and affection that drew me throughout the book, and, at the end, I knew that I would purchase (and have done so) the sequel--Queen Ferris.