The Gryphon

Today's post is on The Gryphon by Nick Bantock. It is the first in the Morning Star series. The cover is green with a beautiful golden postcard in the center. It is 58 pages long and is published by Chronicle Books. The intended reader is someone who has read the first trilogy, likes reading other people's mail, and magic. There is no langauge, no sex, and no voilence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Isabella:
The parcel did contain something unusual...65 cards and letters, the massed correspondence between Sabine and a man called Griffin Moss. It's odd stuff. I'm trying to decide if I've encountered an elaborate fiction, or a series of events that, if true, cast doubt over any concept of reality I've ever held.

--Matthew

The correspondence of Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem, at turns enigmatic, sumptuous, and romantic, reveals dangerous undercurrents and strange forces at work in the universe. These powers have only grown stronger with the couple's disappearance. Nothing is heard from them for quite some time, until Sabine asks Matthew Sedon, a young archaeologist working in Egypt, for help. As Matthew is reluctantly drawn into the intrigue, he finds encouragement from his strong-willed girlfriend, Isabella de Reims. Miles away in Paris, Isabella struggles with haunting glimpses of mythic landscapes and surreal creatures that come to her in waking dreams. Slowly Matthew and Isabella realize that to unlock this secret world is to open the door to their deepest yearnings. 

Review- More magical letters and love stories. The story is taking a broader  perspective for this whole trilogy. Isabella is special but she, and we as the readers, do not know how. Sabine contacts Matthew because she was the midwife at his birth. So they have a connection. Griffin and Sabine are now beyond the villains grasp but they are still concerned with the world they left behind. To help Isabella do whatever she is to do they reach out to Isabella and Matthew. The art, as usual, is wonderful and adds so much to the story. The fantasy elements are stronger in this volume and I cannot wait to see how things are going to grow and change.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.