Mythical saga traditions are difficult to write, let alone one that is only one hundred and twenty six pages. Such stories are generally written in dense prose and hundreds of pages long. Others are written in dry historical facts of family names and the roles they play. While this type of story telling is mostly from Iceland and Norway's medieval past, the flavor is what Behold The Eyes Of Light imparts. The main difference, of course, is the modern method of telling from the eyes of the heroine.

On a planet that seems to be dying is a race called the Oroomoorii. They are the dominant race of felines who are on the verge of extinction if the promise of a savior does not soon arrive. Known simply as "She Of The North," this feline in Behold The Eyes Of Light has been seen as a possible Seer for her desperate people. Dreams shatter her peace and the old Elder gives her cryptic advice such as "Leave us!" Increasingly confused and frustrated, the only thing besides her mates that gives her comfort is the stars. It is when she feels the irrational desire to leap at them and does, she suddenly disappears from all she has ever known and love.

Behold the Eyes of Light is written with an eye to poetry. You are fully pulled into the environment where the character lives, breathes and, most important for the reader, grows. This is also one of the first stories I have ever read that successfully fully feels as if I am living in a non-humanoid entity, but not so confused or so alien I cannot relate. My problems, if any, are the great gaps that happen in the story as so much is trying to be told in novelette fashion rather than the large novel this should have been treated as. At times it felt as if Geoff Geauterre was rushing to get to the end of the book by great leaps and bounds, sometimes leaving me confused as to what was going on. Still I continued because, as I said, the prose itself was so well done. The plotting, however, is so rushed that I found myself upset that the writer could not take the time to let us read the story rather than stumble through it. I will read the rest of the series and review them as well. I only hope the next three will improve in the plotting and pace at a much slower pace.

Reviewed By: Nancy Louise
© September 2007