Have you ever thought that the lives we lead here were just a way of venting all the frustrations of another existence-our real existence? That what happened in our lives on Earth was just a way to learn lessons and evolve into a more perfect being? Rogar of Hamun was a closed being. He didn't love nor did he like to socialize. He craved isolation. Elesa of Relga was a different story altogether. She craved-no, had to have-the nearness of Rogar even though he never showed her even one sign of affection. He never showed any signs of caring or wanting her. It didn't matter to her though, because her soul, every single bit of it, loved and was devoted to Rogar. She was certain one day he'd see her-really see her. She had always thought that then she'd be complete.

Chavva was the creator. She created the worlds where people lived their lives. These were the worlds where they were born and died. She was beautiful, elegant, graceful and a frigid bitch to the core. She loved her creations-her "children." In reality, she used them for her whims.

An entity came into Rogar's haven and opened him up like he had never been before. Where his heart had once been closed, now it was open and ready to love. The entity became part of him, watching, experiencing and slowly patterning itself after its "father." Whereas before he could not stand being around Elesa, now he could not and would not stand being apart from her. She became his world. She was his reason for existing. She was his love. He had never felt love, or affection, or anything like it before her, and never would he go back to what he had been-a man with no heart just like their creator.

As Chavva watched, she became more jealous until horrible things began to happen. Her jealousy fueled death; it fueled Rogar's rage toward her and much more. Would Elesa and Rogar prevail?

The Guardians of Eternity, Book 1: Rogar of Hamun was as different from my expectations as night from day. I began expecting one thing and got another, but it was something better-something so different and yet exciting I couldn't bear to put the book down. Rogar started out being so unlikable because of his inability to love that it made me want to scream. So did Elesa's insane amount of clinging until I understood the reason for it. The two became two different characters as the story moved on, and by the end I could hardly remember why I disliked them. They both cared, loved and adored one another with an intensity that made me yearn for it myself. The villainess, Chavva, began so beautiful but turned out to be so ugly and disgusting by the end that I wondered how I could ever have been fooled. The guardian, "The Baby," made me think of a baby and yet was actually a powerful thing in itself. The book had enough great and fast-paced action that I was never bored and I never contemplated stopping my reading. If anything, Ms. Palmer's book was a thousand times better than I expected and different than when I began. This was a first in a series, and I can't wait for the next! WAY TO GO!

Reviewed By: Gabrielle Channing
© May 2004