Amazon Thesila Prophecy Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Xlibris ISBN-10:  148362837X Type: Fiction Pages: 183 Copyright: Copyright © 2013 by Robert Rumble. ISBN-13: 9781483628370 Join 5 strangers trapped in a world where illusions and magic are real as they search for a way home, With the area archmage close on their heels. They unknowingly set in motion the turn of events leading to Thesila Prophecy. Thesila Prophecy is a fantasy novel about 5 strangers from a far off land, known as earth, who awake in a mysterious cave. Mashaun the outdoors man, Mai the medical student, Kazimir the retired fighter, Berg the scholar and Abigail the high school graduate,   find themselves trapped in a world where illusions and dreams are real, and reality is a dream. Mashaun finds Dalistra an egotistical spirit bow that uses telepathy to talk with him, acting as his guide and teacher to this strange world while keeping him safe from harm, until she feels betrayed. This one innocuous find, sets in motion a series of events leading to the start of Thesila Prophecy. After Mashaun and Dalistra defeat a band of slavers from the cave's hidden entrance, the group sets off to find safety and succor else where. Unaware that slavers were sent for them by Magdalenia, the most powerful wizard in the region. She is fully aware of the prophecy and will stop at nothing to prevent it from happening. During the battle at the cave Magdalenia clone is killed and two valuable slaves lost. that is only the begining.  Magdalenia feverishly hunt for Mashaun and the rest of the group believing the have something to do with her dead clone and her missing slaves, but they always seem to be one step ahead of her. While the group winters in a hidden town, Berg comes across an ancient scripture that talks about the hiding place of the mystical, mythical city of Thesila and the key to getting home. Join them on their journey as they make unusual alliances, cross paths with strange creatures, discovery ancient civilizations that have been locked away for centuries, and the true reason they were brought to the cave, as they search for Thesila and the way home.       Excerpt The next morning as they are finishing up their morning stew and getting ready to leave, Mashaun tells them to go upstairs to make sure they had not forgotten anything. When they try to argue, his tone gets very stern, and they all go check one last time wondering what’s got into him. Sivish is surprised by his demeanor, and when he asks him about it, Mashaun tells him that Magdalenia will be walking through that door any minute and he doesn’t want them around. Just as Sivish is about to ask him how he knows, Magdalenia enters, slamming the door open, strutting across the room with her condescending attitude. Sivish recognizes her demeanor and sends the two serving girls to keep everybody upstairs and out of sight. Everybody scrambles from room leaving only Magdalenia, Mashaun, and Sivish, who stands by the bar. One of her guards is standing by the door with another at the base of the stairs. Magdalenia quickly covers the distance between her and Mashaun where he politely but nonchalantly offers her a seat. Putting her hands on the table, she leans forward before speaking. “You know where my red staff is, and I want it back,” Magdalenia says with a viperous tone. “I do?” he replies calmly barely looking up from his stew. Magdalenia replies, “I know that you do, and believe me I will make your life a living hell if you don’t return it” “When did I supposedly have this staff, and what does it look like?” he asks her, still not looking at her. “You know what it looks like!” she snarls, getting irritated at his cavalier attitude slapping the bowl of stew across the room. “What – you – are – talking – about,” he says making sure that he pauses between each word as he stands up. That makes her uncomfortable, he stands a full head taller, but more than that, he leans toward her showing no fear. Had she confronted him when they first got to the city it would have been very different and he knows that, but the months at Meikkian has changed him, made him more confident. “Look, miscreant, I know that you have my staff and I will get it back.” Her glaring eyes staring at him. “I hope you do get it back, because you are nothing, without your crutch,” he tells her mockingly. Everybody else in the room is surprised and fears the worst. They stare at each other for several long moments before Magdalenia leans back looking around the room. All the animals have turned facing them ready to pounce if either one of them physically attacks the other or if she uses any magic

Susan Waterwyk's Reviews > Thesila Prophecy: The Discovery
An Intriguing, Imaginative and Original Fantasy

THESILA PROPHECY: THE DISCOVERY by Robert M. Rumble is unigue in several ways. The story opens with people awakening in a magic cave/chamber on a strange new world with a setting similar to medieval Europe. The main character, Mashuan, finds a magic bow in the chamber. It's a "spirit weapon" with a female personality named, Dalistra. She quickly became my favorite character as she often displays jealosy when Mashaun attracts other female attention. Besides the native human population, there are elves and a number of dangerous creatures for the characters to deal with as they set out on a journey to find the ancient city of Thesila.

The most unique feature of the story is that Rumble chose to write it in the present tense. It is the first book I have ever read that uses this style, storytellers normally choose the past tense to narrate their stories. I personally believe that Rumble chose the present tense to convey the feeling that the dream/story was unfolding right in front of the reader as if sharing the dream in real-time. It took a few chapters to get accustomed to the style; however, the intrigue of the story kept me turning pages. Here is an excerpt from an early chapter that illustrates his use of present tense. The scene involves bandits attacking a caravan that Mashuan is traveling with:


"The black of night slowly gives way to the faint orange glow as the early morning light brings the battle more into focus. Mashaun can see from his vantage point on a wagon that the caravan guards are outnumbered and that their only real advantage is the defensive position. It is then that he hears the clashing of steel behind him and knows that the enemy is in the camp...."

Rumble's descriptive prose and worldbuilding are commendable, as are the descriptions of action scenes. I enjoyed the story and recommend THESILA PROPHECY: THE DISCOVERY to lovers of fantasy that want the experience of a dream-quest with swords and sorcery (and an enchanted bow:) on a magical world.