Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: PublishAmerica ISBN-10:  141379811X Type: Fiction Pages: 166 Copyright: 6/27/2005 The first book in the Knightbird Series about Jesse Knight. The Violet Eyes of Jesse Knight is about the survival and the determination of an extraordinary individual. Jesse Knight was raised in an average home, he has a best friend, Daniel, and a guardian, Frank. Jesse's friendship with Daniel is special and close. If there were two friends that were so opposite of each other, these two are. But this is a part of Jesse that even Daniel does not know if. You see, Jesse has the blood of kings running through his veins. He was entrusted with the Powers of the Royals, as he is the descendent of the kings of his birth planet. Jesse was not born on Earth, but brought here to be raised by his father's best friend. They came to Earth to escape a war that tore apart their home world. Everything about Jesse has an earthly touch, everything but his violet eyes.  Excerpt The small ship shuttered and rattled as it came out the other end of the jump point. It rolled around uncontrollable for some time. The shear force of the jump point and the drop in pressure in the small craft, made J’Lon black out. J’Lon was brought back to reality by the soft cooing of E’Falco. He was playing in his own little chair that he was strapped into. J’Lon shook his head to try to clear the grogginess away. For some reason little E’Falco found something funny and started to get a case of the giggles. This is when J’Lon realized they were rolling. Still in a slight fog, J’Lon pulled the control panel to find out the fuses were fried. He started to rewire the main control panel right into the main power source. From time to time reaching over to play with E’Falco as if to reassure himself this was all for a greater good. After the rewiring was done, J’Lon turned on the scanner to find a passing ship or world he could contact. He found a world and nothing else but space junk. He decided to try for the planet. The small craft took a small leap forward then it straightens out. J’Lon adjusted the controls and set out for this world hoping for the best.

ck2s kwips and kritiques
Quadstar is a peaceful world but at risk of attacks from “floats.” King E’Mor and Queen Na’Diea become proud parents of twins, called “equals,” a daughter E’Anna and a son E’Falco. Unfortunately, war erupts shortly after their birth and the family, consisting of six other children as well, is split apart. E’Falco is taken by his brother, J’Lon, to Earth where they assume the names of Frank and Jesse, and thus, E’Falco becomes Jesse Knight, radio DJ. However, the war is not yet over and Jesse will find himself back in the fray while learning about an entire galaxy of people and races of whom he was previously unaware. And just who is the woman invading Jesse’s dreams?

THE VIOLET EYES OF JESSE KNIGHT is a very complex read. This reviewer actually had to reread the novel to grasp the general storyline and even now is unsure if all of the intricate details are clear in my mind. Perhaps, some of the confusion starts with the advertised blurb for the novel which makes the storyline appear very different from the story which is actually being told.

Laurlee Harbig has obviously spent a great deal of time and effort crafting the world in which THE VIOLET EYES OF JESSE KNIGHT occurs. It is very clear to this reviewer that she has some fantastic concepts in regards to this alternate world she has created. This reviewer would suggest that Ms. Harbig obtain the services of an editor proficient in tightening up the storyline a bit and adding some helpful hints to the reader unfamiliar with the world. Some aspects of the writing style, such as the interjection of journal entries from the Temple of the Forbidden Fire are particularly clever upon a second reading of the story but make absolutely no sense in the first reading. In addition, the use of the pound symbol (#) instead of quotation marks to delineate when a statement was uttered in the trillen language is very clever but a note at the beginning of the book to inform the reader would have prevented this from having an initial jarring effect. However, Ms. Harbig does use the symbols to good effect as it allows her to have characters easily discuss issues in one language or another without constantly telling the reader which language is being used.

THE VIOLET EYES OF JESSE KNIGHT is a novel with a tremendous amount of potential. Some of the names were a great source of amusement, such as the man with many love mates named P’Cock, and the various worlds and races are clearly well thought out. However, this story is a much better read the second time around and this reviewer is unsure if readers will take the time necessary to fully understand the worlds Ms. Harbig wants to share. With some editing and a few helpful hints to the reader, the rating could easily rise on this novel as it is a story loaded with promise.
Reviewed by Debbie