2 out of 4 stars
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Nicquellyn Ashby: Into Ashes written by C.C Marshe-Davis is a work of fiction that vividly brings to life the tale of two women living in different time periods. In the year 1728, Nicquellyn is a renowned healer, at odds with Christianity, paying homage instead to Lex Omnipotentis. From what I understand, Lex Omnipotentis is the will and power of the universe. This force uses nature to impart understanding, comfort, and sometimes messages to Nicquellyn. She is a self-assured, confident woman maintaining a small farm in solitude, loved and trusted by the small community she serves. After receiving an ominous warning involving betrayal, her life is altered, plagued by uncertainty and fear.
In the year 2010, Karen is married to an ambitious, power driven, up and rising lawyer who delights in punishing her physically as well as mentally. Anything can set her husband, Bill, on the rampage; a word said in the wrong tone, the bath towel hung askew, even something as simple as a request to walk outside. The abuse has shattered her self-confidence and esteem, too timid to make the simplest decision without her husband's consent. The excuses she offers in Bill's defense don't hold water with her old friends, eventually causing uncomfortable rifts that leave Karen without support or comfort. Mysterious forces work to entwine the women's lives across time.
C.D. Marshe-Davis created the characters of Nicquellyn, Karen, and Bill nicely, paying attention to details that made each person an individual. As their personalities emerged, it was easy for me to sympathize with Karen while loathing her husband. I enjoyed the plot to this book, finding it genuine and intriguing.
There are several uncommonly used synonyms for 'said', such as vociferation and soliloquized, that for me, derailed reading. Although I could derive their meaning from the surrounding context, I still paused to look up the meaning. The excessive use of the conjunction 'and' in some passages made for monotonous reading, for example "It was a combination of greatness and majesty and beauty and innocence and fulfillment-and....." found on page 97. Continuity of terms used lends writing a more polished feel. One of several examples throughout the book is the multiple terms used for Lex Omnipotentis that cause confusion as to whether it is a separate entity from God or one and the same?
The writing seemed forced, lacking flow, especially in Nicquellyn's time line. There was some difficulty merging the two women's lives. Some passages seemed redundant to me, just a bit of rephrasing from an earlier chapter. On page 276 it was like a second author took over, the story flowing forward easily from one event to the next despite changing characters. I read the remaining pages with little effort. Nicquellyn's story is neatly concluded, but I was a little disappointed with how the book ended with Karen and Bill. Throughout the book, Davis builds up an expectation that promises an climatic conclusion which is not delivered. Is this an opening for a sequel?
More attention to editing and continuity of terms used would have made a remarkable difference. I rate this book, Nicquellyn Ashby: Into Ashes a 2 out of 4 stars for an intriguing story line and depth of character creation. If this novel in its entirety would have been written in the same form as the later half, I would have enjoyed this book better.
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Nicquellyn Ashby: Into Ashes
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