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Reviewed by Janelle Fila for Readers' Favorite
The Immortals: Part One: Shadows & Starstone by Cheryl Mackey is a young adult fantasy about a group of Immortals whose job it is to protect a village's supply of Starstone, the mythical source of power that can become deadly if it falls into the wrong hands. In fact, the evil Dro-Aconi wants the Starstone to aid him in his battle for control over Ein-Aral. But Emaranthe, Jadeth, Jaeger, and Ivo all make a commitment to keep that from happening, a commitment that they intend to honor to the death.
I liked the idea that a group of Immortals took it upon themselves to protect the less fortunate villagers. This reminded me a lot of Greek mythology and I think other readers will appreciate that correlation. I also liked the use of other mythical and magical creatures, especially the elves. Whenever a story has an elf creature I think of the Lord of the Rings movie (and Legolas). Just saying the word elf brings such a mental picture to mind that the reader automatically knows what the character looks like and acts like in a way. Plus it makes the story seem that much more like a real fantasy, because it is taking characters and ideas from the greats like Tolkien. I can't think of a better fantasy author to emulate, so I think this story has done a good job of taking its cues from Tolkien and building a more modern young adult fantasy.
