Book Review by CR Hruska

   Tantamount is a historical fantasy. It is set in Britain during the sixth century. The story is captivating and endearing as well as poignant. It is a story that will stick with the reader long after it is read.

   Tolan Fising lives a very peaceful life. He has a wife as well as a son and daughter. They seem to live a very ordinary life, nestled in nature among animals and everything that is serene and wholesome. It is a life that I felt right in the middle of as I was reading the story. Hruska has really captured this story through the setting in a way like no story that I have read for a long time.

   Tolan tried to stay away from violent situations and people all his life. He knows all too well how violence can kill innocent victims. When he was a very young boy, his father was killed. He never quite got over the incident. Any kind of violence always had a way of negatively penetrating his being to the core.

   Tolan worked hard to protect his land and farm by staying away from all the violence around him in order to keep his family safe. However, one day this goal is squandered. Violent kings bombard his life and world, forcing him to make a decision that will ultimately alter is family’s peaceful and serene future forever.

   I read this story in two sittings. I initially thought it would take three or four. But I couldn’t stop reading the story until I finished it. This story is captivating, and it effortlessly flows from scene to scene. Hruska is a phenomenal storyteller. It is a book that will keep you thinking long after you have read it.

   If you love historical fiction as much as I do, this book is for you. It is simply a phenomenal story!

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by: Irene S. Roth