Book review: The Sending (Obernewtyn Chronicles Book 7)

“It came to me then, like a chilly draught from an unseen gap, that I had always known in my deepest heart that it would be like this, a slipping away from a life full of people I had come to love, in a place I had helped to shape, in a land I had helped to free.”

The time has come at last for Elspeth Gordie to leave the Land on her quest to find and stop the computermachine Sentinel from unleashing the deadly Balance of Terror arsenal. But before she can embark on her journey, she must find a lost key. And although she has long prepared for this day, nothing is as she anticipated.
Elspeth’s search will take her where she never thought to go, and bestow upon her stranger companions than any she ever imagined. It will lead her far from her destination to those she believed lost forever.
And it will test her, as she has never been tested before . . .

Ohh, this little bit of intro into the next book in the Obernewtyn series by Isobelle Carmody got me excited. I remember the first book in the chronicles (Obernewtyn) coming out when I was still in primary school here in Tennant Creek. I even have a vague recollection of someone coming to my school to do a reading of it (perhaps Isobelle herself). As a young teen I was very excited to pick it up and read it. Stories of people talking to animals and having special mental abilities was something a 12 or 13 year old like me wished I had. Sad to say, I did not like the book!

Like the beginning of many of the books in this series, they start out slow. Developing the characters is very important and at that age, I struggled to understand the benefits of this. It was only in later life (that is to say in my mid 20's) that I tried again to read it and loved it straight away.

In my mind, from the descriptive writing of Isobelle Carmody, The Land is a real place, Obernewtyn is a magnificent big old castle with green farmland behind it where I can see the humans and animals working together for common goals. My imagination travelled with them to the country of Sador, where there are shifting sands and a great earth temple, made of sandstone and perched on top a stony hill. The people there have dark skin and they travel nomadically, from waterhole to waterhole, a little like the indigenous people of the land up here did, hundreds of years ago.

In my minds eye I have watched this world grow and the characters develop, change and sometimes even die.

This new book is taking me to a new place, the mountains behind Obernewtyn. Elspeth is finally on her way to finding Cassandras key, the last clue that she needs to defeat the Sentinal, a machine that is supposed to be able to create an apocalyptic event.

The idea that we are getting to the end of her adventure is both exciting and sad. At the beginning of this book she finally ends up with the kind of relationship with Rushton that all followers of the books were looking for. Almost after this happens though, she is pulled away from everyone and everything that she knows and loves and is told that things for her will never be like they were before. The journey into the mountains begins.

Now I know that I cannot give you any spoiler because I myself have not finished reading this book yet. There are a few things that I really am looking forward to though. When will Elspeth meet up with my favourite character Dameon? The blind empath has been missing for the most part in the last few books and I really have been missing him. He has a calming effect on Elspeth and I feel as though her whole world, although not falling apart, is a little off kilter and Dameon is the only one that can fix it.

The second thing that intrigues me is where the hell is Dragon? That beautiful young wild girl with the flame red hair? We know now that she is the Red Queens daughter and her destiny calls her eventually across the seas so that she can take her place on the throne in the Red Land; a place off the coast of The Land.

And last but not least, when is the leader of the gypsies going to re-enter the story to help Elspeth? Swallow is another of my favourite characters, his no nonsense approach to things (which no one understands of course) is a refreshing change to the turmoil that sometimes filters its way into the book. Oh and did I mention that Swallow is a direct descendant of Cassandra? The person who originally made the key that Elspeth needs to find? Very excited to see him again.

The reason why at the beginning of the post I talk about the fact that I could not read these books at a younger age is because I struggled through a big chunk of this new book. The beginning of the book is fantastic, Elspeth and Rushtons' relationship blossoms and we know that Dameon is finally coming home. Her whole world is stripped from her when she leaves with her animal companions: Maruman the cat, Darga the dog and Galtha the big black stallion. After that they head for, and through the mountains. Then they are heading through the mountains, and again, heading through the mountains.

I believe that I have just finished that part, wolves have approached her and Elspeth is at a point where she needs to convince the wolf pack to help her find Cassandras key. I know with past experiences that these books always finish on a mini cliff hanger and I wonder where Elspeth is going to end up.

I am starting that end of a series thinking and I have some hopes and dreams for Elspeth. I want her happy and amongst loved ones at the end. She and Rushton need to be together. Dameon needs to retake his place as leader of the Empath guild. And I hope that Matthew sees Dragons beauty and they end up together in the red land, ruling together.

All in all the series is a fantastic one by an award winning author. The complete set is available in the library and I promise that I will bring back The Sending as soon as I finish it! If you would like to borrow these books or any other books in the library, please come and see either myself or Shelagh. The fact that we would love to have a bit of a chat about our favourite authors in my mind is a bonus as well. Remember that this year is the National Year of Reading. Why not come and see what is in the library? It won't kill you and you may even learn something. Isobelle Carmody, I salute you. What an amazing and talented author.