#2: Cyndere's Midnight: The Blue Strand

In Cyndere's Midnight, the power of Auralia's colors brings together a bloodthirsty beastman and a compassionate widow in a most unlikely relationship. Jordam is one of four ferocious brothers from the clan of cursed "beastmen." But he is unique -- the glory of Auralia's colors,revealed in the book by the same title, has enchanted him, slowing his vicious appetite and awakening his conscience. When Jordam finds a woman weeping in the woods, his healing continues. Beside a mysterious well, seemingly the source of some of Auralia's colors, this beast and beauty form a cautious bond. Cyndere, heiress to one of the great houses, has always hoped to help the violent Cent Regus beastmen. To honor her husband, who shared that hope, she risks her life and reputation to reach out to Jordam. Jordam, too, will be tested. He will either be overcome by the dark impulse of the "beastmen curse", or he will stand against his brothers to defend House Abascar's survivors from a deadly assault. The novel picks up where Auralia's Colors left off and reveals more of the history and culture of the entire Expanse, a land which branched off into four kingdoms centuries before.

Cyndere's Midnight is the second novel in Jeffery Overstreet's Auralia Thread series. It follows Cyndere as she mourns the death of her husband, who was killed by cursed beastmen who were searching for survivors in the destroyed city of Abascar. While coping with the loss of her husband, Cyndere meets a beastman named Jordam, who has experienced the calming enchantments of the mysterious Auralia and her weavings.

To achieve her late husband's goal of releasing the beastmen of the curse put upon them, Cyndere sets out first to heal Jordam and then to free all beastmen from their addiction to "Essence" and their murderous natures. Secondary characters begin to appear in the plot at this time, such as a young lad known only as Ale Boy, who seems to have benefited from Auralia’s power and guidance. There also is Ryllion, a spurned knight looking to find favor in Queen Thesera's eyes by performing underhanded deeds with the assistance of a dark and sinister Seer named Prater Xa.

Jeffery Overstreet's flowing diction and lovely prose make it difficult to tear away from the story. He creates a unique world in beautiful ways. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to get a bit too flowery with his passages at times, which slows the pace of the book and delays the plot action. Additionally, because there is a lack of adequate back story for some of the characters, the readers are confused at times by their actions, as in the case of Ryllion, who first seems to be a noble and gentile knight, only later to be shown to be deceitful. Furthermore, Overstreet is very effective at making small scenes vivid and three-dimensional, but in the large scale scenes he fails to give details and images that make the full canvas come alive.

One weakness the book has is in its author's effort to insert some Christian symbolism. He tries to make messages related to service, sacrifice, humility, and grace very obvious, but in order to do so, he adds a lot of drawn-out scenes that would have improved the book if they had been cut. Most readers will prefer to stick to the core of the story and maintain momentum. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, who also likes to insert long symbolic scenes, will not be bothered by these purposefully Christianized sections.

Overall, this is a good story with realistic characters and a message of survival, faith, loyalty, and optimism. – Nan Johnson, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Average Rating:

3 of 3 Reviews Showing:

Reviewed by Novel Teen Book Reviews (Oregon), October 14, 2009

I'm torn over these books. They are wonderful stories, imaginative and beautifully written, but I can't read them fast. I'm a quick reader, and no matter how hard I try, I can't get though a Jeffrey Overstreet book in a day or two like I can most others. I felt the same way about Overstreet's first novel, Auralia's Colors. Around page one hundred, I could have walked away from the book easily, but when I reached page two hundred, I couldn't put it down. As a writer, I know that's a dangerous way to tell a story, but it seems to work for Overstreet.

Cyndere's Midnight gripped me much earlier than Auralia's Colors did, but I was disappointed to meet a new host of characters from page one when I wanted to read about the characters at the end of Auralia's Colors. Some of those characters are in Cyndere's Midnight, but this is not their story. I am glad to discover that book three is called Cal-raven's Ladder, for Cal-raven is one of my favorite characters in the series. Him and the ale boy.

Cyndere's Midnight is an inspiring story that goes much deeper than a parallel story to Beauty and the Beast. To me, the beastmen, who were once regular men, represent sin. They've indulged in the Essence to give them strength and must go back again and again to be revitalized. But the Essence is what has turned them into beastmen. Jordam has discovered another way to survive the craving: to wean himself off the Essence altogether. And Auralia's colors give him the strength to do that in the same way a relationship with Jesus gives us strength to overcome our own temptations. It is these deep parallels that keep me hooked into Overstreet's tales of The Expanse.

Reviewed by Avid Reader (FL), September 06, 2009

I just finished reading Cyndere's Midnight and, while it does have some slow parts, is almost as intriuging as the first book in the series.However, I do not reccomend that children read this book. This book does have some more mature content that i would reccomend only for older teens and adults. Why would Jeffrey Overstreet try to spoil a good story with stuff like that anyway. I REALLY hope he does the smart thing and leaves that kind of thing out of his next two books. A warning - most of that stuff is centered around Ryllion - so beware. The rest is maybe a bit darker than Auralia's Colors but just as complex. Overall, it isn't a bad read and I had no trouble finishing it. It's just a bit slow for the first few chapters. But Overstreet know just how to end his books so you ust HAVE to read his next book. I eagerly await the gold strand, Raven's Ladder, coming in February.

Reviewed by Lisa Early (Cordova, TN), June 24, 2009

I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series and waited impatiently for the second book to be released. Maybe it isn't fair to even rate this book yet because I haven't had the fortitude to finish it yet, but it has so completely lost me that I haven't even been able to finish it. Disappointed.

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