Julianne Lee, Knight Tenebrae

Knight Tenebrae

Julianne Lee

Ace, Sept 2006, $7.99, 368 pp.

ISBN 0441014399

American Navy pilot Lieutenant Alexander MacNeil is interviewed by London Times reporter Lindsay Pawlowski on their way to Lossiemouth Air Base on the northeast coast of Scotland. A hole opens in the air, ringed with fire with two red eyes looking at them. They pass through the opening and find themselves in Scotland of 1306 where they meet Robert the Bruce who knights Alex after he kills an Englishman loyal to the English king.

Alex and Lindsay meet the elf whose enchantment transported them to the past and he tells them that they ruined his spell and his only goal now is to make them suffer. He transports them seven years in the future where Alex befriends his ancestor Hector, the Laird of Barra. He fights, under the banner of Edward, Robert's brother and is so successful he is awarded ownership of an inhabited island. Alex takes pride in his prowess as a warrior and the wealth and status he earned but Lindsay fears that the man she loves is adapting too well to his new environment and doesn't want to return home even if the elf shows them the way.

Fans of James Henley will thoroughly enjoy this magical time travel fantasy romance. Readers get a good look at the Scottish culture, values, and living conditions of medieval times. Perhaps because Alex was a warrior in the twenty-first century he adapts to his new life but Lindsay wants to go home, because she notes the way the Scottish men treat their women. Julianne Lee has a beautiful voice and if KNIGHT TENEBRAE is any indication, she has a great future ahead of her.

Harriet Klausner