P.C. Cast Shares Joy on Brighid's Quest
Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast
There's something immensely satisfying about a light fantasy read — a read that entertains and delights in a simple and straightforward manner.
Too much of the fantasy that I've read of late has strayed toward the dark side. Some of them seem to be competing for awards of "goriest death" or "most revolting torture" or "bleakest outlook on life." After too many course of that type of fantasy, Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast comes as a welcome and enjoyable relief.
Brighid's Quest is a book that doesn't make your head or heart hurt. It's very much a feel-good novel where good is good, evil is evil, and love champions over all its adversity. It is a highly refreshing novel where characters are continually surprised by goodness rather than the more traditional fantasy fare of the protagonists getting tricked by hidden evil.
This book is the second in a series. The characters were first introduced in Elphame's Choice. However, as someone who didn't read that first novel, I had no difficulty jumping into the second book and immediately being able to understand who people were and what motivated them.
It is the story of a centaur named Brighid and her quest to save a warrior of her clan, Cuchalainn (Cu for short), from the overwhelming grief that has enveloped him since the death of his betrothed. The two of them are also helping a group of children descended from muses and demons to return to their homeland — a homeland which had once warred with their demonic ancestors and looked upon them with the greatest of suspicions.
Brighid's quest is hampered by the fact that much of it takes place in the spirit world and she had rejected her shamanic calling in favor of being a Huntress, the calling of her heart. In order to be successful, Brighid must challenge her prejudices and make a choice between selfishness and happiness.
Early on in the novel, I couldn't help but feel a certain amount of trepidation about the direction that the novel was taking. This was a book, after all, being put out by Luna, the fantasy imprint of Harlequin. There was bound to be a love interest (though C.E. Murphy's series has so far avoided it) and I confess to being slightly queasy about the prospect of reading a human-centaur sex scene. It danced a little too close to bestiality for my comfort. I should not have worried, though. P.C. Cast handles even the sex scenes with a great deal of delicacy and class.
The paths of Brighid's Quest are filled with highly likeable characters. Even the villains are offered opportunities for redemption — a choice that some of them are willing to make. Cast has drawn me into her world and I'll gladly make return visits to this charming series.
