FeaturedEpic Fantasy

The Binding Tempest

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This start of a saga is difficult to put down as the readers follow Ellaria Moonstone as she fights to protect all knowledge!

The aftermath of a Great War and the reinvention of society is a big undertaking that can bring hope for a new generation, but some seek power. Those that desire that power can reverse the work of those who fought for freedom and bring about something worse. This is a situation Ellaria Moonstone and her allies go through in The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy as she searches for an old friend who may shine a light on what happened in the Great War.


Ellaria Moonstone is a scholar and a hero from the Great War that overthrew the dystopian Saegan Empire, now dedicating her life to the growth of formerly forbidden knowledge in the land of Territhmina. As a member of the Scholar’s Guild, she’s made sure all their work in the War was for naught as new powers emerge in the form of a Prime Commander who appears to emulate the Segean Empire Ellaria helped to overthrow. Now with turning the Coalition’s attention to another hero, Quidin Lightweaver, Ellaria seeks out allies to help not protect Quidin but to discover what happened at the end of the Great War. She’s not the only one who’s seeking answers, throughout the lands of Territhmina others are drawn into her quest. Ranging from a young messenger to a hunter who possesses great knowledge to a convict from Ellaria’s past. They all have a role to play to keep history from repeating itself.


One of the best aspects of this story was the multiple points of view of this world’s characters. Rudy set up the chapters as he was giving each point of view their turn to the story. Since the characters were seen or mentioned in previous chapters to further help connect their individual stories. Also, the map at the start of each chapter showing the characters’ current locations could make the reader anticipate when everyone’s paths are going to cross. Unfortunately, the background characters did not possess much of a presence and were easy to gloss over. Until they were granted a point of view the background characters didn’t see much development and were easy to ignore.


Since this is a series I can’t wait until the next book to see this saga’s continuation. This is a story that shows how everyone is connected in some way, especially when past events have an effect on the future generations. This book is a good first installation to the Luminance Saga and has a strong start as the author builds up this interesting world making the reader wonder what else awaits its people.

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I have a BS in History and Anthropology and a Masters in Library and Information Science. When was working with a library’s Readers’ Advisory Board I wanted to find another way to connect with other book lovers.

Ellaria Arrives

About the author

Steven Rudy lives in Colorado with his wife and three kids. After almost two decades working in the field of architecture, Steven chose to finally pen his debut epic fantasy novel. The Binding Tempest is a lifetime’s creation finally come to fruition. view profile

Published on June 01, 2021

Published by

150000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre: Epic Fantasy

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