Light the Beginning By Marcia M. Lange

• 04/09/2014
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Light the Beginning
Marcia M. Lange
Lulu (2010)
ISBN 9780557540303
Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 12) for Reader Views (12/10)

“Light the Beginning” by Marcia M. Lange is the story of fourteen-year-old Ophelia as she discovers a world of evil that she must face. Ophelia had lived in an orphanage all of her life until she met a shadowling named Austin. He told her that the strange charm she wore around her neck was actually the stone of light and that when in possession of the stone she could control light. Austin then said that they must travel to a world called Alaysia that was controlled by an evil king. Alaysia’s only chance for freedom was if Ophelia could challenge and defeat the king. Will Ophelia be able to defeat the tyrant and set the citizens free?

In the world of Alaysia things were not going very well. Out of fear of death, no one dared challenge the tyrannical king Eleazar. When Ophelia and Austin first entered Alaysia, they appeared in the great forest of Mystaca with a dwarf named Stonemuffin. Ophelia soon learned that Alaysia was full of evil and terrifying creatures, and also that Austin eats souls. Will Ophelia be able to survive Alaysia? Will Austin turn into an evil creature of the dark like his unknown shadowling father?

Through the book Ophelia stood up to some pretty tough monsters and usually managed to defeat them. I think that she held up a lot better to the stress level of fighting monsters than I would have. As the book progressed and she learned that she must either find the rest of the stones or find their guardians, she took it as just another obstacle in her path to freeing Alaysia. All in all, it was quite an adventure made up of strong believable characters.

I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and fantasy. This was a very good book with deadly secrets and intrigue at every turn. This is the first book in a series called “The Odyssey of Light.” “Light the Beginning” was a fun read and I can’t wait for the next one.