Ring of Ages by Patrick Keithahn – Book Review
Ring of Ages by Patrick Keithahn – Book Review
Ring of Ages
Author – Patrick Keithahn
Pages – 323
Release Date – 9th July 2016
Format – ebook
Reviewer – Clive
I received a free copy of this book
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Overwhelmed by their young professional lives, Rebecca and Mason seek a Sunday diversion in Boston. There they stumble upon a singular antique shop. Among its treasures lies the tantalizing lure of a mysterious old ring. Rebecca is mesmerized by its charm. But when Mason buys it for her birthday, their world unravels. A secret hundreds of years old cuts to the surface.
In a different place and time, the same ring symbolizes the bond between another husband and wife. But the hardships of medieval Europe bring yearnings for a better life. For Tiana and Burke, the lure of wealth and adventure is too powerful to deny. What is the price of living the life of an assassin? Burke and Tiana are about to find out.
How are the burdens of today linked to the past? Only in a moment of truth might we see it. For these two couples, the ring reveals all.
Review
I was drawn to this book by the idea of the various tales that could be woven around a ring that is possibly a thousand years old. Just imagine the different lives that such a ring would have come into contact with? Unfortunately I don’t think that Patrick Keithahn really capitalised on that promise.
Effectively we have here two novellas set in very different times, laid out in alternating chapters. We have the simplistic but violent medieval tale contrasting with a modern psychological thriller. To be fair, both stories are gritty, easy to read and they kept my interest but neither could be described as rippers. They are rather gloomy with just a few moments of humour.
The cynic in me has to wonder whether the author tried to write two novels and finding that neither was adequate blended them together around the ring. Of the two, I feel that the modern story had potential to develop, particularly around the themes of depression and mental illness.
The ring features in both tales but other than that they do not have much to connect them. I also struggled to understand what, if any, powers the ring possessed. There is no doubt that terrible things happened to the people close to the ring but was that co-incidence or did the ring orchestrate those events?
Clearly my expectations were too high. If you read Ring of Ages my advice would be to take the stories at face value and cherish any connections that you find. I have awarded it three stars.
Reviewed by Clive
Purchase Links
Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com
About the Author
Patrick Keithahn (pronounced KY-tawn) lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three children. He’s an editor for a large educational publisher in Boston, where he develops social studies materials.
Born in Minnesota, he is a graduate of Hamline University. He has lived in Massachusetts since 2008. Ring of Ages is his first novel.
