Jenna Solitaire,
Daughter of Destiny #4:
Keeper of the Earth

(Tor, 2006)

Jenna, the hereditary Keeper of the Boards, has now found three of the four Boards of the Elements. All that remains is the Board of Earth, which she learns is hidden in one of the world's most mystical places. With her companion Simon, a Catholic priest for whom Jenna feels much more than a brotherly affection, she travels to England to find the hiding place of the last Board. The voices of the three Boards she has already found whisper in her head, joined by the powerful voice of Shalizander, the Boards' maker. But Shalizander, far from being a helpful presence, wants more of Jenna than Jenna is prepared to give her.

Keeper of the Earth is the fourth volume in the Daughter of Destiny series. The series is supposed to be autobiographical, telling the ongoing adventures of the main character and author, Jenna Solitaire.

Given the clues "mystical place" and "England," most readers can probably guess Jenna's destination. Since her story is supposed to be an account of factual events that take place in the Real World, I suppose I can't really complain about her clichéd choice of setting -- since that's really where the events related here took place, of course.

As of this writing, "Jenna" had posted in her online journal that it was unlikely that her further adventures would be published, at least not by the current publisher. Unfortunately, this is not the shattering news I -- and Jenna -- could wish it were. While Keeper of the Earth is an entertaining story for an hour or so, with moments of true pathos, it is ultimately nothing more than cotton candy, sweet while it lasts, but hardly filling.

by Laurie Thayer
Rambles.NET
5 May 2007



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