Lisette and Tallen looked on in fixed horror as they saw the silhouettes of men creep out of the forest near the barn. Chalier had already grabbed his sword, not bothering with a raincoat as he ran through the door and into the night. Wind and rain blew through the house, immediately extinguishing all candles. The fire flared up into the chimney, sending red glowing ashes onto the floor unnoticed.
“Oh mercy,” moaned Lisette as another lightning bolt flashed. One of the silhouettes had fallen to the ground; the lightning too brief and too bright to tell who it was.
Each bolt of lightning played out a static set of events. Four silhouettes, then six, came out of the forest. Forms of people lying dead or injured began to pile up on the ground as Chalier’s silhouette came closer and closer to the battle… and then nothing. The lightning refused to flash leaving Tallen and Lisette alone.
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M L Sawyer. Tallen (Kindle Locations 772-779). M L Sawyer.
 
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Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.
There is a fine line between vengeance and revenge and the pursuit of one can easily turn to the other. The difference is in the means used. When Tallen loses everything at the hand of bandits she sets herself on a course of vengeance, but she walks a razor’s edge. Her desire to see her family avenged puts her at risk to lose the few friends and companions she has gained since her rescue. Will she get vengeance or will she have her revenge?
Tallen is the second book in the Quest of the Demon series written by M. L. Sawyer. I have not read the first book in the series and I am pleased to say that it was not necessary to understand the world, the characters or the story. The teenage girl, Tallen, is the focus of this book and the author does a great job making her something more than a one dimensional character hell bent on vengeance. She is complex and grows before the eyes of the reader as she transforms from child to woman while seeking the death of the man responsible for her father’s death. Many of the other characters border on fantasy templates, but even they have enough personality and variation to make them more than simple props used to carry the story along.
 It is hard to find fault with the book. My one complaint would be that I wanted the story to pursue a couple of minor characters and their interaction with Tallen, but even that I can chalk up to this being part of a series. The other characters are a connection to the previous book as well as future editions.
 I would recommend this book for older teens and adults more than the young adult crowd even though the main character is a sixteen year old girl. The pacing and depth of story makes for a good evening read as opposed to a quick reading page turner. Personally I look forward to the next book in the series and I’ll have to look up the first book and give it a read as well.
LINKS:
Buy Quest of the Demon on Amazon.com
M. L. Stewart’s Smashwords Page
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