Kajama.com book review – The Moonstone Legacy Trilogy
The Moonstone Legacy – available at Amazon.com
As the title suggests, The Moonstone Legacy picks up the challenge of the last line of the famous Victorian novel by Wilkie Collins – “What will be the next adventure of the Moonstone? Who can tell?” The trilogy dives headlong into a compelling family saga as fourteen year-old Lizzy Abercrombie’s mother dies in a tragic accident on the full moon. But was it really an accident? Lizzy discovers that her death may be linked to a mysterious family curse. Determined to find the truth, her quest takes her to the Temple of the Moon in India, where she uncovers the terrible past of her ancestor George Abercrombie. But even as she discovers that the curse was just an old wives’ tale, the real truth puts her in mortal danger from a succession of ruthless enemies, culminating in a showdown at OneWorld, a sinister spiritual theme park in the desert of Almeria in southern Spain.
“Hugely enjoyable”, “most entertaining and enlightening”, “educational”, and “excellent”. These are some of the words used by many reviewers (who include William Dalrymple and Michael Morpurgo) to describe The Moonstone Legacy trilogy. And those are just the words beginning with ‘e’.
The trilogy defies categorization – part East/West epic, part historical fiction, part family saga, part mystery adventure, part spiritual exploration and part science fiction, this fascinating multi-faceted book appeals to readers of all ages, colours and creeds, and has them”gripped to the pages” as they follow Lizzy Abercrombie, the young heroine, through her exciting adventures towards the trilogy’s breathtakingly cosmic conclusion.
Themes of gender equality and multiculturalism seamlessly meld with explorations of astronomy and astrology, religious beliefs and the nature of the universe as this sizzling page-turner literally plays out under the waxing and waning of the moon – uniquely, every one of its hundred and seventy chapters shows the exact phase of the moon during which events take place.
The Moonstone Legacy – available at Amazon.com
Praise for the Moonstone Legacy Trilogy
Anja C Andersen, Professor of Dark Cosmology, University of Copenhagen ” ‘Why is the universe so suited to life?’ In successfully dramatising this compelling question, The Moonstone Legacy takes the reader on a thrilling voyage of mind and imagination, yet at the same time keeps us firmly rooting for our brave, funny and funky heroine through all her terrifying ordeals.”
Michael Berkeley, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s “Private Passions””A compulsive and entertaining read with gripping modulations every few bars. Hugely enjoyable.”
Susyn Blair-Hunt, MsD (Doctor of Metaphysics), Psychic, Astrologer, “The Moonstone Legacy is the most entertaining and enlightening book I’ve read in years! It speaks to all of us on a deep and resounding level, reawakening the childlike wonder and unfettered courage we should all live our lives by. If you read nothing else this year, the transformational power of The Moonstone Legacy is a must!”
About the Authors
Diana de Gunzburg
Diana de Gunzburg is Anglo-Russian-Pashtun and was born in Pakistan and where her father still farms his estate. Diana was brought up between the North West Frontier and her mother’s native Yorkshire. By the age of seventeen she had already made the 6,000 mile journey overland between the two countries three times. Her great-grandfather was the last person to be publicly hanged for insurgency by the British in the North West Frontier of Pakistan, and she has published articles about her upbringing and family history in Alef magazine and Afghan Scene and the response has been such that she is writing a book about it. She has a grown-up daughter and lives in Paris where she teaches yoga. The Moonstone Legacy trilogy is her first book.
Tony Wild
Tony Wild explored the Indian subcontinent as a young man, and wrote two popular histories for HarperCollins – “The East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600” (1999 – also published in the US and India) and “Remains of the Raj”(2001), nominated Jan Morris’ Book of the Year. Both books have been republished by the East India Company (Publishing) Ltd. Tony is also the author of the international bestselling “Coffee: A Dark History”. The Moonstone Legacy trilogy is his first novel.