Rebecca Bryn lives in West Wales with her husband and rescue dog where she paints the fabulous coastal scenery in watercolour and writes historical, contemporary, and post-apocalyptic fiction with a bitter-sweet twist.
Books at http://viewauthor.at/RebeccaBryn
Blogs at https://rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com/
Books she’s loved: recommendations at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rebecca-bryn-5527e97a-146a-49e7-95c7-a30b0f603c80
Where Hope Dares http://getbook.at/WhereHopeDares
Set in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco sometime between the Great Flood and the Second Coming, descendants of survivors of a global catastrophe are rebuilding civilisation. Raphel and his wife, Kiya, are storyteller and healer to their remote peaceful village, but a raid by a warmongering religious cult from the north leaves many dead, and Kiya is captured to fulfil an ancient prophecy. Raphel sets out on a thousand-mile journey across the mountains to rescue the woman he loves, but his only aids are a headful of stories and Abe, an eccentric old man who has his own secret agenda decreed by a long-dead pope. As they travel into danger, Abe must decide if he will put his friends’ lives above mankind’s immortal souls, and Raphel must dig deep to find his courage and to tell stories to bring humanity to the inhumane.
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Where Hope Dares was my debut novel although it wasn’t my first to be published. I still remember the initial line of my original draft written some twelve years ago. ‘Jem frowned and scanned the horizon.’ I had little idea where the story was going as the line was typed on a whim, but it gave me a flavour of the journey Kiya and Raphel would make, taking me along with them for the ride. Jem no longer frowns or scans the horizon, in fact, Jem is in another book altogether now, but that as they say, is another story. In this tale of love and betrayal, it was Kiya and Raphel, and Abe, of course, with whom I fell in love.
The inspiration for the story was born of my love for this fragile blue-green globe that spins its way around our sun. It is so beautiful and so extraordinary, and mankind has treated it with little respect, not understanding that Earth is all we are and all we have, and that it takes so little to destroy an ecosystem, to upset the balance. I tried to envisage a world beyond a certain catastrophe, enough said – no spoilers – and decide who might best survive. The research gave me sleepless nights, the possibilities are frankly terrifying, and there are lessons we should be learning. In Where Hope Dares, I have woven a story of war, religious bigotry, prophecy, faith, hope, love, courage, and endurance. They say love conquers all: in this story that is certainly true.
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Reviews:
‘Where Hope Dares is an epic book that delves into the lives of the characters, their cultures and the lands they come from. Abe and Kiya are central and indispensable to the story as it unfolds. Secondary characters, like Raphel and Alaric are well drawn, believable, some likable and some brutish. I rooted for Kiya throughout the story.
As I read I tried to visualise how the novel would end, needless to say my prediction was wrong but the author brought this fabulous story to a great conclusion. Rebecca Bryn doesn’t just tell a tale, with Where Hope Dares she makes the reader a part of it. This has to be said of the proverbs used in a clever fashion to bring out the best in the chapters they pertained to, they were also thought provoking
Kiya is forced to take a journey, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually, the author leads you tentatively along the same path as her. I don’t like overly descriptive novels and I surmised that I may find it in this book because of the journey they had to undertake. Again I was wrong. Bryn is descriptive but not overly, she is concise and imaginative. I immersed myself in it.
The Afterword by Philip Stephen Knight BSc was an added bonus for me. It is interesting and delves into climatic changes and geographic details of the journey and lands inhabited before and after Abe. I read Where Hope Dares with Kindle Unlimited, but this is one epic read to keep on your e-reader or better still, on your bookshelf.’
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‘Where Hope Dares is voluminous yet gripping from the very beginning. It takes place in the future of planet Earth, but has an ancient feel to it. It felt as though I was reading a myth or a legend. Though there are many subplots, it’s mainly a love story between Kiya, a gifted healer and Raphel, a talented storyteller. Their beautiful relationship is interrupted by Kiya’s captivity and sexual sacrifice, but the connection between them is so strong and powerful that none of the outside evil can bring them down.
I found this to be a breath-taking adventure. Some part were tough for me to read, and the overall mood is dark and dramatic, but very captivating. I liked the idea of the future / past synchronicity, and how the author depicts the future of humanity as a reference to the ancient times. It makes you think whether history cyclically repeats itself.
I also enjoyed the spiritual tone to it, and the nicely weaved in ecological messages. I could feel the expertise and diligent work of the author, and sensed how much she worked on developing the story’s world and the characters. Hats off to her work! I think this book will please readers who like epic, dramatic dystopian novels with a strong message.’
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‘I loved this book! It has everything: characters you want to bond with, compelling plot and of course the main theme, which treads through the narration – love conquers all. Only love can unite us, better us and helps us survive.
Probably thousands of years since the world, as we know it now, has gone, and the new civilization started a new circle of life. Too bad that not all the people adapted the peace-loving way of life of Kiya and Raphel’s village. The blood-thirsty Northmen came to their land, led by their leader Alaric, the Chosen, who is searching for a woman to fulfil his High Priest’s prophesy. Alaric rapes and kidnaps Kiya to bring her back to his land, but Kiya’s husband Raphel follows the northern giant to bring his beloved back home… Their way will not be an easy one, filled with pain and anguish along the way, but it’s their love that can turn even the most merciless killer onto their side.
This book is so engaging because it makes the readers contemplate their choices in today’s society, and many messages in the story resonate with today’s world issues. Wonderful job!’
