Guardian of the Gauntlet is based on the Parable of the Talents.
Camari and Mila, two princesses from the cold and remote kingdom of Harroway, are fascinated when their friend, Prince Denir of the kingdom of Thalon, shows them a special gauntlet, which is capable of great deeds when worn by one who believes in a higher power.
One day he turns Camari invisible – but doesn’t have a chance to reverse the spell before he is called off to war. To make things even worse, Bogwina, an enchanted bog witch, and a wicked magician named Mecandel conspire to steal the gauntlet.
With Prince Isryk of Bredin as her guide, Camari’s journey takes her through the through the wetlands of Fremil, and encounters many awful creatures along the way.
After an arduous journey, Camari at last discovers that she has been given a great gift by her higher power.
Read an excerpt from Guardian of the Gauntlet:
“What’s that?” asked Mila.
“It’s the Gauntlet of Galilee. My father gave it to me last week on my twentieth birthday. It’s always given to the second born, but my father was an only child, so he had it. This isn’t just an ordinary gauntlet, either. It has special powers, which can be controlled by the mind. And not just anyone can do it. It takes a strong belief, both in yourself and in a higher power, and concentration. The gauntlet is merely a vessel through which the belief works. Without belief, the gauntlet is powerless.”
“And of course you have all that,” said Mila, challenging him.
“I’ll show you,” he said. He lifted his hand toward the sky and closed his eyes. A white streak of light shot from the gauntlet and into a cloud. Snow began to fall from the cloud.
“Ooh, it’s snowing,” Camari announced with surprise. She stepped beneath the cloud and held her hands out to catch the flakes, which melted before she caught them.
Julie P. says
Guardian of the Gauntlet is an imaginative story and fun to read. A real page turner! This children’s fantasy reminds me of when I read the Chronicles of Narnia books.
Red City Review says
Guardian of the Gauntlet by Lenita Sheridan
Opening with a verse from Matthew 25, Lenita Sheridan’s Young Adult fantasy Guardian of the Gauntlet highlights the importance of personal convictions guided by faith. At the center of the narrative is the charming Prince Denir of Thalon, and the magical powers afforded to him through a gauntlet glove. While roaming the kingdom of Harroway, Denir comes across two admiring sisters, but of course, only one will prove to the ideal match. Once Denir recklessly and willingly makes one of the girls disappear (at her request), the mischievous Mecandel and witchy Bogwina attempt to swipe the coveted gauntlet. However, one can only utilize the powerful glove through a perfect fit. When a teenage boy named Isryk jumps into the picture, all of the characters must come to grips with reality and let go of their secret fantasies…at least a little bit.
The characters of Guardian of the Gauntlet are well rounded for the most part, and author Sheridan infuses bits of romantic dialogue with a touch of comedy. It’s a fun read, so much so that one may desire a more complete description of the magical settings themselves. The narrative’s emphasis falls primarily on the inner desires of young Camari, while an important character like Denir appears more like an idea than a fully realized Prince. Early on, he makes a girl disappear but doesn’t have the intelligence to return her to her natural form before rushing off to battle. Naturally, the two younger girls continue to swoon over him. The story takes a sharp turn for the better, however, once Camari teams up with a bumbling guide, and the inherent message of appreciation comes shining through.
Jane Blythe says
This book was very descriptive, particularly about the landscape and creatures who live in it, I liked that as it made me feel as though I could imagine it in my mind, however sometimes the placing of some of the descriptions got a little in the way of the flow of the story. I didn’t quite like the character of Prince Denir, he was a little too condescending and insensitive for my liking, however I liked both the princesses, particularly that they both doubted themselves for entirely different reasons. I would love to learn more about the history of the Gauntlet and hope that the author covers that in another book, I particularly liked that the Gauntlet wasn’t magical but that it was powered by belief in a higher power. I’d also like to see the relationship between Princess Camari and Prince Isryk develop in another book, I kept wanting to say to Princess Camari to forget all about Denir because Isryk is so much nicer! Overall I thought this was a great book for kids in the 8-12 age group and would definitely recommend it to others.
Jane Blythe says
Book II
This book does a good job of following on from the first in the series, it gave just enough information to let you know what had happened in the first book without going into too much detail and giving too much away. I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first one, perhaps because I felt like everything was a little too easily solved, in the first book Princess Camari had to work hard to get the Gauntlet to work, or to overcome obstacles another way and this time around it felt like the Gauntlet solved everything so quickly and easily. Other than that I still thought this was a great read for 8-12 year olds, again I thought the descriptions of the creatures and landscapes were beautifully done, Lenita Sheridan obviously has a fabulous imagination and has created a wonderful, magical, mystical world, with so many interesting things but it is also not too overwhelming for kids. I enjoyed seeing Princess Camari work with Prince Isryk again, and hope to see her start to return his obvious affections for her in the next book!