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Emma Austen is currently studying English at University of California Irvine. Born and raised in a small town near the Mojave Desert, where two inches of rainfall is hailed as a miracle, she spent most of her life writing stories. Even at ten years old, she was writing books on lined paper and binding them with scotch tape. She completed the rough draft of Prince Asyrias, the first of the Xavier Mosaic trilogy, during her sophomore year of high school, and the final draft shortly after graduation. She hopes that any success her story brings will encourage other young authors to follow their dreams.
Reviewed by Stephanie Dagg for Readers' Favorite
"The Xavier Mosaic" by Emma Austen is a beautifully crafted fantasy novel. The author has meticulously constructed a complex, menacing yet intriguing world in Larasca for her rich variety of characters to inhabit. The unpleasant Queen is slowly dragging the realm into crisis with persecution and cruelty. Troubled Silas with supernatural powers and beautiful orphan Rina emerge as the main protagonists, both threatened with destruction. Silas wants to discover what is behind it all. He has his journal to help him. There are too many tightly interwoven plot lines to allow for a brief synopsis here but suffice it to say that this is a story that seizes your attention and keeps you riveted. It is gritty in that there is plenty of darkness and suffering but hope is always there somewhere.
As with any first novel in a series, the pace is slow to begin with as the scene is set for the future, and occasionally you can lose track of exactly who is who since there is a large cast of characters, but after a few chapters everything begins to fall into place. We meet fascinating figures, some gentle, loyal and good, others evil and hateworthy, but all interesting and including in their midst werefoxes and shapeshifting dragons, soldiers called Stags, Protectors and Pillars. Black diamonds play an important role too. This young author has an easy-to-read yet sophisticated style of writing that makes for an extremely polished and impressive book. Any reader will enjoy "The Xavier Mosaic", even if fantasy is not a genre they are usually tempted by. Emma Austen will quickly show you what a rich and rewarding genre this can be in the right hands.
