"History of the First Queen" by Mark Miller

This was the tale of Nyssa, who came from very humble beginnings and who found herself thrust into a new world one day while seeking to escape from those who always made her life miserable. How was she to know that the grand adventure she would soon find herself a part of, if successful, would save the world that was destined to become her own.

This is the fourth book in the Empyrical Tales series, and in my opinion it is the best one in the series that I’ve read thus far. In this book, we get to see not only how Nyssa arrives from her own world into Empyrean, but how she grows to become one of the land’s four Queens. I found it to be a fascinating tale that also introduced us to a number of characters that we’ve already met, though we had previously seen them at a later point in their lives than we often find them in this book.

Through much of the story, Nyssa is lost in a strange world and must find her way through numerous situations made more difficult by the fact that she has absorbed deep magical energy that seems to be causing her to bounce back and forth in Empyrean’s timeline. She never knows when she will skip around in time or when she will find herself afterwards.

I really liked that this tale is told in the manner of someone reading a book about how Nyssa became the first Queen. The story (both the one we read as well as the one read to the children in the castle), was well written and very entertaining. There were numerous twists and turns in the story that kept me guessing all the way until the end of the book.

This story was clearly well thought out and flowed very well, even while dealing with a girl who found herself skipping randomly back and forth through time. While that could have made it difficult to follow, it was well enough written that I had no problems keeping track of whether Nyssa was in the past, present, or future of Empyrean. And though I won’t spoil it for you, I absolutely loved the ending.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intricately designed fantasy worlds containing a rich history that clearly shines throughout the story.