The last place Lea Netera Payton expects to find herself is in the Atlantic Ocean, the victim of a forced portation. She is forced by the Dark Lord Seltar to accept a Challenge for the Guardianship of Earth. If she fails in any of the four major battles then all of Earth and its inhabitants go to feed the unholy appetites of his Elders. If she wins, then the Earth will be safe, and she will be its Guardian. The battles will take her though our past: to the Court of Louis the 14th and Marie Antoinette before the eve of their destruction, to the side of George Washington, to the Battle of the Alamo while she plays a dangerous game of Chess with one of the most evil beings ever created.
The Guardian is hard to summarize because so much happens. It is not like any other book that I've read, because not only does it carefully craft aspects of different genres, Denise Fleischer is also careful to work against many of the conventions. She doesn't just throw things in, she fits pieces in perfectly, creating a wondrous world where spirits flit though the background, where science and magic work hand in hand. Her travels open the whole world, even heaven, up to the reader.
You have Lea Netera, this absolutely perfect, fabulous all-powerful being, able to do so much good. She's mythic, larger than life, but with a sense of humor that makes her utterly believable, and a combination of toughness and vulnerability that make her human. She has to be larger than life. The tasks that are set for her are no walks in the park. They take not only her courage and fighting skills, but her skills as a tactician and diplomat as well. She is not the only strongly characterized person here. Every character, whether historical or fictional is well realized. I loved Benjamin Franklin's insatiable curiosity and Netera's almost fond understanding of it, of William Travis's compassion and worry for others. Even when he knows the impending battle may well kill him. You would think that it would be very hard for these historical characters to come to grips with visiting a star base or working with such incredibly technically advanced people, but the context is so well thought out that everything works perfectly.
The romance is interestingly developed. She is fated to be the wife of Lord Azaron, and you can tell that David Azaron loves her, but that love doesn't mean that he won't stand by (stand by gritting his teeth, but stand by none the less) while she's fighting these battles. He helps as he can. It's a very complicated romance. Even though she's trying to love Azaron (she has no choice), she still loves the man she was married to before. There are several men who are keenly attracted to her -- John Paul Jones and Dakota, for example. Her love for her husband keeps her loyal, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't have a heart big enough to return some measure of affection. And who could help but have an attraction for John Paul Jones?
The technology is very well written, and has an almost mystical feel. Ultima is a star base and the base of operations for the book. It is where Netera sends the souls who come to her, begging for release. Since Lea Netera is the sister of the creator of the Elezian universe (which sounds like the Greek Elysian, showing how subtly Fleischer adds the elements of myth in) there is the idea that these people are not gods by some mythical rite, but simply people so far advanced that they have mastered the abilities to create whole worlds. Netera is Mother Nature, literally, and shows it both in her powers and her attractiveness to men (I like to think it's both because she's such a nifty, pretty woman, and because mother nature, being a goddess of fertility, would be attractive in an instinctual way as well). Despite this, she's not unapproachable, but as human and real as any character you'd want.
Every setting is well drawn, whether it be on a star base, in Maren, or in historical earth. Denise Fleischer has done an amazing job with her research, making a world that feels tangible. She brings in the spiritual as well, which creates an interesting cast of odd creatures, ghosts and even dragons, that add a lot to the book.
A beautifully imagined mixture of science fiction, romance and history, Lea Netera's adventures through time make for a wonderful, page-turning experience. This Guardian has a magic all her own.
Copyright © 2003, Cindy Lynn Speer
Dee Gentle
For ParaNormal Romance Reviews
Earth date 1779: There is a dark force preparing to rear its ugly head, and history as we know it may never be the same. The primitive planet Earth is in danger of being used as a soul harvesting ground by Quentin Seltar, an evil that spans history. Crusader Lea Netera Payton has been summoned to the deck of the Bonhomme Richard and issued a challenge by the Dark Lord to become Earth's spiritual guardian. Lea Netera, is the Goddess Mother Nature, and a Holian Knight as well. After fighting endless Light Force campaigns against the Phantom Force, battling evil is what she does best. She rescues Captain John Paul Jones, and accepts Seltar's challenge, thus continuing the epic battle of good vs. evil that spans space and time. She must navigate history, assisting Earth mortals during four periods of great crisis. Lea may use her High Para abilities, but cannot change history. She returns to the future to enlist the help of Earth-Force 1, and an eclectic group of mortals that include a teenage historian, an astronomer, an elementary school teacher, and a zoologist. Her time travel challenge spans two years and has her interacting with important historic figures such as King Louis XVI, Ben Franklin, George Washington, H.G. Wells and others.
Lea Netera is a high tech, kick butt Mother Nature on a mission. Her tough as nails character has a depth of compassion beyond measure. The story has only light romantic overtones, an area I'd like to see developed in the sequel. The Guardian is a non-stop trip from past to future, and every "time" in between. Enjoy the ride.
Janet Elaine Smith
My Shelf
Denise Fleischer plunges into new water with her debut novel, The Guardian. She will hook the reader from the very beginning as Crusader Lea Netera, from Elezian Universe, travels back in time to the Revolutionary War era when she puts in a most unexpected appearance at a meeting in Paris, France, where the likes of John Paul Jones and Benjamin Franklin are in attendance. She is hard-pressed to try to explain her presence.
"Netera, as she is known, moves around in history like a ghost flits back and forth from one of its favorite haunts to another. She travels to the Civil War and then to a delightful episode in Texas, at the Alamo. She notes a need for a wagon train, so she quickly moves ahead to today to get the wagon wheels she needs to take back with her. I found this to be one of the best parts of the book.
Netera interacts very effectively with Holians, demons and a talking dragon, but to me the most endearing of her relationships was that which she experienced with her father. I found it delightfully refreshing that a father from the future was as concerned about his daughter and her outrageous adventures as a father of today-or one of yesterday-would have been.
A very good read. Highly recommended.
Author Sheri McCarthy
Wonderfully entertaining, February 1, 2004The Guardian is a delightful find -- A science fiction novel with fantasy undertones -- uniquely blending both genres with actual history and romance to give the reader a grand adventure.
I look forward to Ms. Fleischer's next novel.
Author Anne K. Edwards
Blether.com
Rating: 8/10
Attention paranormal and SF fans. The Guardian is right up your alley as a fascinating study of time traveling, futuristic and historical moments and scientific possibilities. A great chance to meet historical figures as they might have been. Lea Netera, a being not of this earth, receives a challenge from Seltar, a dark destroyer, and the game is on. Seltar attacks John Paul Jones at sea, Lea rescues him; then Seltar goes on to France in a time just before their revolution and causes chaos and again, Lea stops him. Following this, she becomes involved in the American Revolution to the great surprise of its men and generals and is present at the Alamo. The Guardian is written by talented Denise Fleischer who takes us to realms we have never dreamed of, gives us explanations for the unexplained, and shows us how humanity has made decisions that change or made history as Lea Netera attends to the building of the American Nation. A fun read that opens a door you will willing step through and wish the visit could be prolonged beyond the end of the book. Recommended by this very satisfied reader as a story that you long remember. I'll be looking for other tales by this author whose soaring imagination kept me happily hooked page after page.
