ISBN: 978-0-9826594-0-3

Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC

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In Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.'s short fiction, Aldric & Anneliese, set in the late sixth century in an unnamed country in Eastern Europe, readers are pulled into a compelling story touching on a smorgasbord of age old themes as love, deception, gallantry, trust, war, fate, devotion, nation building, tragedy, revenge, forgiveness, redemption, as well as the rough and tumble life of the sixty century.

At the heart of the novel are three principal stories that unfold effortlessly from one to another. To begin with, we have a tale concerning Edmund, whose father Reinhardt grooms him to become the king of a fragmented territory that was populated by a variety of tribal groups. These tribal populations were squeezed in between the western Christian nations and the eastern barbarian hordes. Appointed as Edmund's protector and champion is Aldric, the adopted son of Reinhardt, a valiant and devoted companion, who, as we will discover, saved Edmund on many an occasion. To avoid prolonged battles and bloodshed, Edmund agrees to his father's request to marry Ursula, the daughter of a tribal leader, and in so doing, two kingdom's would be united under his leadership.

As we are to discover, Edmund is shown to have great plans for a lifetime of harmony and peace for all, however, unfortunately, he succumbs in battle, as a result of the perfidiousness of his wife Ursula and her cunning brother Deitmar. Incidentally, Aldric never trusted Deitmar, and in fact made his feelings known to Edmund before the marriage.

Aldric, who becomes despondent and dispirited at not having been able to protect Edmund succeeds to the throne-a position he never aspired to and even felt unqualified to fill. Thus, another story now develops involving Aldric and the disasters that beset him including a calamitous ending of his relationship with a young maiden, Anneliese, whom he truly loved and adored. Readers will readily see how all of this has affected him and his inability and unwillingness to express his feelings.

In the final story, Gilleland throws us quite a curve ball, as the plot proceeds through a series of implausible twists, turns, and surprises, but we stay with it, leading us to an ending that I didn't expect and nor did I predict.

Gilleland has crafted his novel with acute, straightforward language set in a landscape that can be lushly romantic and at the same time rife with peril. And while some of the dialogue may be a trifle unpolished and comical, you nonetheless overlook this shortcoming, as this delightful novel ultimately satisfies. If you relish drama, romance and a somewhat interesting take on history, go for it. As the book's publicity states, it is a story that will enthrall readers from ages teenage to ninety that can probably be read in one sitting.

Harry E. Gilleland Jr. holds a doctorate in Microbiology and was a member of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana until his retirement in 2004. He has previously published several books including Poetry For the Common Man: Storms and Poems; Bob the Dragon Slayer; Gilleland Poetry: Storoems and Poems; White Lightning Road; and Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man (which won two awards for poetry books).