I have never been a fan of the more traditional fantasy genre, but I must confess that I don’t like tags because when I read THE NEVERENDING STORY I really fell in love with that book, even if many people describe it as “fantasy.” Thanks to Michael Ende, I have continued reading more books of this genre and I have liked many of them without becoming an unconditional fan. I am delighted to have given Daniel Pastrana the opportunity to publish his fantasy novel LOS PORTADORES DEL DON (“The Bearers of the Gift”). The young readers of the agency, who do know what works in this genre, were enthusiastic about their reading. I did not hesitate to help this author publish this work that, like many novels in this line, presents a complex story difficult to explain. So, here is a summary of a novel that is worth giving it a try:

In a world totally different from ours, there were two great races: humans and deivos. For a long time, deivos, who possess special gifts, saw humans as inferior and weak beings. The tensions between the two groups ended up generating an arduous battle between the two races, in which the humans ended up winning. Once the battle was over, they went on to pursue the few survivors cruelly.

Berthal and Helga are two brothers of different blood who live in a small village. One day, the Cathartids, an order of knights of family titles who persecute the deivos, arrive to the village of Berthal and Helga and execute a three-year-old girl live. While Berthal shows his admiration for the Cathartids, Helga is reluctant to this cruelty. When the little deivo attacks the knights and seeks refuge in Helga’s arms, the Cathartids see the stepbrothers as a threat to hunt down.

When they hunt Helga they realize that she is also a deivo who possesses one of the most precious gifts: she can repress the gifts of others. Berthal, trying to help Helga, realizes that he also has powers: can summon fire. Helga has been protecting them both repressing their powers and giving them the opportunity to have a free and normal life. In this way Helga ends up being imprisoned by Sissel, the leader, who wants the girl to join them in their fight to kill all the damned. On the other hand, Berthal decides to flee the town to save his sister from the order of the Cathartids.

LOS PORTADORES DEL DON is a novel of races, of powers, of battles, well hatched, fast-paced and with the necessary ingredients so that readers can engage in the adventure that the two sisters live. Many times in real life I think I would like to have super powers to be able to change many things, but it is seen that, if you do not know how to handle the power granted well, greed ends up surpassing goodness and the gift can turn against you.