The Branches of Time by Luca Rossi

“A shower of splinters exterminates the people of the island of Turios. Only Bashinoir, badly wounded, his wife Lil and the Priestess Miril survive. They would like to give a worthy burial to their loved ones, but the corpses have disappeared. Their only hope of salvation lies in the magical protection of the Temple. But they must cope with dark threats. “

 

The description starts with the view from one side of a magical shield of protection that is maintained from the temple.

There is another view from the other side of the shield. Those people feel trapped on their island, they want to explore the world and trade with their neighbors; but any who contact the shield are destroyed.

A string of wizards have tried to break the shield and one may succeed by going into the past.

 

This is a good story; I enjoyed it a great deal.  It was a little too sexy for my taste, but that is just me.  I have no doubt that many who read it will be thoroughly entertained! 

Actually, I think the author has created a great framework for an epic saga.  I had a little bit of trouble keeping the timelines distinct because of jumping around in time and space.  I think that a nice two or three volume set could be made from this book. The first volume being, the story of the ancestors and the tribulation that drove them apart. The second volume, a millennia away, could detail the failed struggles of the separate peoples to conquer the problems besetting them. The third volume could be the culmination of efforts that result in reuniting the two peoples or one conquering the other. 

Mr. Rossi has constructed a fascinating tale full of fantasy, magic and wizards. He has magnificently mixed in time travel and a cameo of people from a distant future.  (I would like to see a lot more of that in the story).

He has done some nice character development and placed them in difficult situations. The descriptions of the temple and castles are pretty well formed in my mind.
@authorlrossi  available on Amazon and Goodreads 

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.
​Copyright © 2015 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction