Son of Ereubus |
| (Guardians of Legend #1) |
| Fantasy |
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Since time immemorial, man has lived in fear of losing his soul to the darkness of Saint Ereubus. For generations, the Ereubinians have wielded that power and ruled like gods. Three thousand years ago, Man irresolutely placed his faith in a mythical world. That world, Adoria, now holds Man's final hope. As the last stronghold of Man is threatened, the fates of three strangers become forever intertwined and everything they once believed will be irrevocably changed as they discover that their time has run out.
I was delighted to receive this through the Goodreads First Read program. I'm extremely new to the fantasy genre - I read urban fantasy often, mainly in series - but for straight-out fantasy, I'm as amateurish as they come. I had hoped this one wouldn't be too far out and over my head; thankfully due to writer's easy-to-follow style, I didn't have problems lagging behind. Even though the characters are from a much different world than I've read of, their personable and real traits made it easy to picture them as genuine and true.
The book grabbed my attention from the beginning with a clever hook and while action is never non-stop here, the characters are curious opposites. Garren and Ariana's relationship was one of the more catching plot devices I wanted to pursue. The strongest part of the book was the characters - the plot itself was also intriguing, but more of a set-up to more things to come, I think. The ending leaves on a huge cliffhanger, right on the very edge of a big event, leaving a small pause of dissappointment (I wanted to read the next part!)
At times the book did lag slightly and I almost grew impatient, although not quite. The beginning was especially catchy, and while the middle held tension, the start and finish shone the strongest. It was bizarre seeing such an extreme shift in one of the main characters personalities, and to be so there has/was to be an almost supernatural explanation. I have to say I didn't forsee that it would go as far as it did when the author unveiled a big surprise later on about who the characters were. Thankfully Ariana was a strong lead without being obnoxious or dense, Garren (while cruel) held some sort of mystical allure, and Michael was clever.
I was delighted to see that following the review the author contacted me with thanks. That's always a nice surprise. :)
With an easy pace, fun exploration of character, and a unique fantasy tale, I would recommend this one to fantasy readers - novice and newbies alike.
