“Anger is like fire. Let it burn unwatched, and it will hurt you. Use it wisely, and it becomes what gods intended it to be: fortitude.”
Sci-Fi meets Fantasy ✓ Hero’s Journey ✓ Charming Characters ✓
Kristian del Rosso has led a quiet life, burying himself in research and teaching at the University of St Mark. The arrival of a mysterious killer with supernatural abilities and the bloody massacre of a group of Kristian’s students changes all that. Kristian’s grief and a need for answers drives him to set out after their murderer, prepared to face the man but unprepared for what awaits him at the source of it all.
Conor Drew lives for the thrill of adventure and to explore the delights of as many beautiful women as one man can in a lifetime. Between dangerous jobs for the wealthy aristocracy and powerful figures in the underworld of the Nineteen Kingdoms, he’s seen more than most. And yet it isn’t until his greatest friend and biggest enemy both find him on the same day that his true odyssey begins.
Selena Soto is a woman lost in her own world. She struggles to fit into her existence, to find meaning and purpose-even progress at work eludes her. Meeting the right man might be a good first step, or perhaps just defining what it is she really wants from life. Little does she realise that only her own fears keep her from a destiny that’s greater than she could imagine.
The trio will soon learn that only by working as a team can they solve the puzzle that has drawn them together.
A book like I have never read before, with new and fresh ideas that take the otherwise classic stories of the fantasy genre in a completely new direction. Unconventional ideas are mixed with classic genre typical ideas that this mind-blowing combination of both creates something magical that has a great unique selling point. Coupled with wit and profound themes, the world doesn’t let you go and especially the multi-layered characters grow on you. Describing this book is a real challenge, so enter this fantastic story yourself.
Worldbuilding
Fantasy mixed with science fiction is not a new invention and yet the author manages to completely reinvent this mix. In this way, both genres are placed in an equally divided relationship, so that one does not know whether one is in a fantasy or science fiction world. And this book offers not only one outstanding world, but no, we get three of them, each with its own flair. In the beginning we experience each of these worlds through a different character and so we find ourselves in a very future-oriented world with far-reaching technologies, a world that doesn’t seem to be as far away as ours and we can eagerly look forward to our near future and a typical fantasy world set in the Middle Ages that shows us how the world can also function without technology. We jump through the different worlds, so to speak, and through this overarching overview that we get through the world creation, the individual worlds can seem much greater. This story does not just give us a simple worldbuilding, but a whole universe is built up here that will not leave any fantasy or science fiction fan unhappy.
Plot
Three ordinary people from ordinary lives (ordinary as each is to the world) are thrown into a story that pulls them out of their lives and for whom a journey begins to resolve an old conflict. And so this journey is not limited to one world, but spans several. The beloved hero’s journey of many fantasy readers, is told here in a new way, making it all the more exciting! The adventurers not only have to fight against classic knights, but also against robots, human murderers or creepy monsters. The thrill is that you never know what might happen next, because there are so many possibilities of where the story could go. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, the author proved me wrong, as she has such a good grip on her story and worlds that she manages to weave everything together. This book is meant to be read in one go as the tension just doesn’t let up and you want to read more of this world. And so I found it a pity that some of the events on the spectacular adventure journey were kept a little too short, because it was just too exciting. And so the ending also left me sad because I want to read more of this action-packed story!
Characters
Characters are the heart of a story and so this story was able to make my heart beat especially fast. Even though one might think that the worldbuilding was the highlight of this book, for me it was the characters. Each character had their own charm and could clearly stand out from the other. Whether it’s Kristian, who doesn’t really fit into an adventure story with his kind and quiet nature, or the charming Conor who plays the heartbreaking bad boy (yes, of course he could also convince me with his charm…) or the complex Selena, who actually has to fight with herself and yet jumps over her shadows. The dynamics of these very different characters was terrific! Just their differences make the friendship of the three, because each contributes something different to this group. And so I felt like a part of this group, because you could quickly empathize with the individual characters, but also with the complications within the group. It all felt very realistic as everyone felt their role in the team was fitting. And even though Conor is already the joke of the story, Storn is definitely not to be missed. Storn is the animal that every story needs, even if, strictly speaking, Storn shouldn’t be counted as an animal. Due to his dry nature, which is paired with a lot of heart, Storn has quickly become my favorite animal companion!
Atmosphere
This charm of the book is almost untouchable. This book offers so many different impressions that you get a grandiose overall picture despite the diversity. It is precisely this that makes the atmosphere so, that just does not stick to one thing, but the author has managed to interweave the charms of the differences without making it seem comical. The worlds, the different landscapes, the characters and the plot thus offer a feeling that is difficult to describe and therefore keeps this feeling of the story in the head for a long time. Through the narrative from the first-person perspective can thereby represent the diversities even better. I want more of this unique feeling!
The Reading Stray 
The Scify/Fantasy mix here sounds very interesting.
Great review as always 🙂 Makes me want to read the book 😀
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What a lovely and thoughtful review, thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I already started working on the second book, which will be set in a place inspired by medieval Venice and centres around the disappearance of a painter with a secret magical ability. Its working title is Old Scores, but that might change before it’s all done. 🙂
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