This book series has the potential to be epic. But like a jet fighter being launched from the catapult of an aircraft carrier, it thrusts the reader too quickly into the thick – a grand struggle that has been occurring for centuries between two races of super humans.
The beginning of the book led me to believe this was a new take on a super hero in a gritty city. But as the plot started to unfold, the scope of the book changed and expanded drastically. No longer was this story about an illusionist with real powers that used his abilities to fight crime, but there was a huge war going on in the background!
New characters were introduced so fast that I could not keep track initially who was who and what part they were playing in the story. Strange words were introduced. Duok? Pure? Saar? Were these titles or ranks? No translation was offered to what they meant. Was a Saar a general? A prince? A sergeant? We should have known up front, because every time they were used, a small part of my CPU spun off a processing thread trying to figure it out, slightly distracting me and taking me out of the story.
Once that bit of culture shock was overcome, it was easy to settle into the story. The war between races became clear and the book started to feel like a comfortable sweater. Chapters are bite-sized chunks that fit easily into my driving commute times.
Christoper Mayer did a great job narrating this story. His production is professional grade. His attention to detail is fantastic, with no flaws whatsoever. His voice is unique, and followers of his work should have no problem recognizing his voice in other titles.
This audio book was gifted to me by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.