Friday Fiction Fix: "Shadow Swarm"

The Short:

Shadow Swarm

(An Epic Fantasy Adventure Novel)

By:

D. Robert Pease

4/5 Stars

What: A king, buried centuries earlier, wakes up to find his kingdom under attack.

Recommended to those who like: Fantasy, time-traveling concepts, moderate love element, sword fights, Christian/clean, good world building

Not recommended to those who dislike: long character names

The Long:

Here’s another one I found lurking in the depths of the Amazon database. I was impressed by the originality of the story.

Aberthol awakes in a tomb, with no idea who, where, or what he is. He discovers that he was a king buried centuries before to travel back in time and discover how he might conquer the Shadow Swarm and its captain, the enemies of his kingdom. But something went wrong—he doesn’t remember anything he learned.

Now, with the Shadow Swarm on his very doorstep, he must escape, try to remember who he is, and bring peace to his kingdom once and for all using a power he doesn’t understand.

The story is a bit on the long side and many of the names are long and difficult to remember. I also found it a bit difficult to relate to Aberthol at times. It may just have been the ebook, but there were also some repeated typographical errors that occasionally interrupted the flow of reading .

However, the story did have a lot of good action and good world building. Mr. Pease’s “species”/races and locations were original, fresh, and vibrant. The action scenes were well done and didn’t drag on or seem to repeat themselves; each battle was unique.

The story does have a love element to it, but it does not overwhelm the book. There is a Christian “feel” to the book, but it certainly doesn’t take over the story and even calling it an allegory is a stretch.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it if you’re looking for something to read over a couple of days.

If you’ve read the book, feel free to share your thoughts below. Please remember to be respectful of Mr. Pease and his work, as well as other commentators. I also welcome comments on what you would like to see included in the reviews. I reserve the right to remove vulgar, hateful, or rude remarks from the comments. Thanks for sharing!

To those in the U.S., have a safe and blessed Independence Day weekend! See you next week!