Pages: 437
Genres: Coming of Age, Fantasy
ASIN: B0BXB3MV5Z
Goodreads
Source: ARC, VRO
Buy on AmazonWinner of the Firebird Book Award in Coming of Age
In the throes of rebellion, Alar's fervent desire to overthrow the imperial regime propels him into the resistance movement. But as setbacks mount and doubts assail him, he questions whether their struggle registers with the Empire at all.
His world shifts when he uncovers latent powers reminiscent of legendary heroes. When an imperial witch proposes a daring mission to free prisoners from an Inquisition stronghold, Alar and his comrades seize the opportunity, their success reigniting hope. However, their triumph draws the Empire's scrutiny, and they face the sobering realization that they may have underestimated the consequences of their actions.
In a narrative entwined with themes of heroism and consequence, Alar's journey of self-discovery unfolds against the backdrop of a nation on the brink of change.
Tropes:
- Epic Fantasy
- The Chosen One
- Ancient Prophecy
- Political Intrigue
- Warring Kingdoms
- Found Family
My Review
This story was a YA adventure fantasy tale, it gave me Lord of the Rings/Hobbit meets Robin Hood vibes.
The story is based around a group of rebels, resistant to the imperial government? When I had first started reading it mentioned imps, and I was dead excited thinking yes, straight off the bat we have supernatural creatures, but they were never actually described as such, so was vastly disappointing when I finally came to the conclusion about 30% in that they were referring to imperials. My error for being overeager, I still immensely enjoyed the imps regardless.
The MC of the story is Alar, who can realm walk to the land of the dead. This makes him slip in and out of time undetected, reminiscent of the lord of the rings/hobbit ‘the one ring’. When Alar realm walks, he uses this to surprise his enemies and resurfaces behind them, and because they were frozen in place they never see it coming. Excellent.
As for the supernatural elements of this book, there are some. Witches, realm walkers, spirits.
The feeling I got from the story was trust.
Trust in yourself, in others, in what you do, in what matters, in what you believe, in the cause, in what the future could be.
I got so many Hobbit vibes from Alar in his dirty, smelly clothes, adventuring to do all sorts of quests and then with the stealing of food on his journeys to feed the rebels, I was immediately thinking Robin hood, so he was a Robbit to me from then on. Rescuing the wee girl from inquisitor, stealing from the rich.
Although the characters were all quite young, the MC seemed very mature for his age, like his trauma had aged him, made him head strong and determined. The other characters, some also having been through trauma, still seemed quite young. So it was clear that the authors grasped that not everyone reacts the same to trauma. I liked this.
I loved that there was a whole forgotten secret language used by the characters, it added a little something something to the tale. I’d have liked to have seen about the elders teaching them, perhaps telling stories, in secret gatherings. I was however glad that it wasn’t just a huge information dump on me all at once, adding in little pieces of the language at a time was far more interesting and easier for my brain to process.
Overall, the world building was good, story was good, it did take me a while to read it though, it’s not one of those books you devour, more a slow paced book you read in dribs and drabs.
4* stars from me, because I loved the whole rebellious teenager on a journey with LotR/RH elements. EPIC.
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