 |
In this collection of the first two books in an engaging fantasy series, young Lyone is separated from his family during the outbreak of a disastrous civil war. The young boy ends up being found after an explosion by a family who rescues him, aiming to nurse him back to health. Dior and his wife, Jel, along with their daughter, Lisa, ultimately hope to help Lyone find his parents. A series of out-of-this-world events take place on the group’s perilous journey toward reuniting Lyone with his family. Readers are immersed in the high adventures the primary cast of characters encounter along the way, including battles with all varieties of life forms. By the second book, Lyone is separated from Dior and Lisa and has been captured. Will he ever again be rejoined with his family and the life in the Meriden Forest he knew and loved so well?
Fans of fantasy fiction will revel in these first two books of an entertaining saga. It is noteworthy that all of the human characters in Mathews’ story so far are African Americans. While certainly not unheard of, this fact alone of an all-black cast makes the series stand out from most fantasy fiction in the marketplace. Another feature of Mathews’ work is that both novels are written in a scripted format, rather like a screenplay. As such, this collection reads easily like a fast-paced movie or play, and one can easily imagine the worlds, characters, creatures, and twisting plotlines to be, in fact, material for the big screen. The author’s storyline is indeed epic, and Mathews has created something of a wondrous masterpiece.