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When the lumbering stone grell Brennian has the opportunity to bring Prince Oldaric's life to a fitting end, his humanity—and the lack thereof in his adversary—costs Brennian his life and foreshadows a dark future for Enthilen, a world that the Divine Creator, Volerdie, intended to create in the likeness of man. The book opens up with a fierce attack on the grell, protectors of Malang Gunya, long believed to be where the ancient city of Pergamos resides underground. In South Australia, five-year-old Tom Anderson witnesses the harrowing murder of his grandmother. More than a decade later, he is fueled by feelings of guilt and retribution, setting him on a collision course with the grells and the ancient lands of Enthilen and Sardis.
Lücke's strength lies undoubtedly in his ability to build worlds with immense depth. While the sacred calendar of life and the pool of reflection follow more of the traditional fantasy elements, Tom's adventure begins when a blue book that is given to him by his grandmother—the one with an obsidian glass eye and a flaming pupil—transports him to Enthilen. From the time he enters the new world—and where he is saved from certain drowning by a grell named Grin—Tom juggles peril and adventure, finding unexpected allies and friends like Grin, Jacob, and Thaly to shade him from the swiftly arriving darkness that is Malphas. Numerous storylines coexist at once in the novel. With intriguing plotlines and continuously evolving character arcs, the story keeps the readers engaged and anticipating the next sequence of events.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review