Brave the Fog. Embrace Another Self.
The nation of Entervia is on the brink of annihilation. But amidst the chaos in the capital city, one man stands as the key to Entervia's fate—Zercien Volnaire, a young history teacher with no love of war, haunted by the specter of a long-dead legendary hero who once saved the land.
Zercien's peaceful life is shattered as he is possessed by the hero, and thrust into the trenches of a battle far more sinister—one waged within his own mind. His newfound abilities earn him renown, but at a great cost: his own identity.
Accompanied by a ragtag band, Zercien is tasked with a desperate mission for reinforcements. But as the drums of war beat ever closer, he must make a choice. Embrace the power of the hero and save Entervia, or reject it and cling to his humanity, dooming his home to a bloody fate.
For fans of John Gwynne’s “The Faithful and the Fallen” and Nicholas Eames’ “Kings of the Wyld,” this epic fantasy adventure will captivate and thrill. Don't wait - brave the fog today and join Zercien on his journey.
"You are Fogbound, young schoolteacher. An inheritor of this gift of mine."
First of all, thank you so much N.J Alexander for gifting me a copy of this book. I knew from the minute I saw it on Twitter/Instagram that it would be good, especially the cover, it drew me in straight away. We all know how important a cover is right? How gorgeous!
If I'm being completely transparent here, I had to take a triple look into the fact that this book was actually a debut? I refuse to believe a book THIS good would be an author's first, but here I am, mistaken...and incredibly impressed. If you are new to the fantasy genre I think as a complete beginner some may feel overwhelmed at the world-building, some of the names and various aspects of a fantasy in general can be hard to grasp and some, may avoid it completely. But this author managed to make this complex book, with phenomenal world-building flow perfectly even for the readers that have never dabbled into the fantasy fiction world. My impression from this novel is that the author must have planned each and every little detail for at least ten years to produce something like this, maybe mind maps of each character, strict planning? I guess I won't find out till I interview him, but I am seriously wondering how a normal person could pull of something so magical.
Character development is a huge thing to me, in reality, a story isn't a story without people. Alexander incorporated each individual perfectly, without the need of excess filler characters to spread the book out a little bit. Throughout the whole text, we learnt each one's back stories, their goals, their flaws, their growth as a person and their deepest desires, and by the end of the book I was actually really sad to let them go, they were that realistic that they felt like my friends... I'm so glad the author is making a sequel because I would be the first to snatch it up. We have Zercien, a normal day-to-day schoolteacher, thrown into a huge adventure and a mystery that seems otherworldly to others, once a nerd and then possessed by an ancient ghost which makes him overall kickass. You can see him fight for his own mental state, at which times are funny, but other times you are screaming at the page for a certain thing to happen. (Again no spoilers) His partner Saena, their life together and all of their friends including Euvard (he was a lovable character) and Lloyd, my absolute favourite, at no point was he a protagonist but he was such an important part of the story, and the most mysterious. I'd love to see what happens to him in the next book.
We have armies, we have ghostly beings, helldregs, dragons, the boil-faced-man (I loved it when he came on the scene, he was so creepy it was almost addictive) and so much more that if I typed it I would spoil the whole thing. So let's stop there?
Have you ever read a book where the MC was possessed by an ancient warrior? Seriously, if you have let me know because I certainly haven't. The plot was very unique and reminded me of each fairytale or childhood adventure you dreamt of as a child but a little darker and a bit more addictive.
Zercien bent down and placed his hand on the back of her head, bringing her lips to his, and they kissed like they'd never meet again.
The novel made me gasp, cry, throw the book in anger. Every single emotion was let out while reading, and if that doesn't happen surely something isn't right? I couldn't put it down. I'm a terrible reader sometimes because I like to think I'd know what would happen next, and at times in this book I was SO SURE of it, and turned the page and another twist smashed me right in the face and sat me back down to shut up. The novel started off as a slow burn, but it was important for the story to be able to portray the way it did, and I'm so glad for it because once everything came into one you were lead on an experience you would never forget.
Overall, this was a great book and a thrilling read.
Check out the blurb, because this is a fantasy book you do not want to miss out on.
To buy the book:
https://amzn.eu/d/0ffXOxPg
To follow the author: (Twitter)
@Nick_A_Writes
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