Apocalypse Rising by Eric Swett Available Here
In Apocalypse Rising the story begins as Justin, already on the run, is trying to protect a young woman's life. They had fallen in with quite the wrong crowd who now want them dead. However, Justin is on the side of the angels, or he would be if the angels didn't have some troublesome agenda of their own.
Apocalypse Rising is just the beginning. The beginning of The End perhaps, but Swett does something not seen in many "apocalypse" s
stories. He takes the original meaning of the word seriously.
While today the word "apocalypse" has come to mean the end of the world, its original meaning was "revelation." and that is at the heart of Apocalypse Rising.
Through various viewpoints were are shown the world, bit by bit, being exposed for what what truly lies beneath its surfaces.
That theses revelation are set against the a backdrop of cosmic forces moving to bring about The Apocalypse only brings a poignant urgency to the events.
Swett weaves together various strands to reveal a world were magic is subtle but pervasive. Elves and Angels move among humanity hidden from view while a
media tycoon commands the airwaves and demonic servants.
More than that Swett also reveals the very human side of his characters. We feel for Justin as he struggles with not just doing the right thing but sometimes
needing to figure out what that means at all.
We feel for those around him as they struggle to understand the changes being wrought upon their world.
Mostly we feel that the next installment of the series can't get here fast enough.
Apocalypse Rising is just the beginning. The beginning of The End perhaps, but Swett does something not seen in many "apocalypse" s
stories. He takes the original meaning of the word seriously.
While today the word "apocalypse" has come to mean the end of the world, its original meaning was "revelation." and that is at the heart of Apocalypse Rising.
Through various viewpoints were are shown the world, bit by bit, being exposed for what what truly lies beneath its surfaces.
That theses revelation are set against the a backdrop of cosmic forces moving to bring about The Apocalypse only brings a poignant urgency to the events.
Swett weaves together various strands to reveal a world were magic is subtle but pervasive. Elves and Angels move among humanity hidden from view while a
media tycoon commands the airwaves and demonic servants.
More than that Swett also reveals the very human side of his characters. We feel for Justin as he struggles with not just doing the right thing but sometimes
needing to figure out what that means at all.
We feel for those around him as they struggle to understand the changes being wrought upon their world.
Mostly we feel that the next installment of the series can't get here fast enough.
Nothing Beside Remains by Jonathan Schinhofen
review available here
"Lenix, we are... ordinary. We are not the subjects of prophesies and acts of God. I don't even think there are acts of God."
When an archeological expedition ends in tragedy, a scholar and an illiterate desert dweller must depend on each other for survival. The trip home becomes a journey into the soul as the two strangers unravel the meaning of prophesy, the nature of god, and the limitations of a finite mind." -From the author's blurb
Nothing Beside Remains is both exciting high fantasy and an engaging philosophical journey. Set in a world where the Harqi and humans have been at odds for generations, Lenix and Killon cross deserts and encounter humans, orcs and ogres in search of ancient knowledge, knowledge that changes the world that they know.
NBR is at turns exciting, poignant, and mind bending
Interwoven with the action of this exiting adventure is a journey of the mind. Not only have Killon and Lenix begun to transform themselves, they are also changing their world
Killon and Lenix of the Harqi people are the lone survivors of an expedition to the pinnacle of Mekkor. Lenix finds and ancient scroll containing prophecies of a future that includes their own time. Running afoul of both human religious extremists and the distrust of their own people Lenix and Killon struggle to make sense of world in light of these “prophecies” It leads them on journey to unify their people and the humans.
This philosophical high fantasy just may do for Orcs what Tolkien did for Hobbits
When an archeological expedition ends in tragedy, a scholar and an illiterate desert dweller must depend on each other for survival. The trip home becomes a journey into the soul as the two strangers unravel the meaning of prophesy, the nature of god, and the limitations of a finite mind." -From the author's blurb
Nothing Beside Remains is both exciting high fantasy and an engaging philosophical journey. Set in a world where the Harqi and humans have been at odds for generations, Lenix and Killon cross deserts and encounter humans, orcs and ogres in search of ancient knowledge, knowledge that changes the world that they know.
NBR is at turns exciting, poignant, and mind bending
Interwoven with the action of this exiting adventure is a journey of the mind. Not only have Killon and Lenix begun to transform themselves, they are also changing their world
Killon and Lenix of the Harqi people are the lone survivors of an expedition to the pinnacle of Mekkor. Lenix finds and ancient scroll containing prophecies of a future that includes their own time. Running afoul of both human religious extremists and the distrust of their own people Lenix and Killon struggle to make sense of world in light of these “prophecies” It leads them on journey to unify their people and the humans.
This philosophical high fantasy just may do for Orcs what Tolkien did for Hobbits