Book Review: Legends of Marithia

This is book two in a series of epic fantasy novels, incorporating some of the best fantasy elements of humans, elves, dragons and other mythical and mystical beings. Fortunately, one doesn't have to read book one of the series in order to understand and enjoy book two, but I do think it would likely help. I picked this up for review and haven't read book one yet, but I do feel I'm missing a little bit by not knowing all the characters and back story well. However, it's absolutely not necessary for the enjoyment of the story.

The author, however, does a good job of filling us in. The first part of the book recaps where the universe and characters have been. It's a bit expositional, so it's best not to judge the entire novel by the first few chapters, because it does pick up pace even more later.

That said, the first chapters are a bit tough to follow in that it bounces around a little in time. In one chapter, we're told a character died, then in the next chapter, we go back a little in time and see how that character died, without any indication that we've shifted gears except for a chapter change. Each chapter tells the story of one of the characters, mostly in an omniscient point of view, but focusing on that particular character, so it does work, even if it's a tad awkward in the beginning.

Plot of Legends of Marithia: Darkness Rising, by Peter Koevari

As with many epic fantasy novels, this one has a prophecy. We begin early in the book to see that the wheels of motion have started spinning on the fulfillment of this prophecy, when a child is born from a mix of a sorceress and a vampire, a mating that is illegal and punishable by death (vampires can peacefully co-exist, but there is a 'racism' issue with the people and the vampires in this story). The child has to witness the cruel murder of her parents and she strikes a deal with the ruler of the underworld and thus the prophecy is set in motion.

A caste system with a king and a jealous prince who wants his father's crown exists in this universe, and a rival in love with the princess is cast to bring about conclusion of the prophecy. This results in the prince seeking to destroy him before he can succumb to or fulfill his fate. The once peaceful Marithia erupts in war.

The castle lies in runs. The knight from the prophecy is in cahoots with and spellbound by the dragons (and I have to say, I loved the dragons in this book!), and Shindar, the demon of the underworld, has been waiting for centuries to exact his revenge (which is another good story I would have liked to read more about so I'm hoping it's in part one of this series!)

I won't say anything more about the plot, as to not give away any spoilers, but basically, the rest goes about seeing how the prophecy plays out and trying to set right what once went wrong.

Characterization in Legends of Marithia: Darkness Rising, by Peter Koevari

I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters. I could view them from a distance, but it was difficult for me to get inside of them and feel something for them. In part, this is because of the writing style. It's very expositional.

The dialogue is a bit stilted. There are instances where the characters talk too much, in a manner not consistent with normal dialogue from real people. It felt as though sometimes the author was trying to tell the story through the dialogue, instead of just letting the characters talk to each other as a means to get to know them. Also, paragraph breaks in dialogue would have made some of the longer speeches easier to read.

Writing Style in Legends of Marithia: Darkness Rising, by Peter Koevari

I like the writing style in general. It's super fast-paced. You won't find a single page where things aren't moving along quickly. I found that, unlike a lot of books I've been reading recently, I didn't feel a desire to skim and skip ahead to get to some action. Unfortunately, because it was mostly expositional (a lot of telling and not enough showing), I didn't get as deeply involved in the story as I would have liked. The author tells us a lot of things, but I would have preferred him to show it to us as it played out.

There are minor grammatical errors throughout, mostly missing commas and minor copy editing issues. For an indie published (self-published) book, the writing and editing were better than most I've read, and the minor errors I came across didn't jolt me out of the enjoyment of the book.

Overall Opinion of Legends of Marithia: Darkness Rising, by Peter Koevari

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. I like a good fantasy novel now and then, and this one kept my interest. I found I want to get to know the characters better and it was easy enough to slip into the universe and live in it while reading. The pacing is good, keeping my interest. The writing is good, though it has a little room for improvement, as does the editing. Overall, it's a quality read and one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

There is a lot going on in this book, so you do have to keep up with it, but if you like dragons, elves, unicorns, gods and goddesses, demons, and magic, this book has some good elements of all those things. It's entertaining and long enough to be worth the money for that entertainment.

Now, I'm doing things backwards, but I already purchased the first book in the seriesand will be reviewing it as soon as I finish it, because I want to know more about Marithia and the people in it.

Pick up a copy if fantasy is your thing. I don't think you'll be disappointed! You can also stop by the author's website to learn more about his writing and the books.