William Collis

There is a far off valley where life is eternal. The valley is guarded by a thick mist that is impenetrable,. The valley is ruled by an Emperor, who lives in solitude away from others, protecting a secret,

In the valley, there is no death. There is life and endless rebirth. No one truly dies. Everyone lives for eternity.

However, Prince Soh’shoro, finds a skill, a power, or a curse. He can kill. He can bring upon death, real and final death. This truth, is discovered and the Prince is kidnapped from his home. He is taken to a place where he is trained in martial arts and magic by a group of secret warrior monks. While being held by the monks, he discovers dark secrets, of the Valley, this family , and the world he thinks he knows.

The prince can save it all or he can end it all.

This is a fresh take on fantasy, that is full of action and intrigue. The magic system is unique but easy to understand. The whole story pulls you in to the world as the story is very atmospheric. The story starts off right away without any unneeded fluff or filler information, with that being said there was a bit of this book where I felt a tad lost, or maybe not fully understanding where it was going. There were parts that may be confusing to new fantasy readers or readers who are new to eastern influenced stories. However they are few and far between so i don’t think that it would cause any issues with the overall plot. With that being said there is an advanced vocabulary in this story as well, there are parts that are beautifully descriptive almost poetic as well, its not a whole lot of world building all at once, it does build on everything as it goes. The characters take a bit to flush out and aside from our MMC there isn’t a whole lot of overall character development.

Overall, I like it as a whole. Its a book that is clearly geared to a specific audience. Where I may not be that particular audience I did really enjoy parts of the story. My thought process is that the story would work better as a graphic novel, the visuals would be stunning and it may help to have a visual of what is going on. This story would lead to some stunning artwork as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing!