Catalyst

The Passage of Hellsfire #1

by Marc Johnson

For centuries, the kingdom of Alexandria has protected Northern Shala from the monstrous creatures lurking in the Wastelands. Now, a dark force threatens that fragile peace.

Far from home, Alexandria’s princess is abducted. When a young villager named Hellsfire stumbles upon her and her captors, he rushes in to rescue her, alone and unarmed. His fear and fury unleash an uncontrollable magical force that grants him the power to save the princess—and change the world.

Hellsfire has never craved nor dreamed of power. But such magic as he now possesses has not been seen in Northern Shala for a thousand years, since the devastation of the War of the Wizards and the creation of the Wastelands.

Now Hellsfire must leave all he’s ever known, and make a dangerous journey to learn to master this wild, ferocious power—power he knows he is not ready to wield. More difficult still, he needs to master his emotions. If he can’t, the power will consume him, Alexandria will fall, and darkness will eclipse the land, destroying everyone he loves.

In the dead of cold, the spark shall burn...

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Dragons, Romance, Paranormal, Wizards

364 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2011

About the author

Marc Johnson has moved a lot since his parents divorced when he was two. He also can't answer a straight question and has developed a taste for sarcastic wit over the years. Probably also for the same reason.

He hasn't won any awards, but he does have a deep knowledge of Transformers, Star Trek, and The Twilight Zone--his top three geeky loves. He writes because he loves stories and hopes to one day have written something successful as a movie, TV show, comic, book, magazine, and play.

Marc Johnson also loves to game, whether it be video, card, or board. He loves to test his mind in the challenges they bring...until the zombie, alien, or robot apocalypse comes.

Reviews

[ReviewerLarissa]

Review for: Bloddeuedd

Okay. Well. Sometimes you have these books you read that leave you feeling “hmmmm.” You scratched your head a few times. You go on a walk and ponder the book and when you get back browse through it again. But you’re still left thinking “hmmmmm.” Then you leave it for a while and hope you something comes you. So that’s what I did. I read this book, but after a few days I still didn’t really know what to make of it. Let me clarify though. It is hardly a bad book, but it didn’t excite nor impress me either. Let’s see if I can tell you why.

This story is about Hellsfire, a cocky young man full of attitude and bravado. He was named by a stranger and he always knew he was different. He has a fire burning inside of him. Everything comes to a highpoint in a fight with some bullies. His fire is released and the bullies are understandably frightened.

Puzzled over this new development he sees a young woman, the princess Krystal Cambridge of Alexandria, running from her abductors. Of course, being a good hero, he helps her with the use of his fire and she helps out too with expert swordsmanship.

Upon arriving home, his mother sees this as the sign she’s been waiting for – a sign a stranger told her about – and he is sent to live with this ‘angel’ as his mother calls him. There’s no angel. Just a wizard and a dragon. And that is just what Hellsfire is. A wizard. No surprise there.

There’s an interlude then of a few years where Hellsfire trains. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like he matures. After the years he still seems this immature, cocky boy. Granted he still is a teen, but he’s not what you expect in a hero. There is more coming after he trains and a big adventure looms. The question is, is Hellsfire ready for it?

This book read like a cross between Legend of the Seeker and Harry Potter, only without the engaging wizards. It has all the ingredients of a good fantasy story, but with a poor execution. None of the characters are really likable or engaging. The whole time reading this story I felt like there was something missing. The oomph that would set it apart from all the other fantasy stories out there.

Of all the characters in this book, I liked Krystal best. She seems to possess a certain strength that makes you admire her. Plus, she’s good with a sword. You gotta admire that.

The writing in this book is not bad, but it doesn’t add to the story. Like I said in the beginning of this book, this story just made me go “hmmmm.” Not a good or a bad “hmmmm.” As a result I can’t really give it a shining review, but it’s also not bad. It might be just what you’re looking for if you like YA stories with heroes who have a big destiny and a lot to learn.

[Keryl Raist · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are, maybe, seven basic fantasy plots. The readers know this. They know that just about every fantasy they open will be a variation on one or another beloved theme. This is not a shock to them. So, when a fantasy reader says a book is predictable, they don't mean: I've seen a variation on this before (because we all have) they mean the author didn't do a good job making an old plot interesting, setting it in a well crafted world, or giving us fantastic characters to adventure along with.

Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire, was predictable. It's not bad, but it's also not really engaging. Hellsfire, yes, that's the name of the main character, reads like a hybrid of Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. He's a boy with a destiny and a special power. He's also bit flat. Not obnoxious, but not fully rounded in any meaningful way either.

In fact, the whole book reads like a hybrid of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. The Hero is young, stupid, and The One Whose Coming Was Foretold. The Wizard is old and wise, and takes him under his wing for training. The Princess is beautiful, spunky, handy with a sword, but still in need of rescuing. The Good King is being taken advantage of by his Evil Adviser. The Evil Adviser has plans to find the magical plot device artifact and use it to take over the world. You've read this story before. I've read this story before, and both of us turned each page with baited breath when it was populated with fantastic characters in an expertly built world.

And, alas, this is not an expertly built world, either. Quick example: The Wizard is explaining how magic works in their world, how each person has six sorts of mana (Okay, how many of you immediately flashed into gamer mode there? It gets worse.) and each mana has a different color: white for life magic, black for death magic, red for fire, blue for air, blue-green for water, green for earth. Sigh. I played that game, I don't need to read it.

On top of that, Catalyst sorely needed a proof-reader. The punctuation is rough. Missing/wrong words pop up at least once or twice a chapter. It was often enough, and bad enough, to toss me out of the story on several occasions. Wonky descriptions showed up just as often. Another example: We finally get to a combat scene, and it's going well, I'm liking it, but then one of the fighters uses his "sword like a snake." Now, I get that not every sentence in a book should be read literally, but even on a figurative level this doesn't make much sense. Snakes don't use swords. And if you were holding a snake by the tail, and attacking with it, you'd be using it like a whip, not a sword. I think, from context, Johnson meant something along the lines of: his sword flicked quickly, like the tongue of a snake... but he didn't write that, and using the sword like a snake really tossed me out of the story to figure out what was going on. (My immediate mental image of the character holding the sword in his mouth, arms and legs pressed to his sides, as he wriggled on the ground, made absolutely no sense.)

It also needed a beta reader. In the above scene, Hellsfire, who's been warned to use his magic sparingly and not tell people he's a wizard, uses his magic to burn his way out of a net, uses his magic to blow the head off an ogre, hands a stabilizing potion to a wounded man, and then thinks that he shouldn't mention he's a magic user. He wouldn't want to tip his new companions off. Apparently his companions are massively stupid and didn't notice the fire flashing about, or even though he's describing everything in glowing red flames, the magic is somehow, unbeknownst to us, invisible. Between that and the snake sword, I had a really hard time with that scene. And it's not the only one.

So, as I said, Hellsfire isn't terrible. It's rough. It's very familiar. By halfway through I was skimming along, hoping to find something to get my attention. At three quarters of the way through, I still hadn't found anything that kept my attention for more than five minutes at a time. My guess is, if you've read very little fantasy, or are quite young (The Catalyst is technically a YA book, but I'd be more interested in aiming it at the six-to-eight-year-old market. You'd have to read it to them, but I think they'd like it.) this book might be a lot of fun. But it wasn't doing it for me. I gave up without finishing it.

[Alice Yeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Following the literary model of the unlikely hero, Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire introduces us to a poor boy whose moral convictions lead him into the path of greatness. A "do or die" situation awakens latent powers within him that start his quest to become stronger than he ever thought possible. Good timing, too, since he is soon called upon to save his world from malevolent forces that threaten its very existence.

The story follows our protagonist, Hellsfire, over a three to four year period of time, during which his powers manifest, and he learns to control them. Sort of. Up until he ends his training prematurely, what we see are snippets of time, short scenes that hold some sort of importance in terms of the plot. It was as if I were reading the Cliff Notes version of classic epic fantasy, gleaning key information so I could jump ahead to the meatier portions of the tale. For this sort of story, however, I would have appreciated more expansion upon these truncated sections. One of the reasons that we love books about the everyman succeeding is that we place ourselves in his shoes and share in his triumphs. With the time skips and quick summations of interim events, I got to the end of Hellsfire's training feeling somewhat robbed.

Perhaps part of the problem is that I never fully connected with the character. He comes across as a petulant child with good intentions, and while his generosity and determined dedication to good are admirable, I was frequently annoyed by his repetitive thought patterns and his canned reactions to key events. For the most part, side characters were significantly more likable. Both Cynder and Jastillian ameliorated my issues with Hellsfire to some extent.

In spite of these complaints, the book grew much more interesting after Hellsfire finally reached Alexandria. From that point forward, I became truly immersed in the story, racing quickly towards its conclusion rather than dragging my feet. With the assembling of armies and the introduction of a sociopathic villain and his cannibalistic cronies, the plot began to take shape, driving pesky details like character development into the background. I found myself genuinely emotionally invested in the outcome of each skirmish, especially since the pacing finally seemed to come into its own.

In terms of the writing, I am somewhat torn. The style appears to be designed for middle school readers, grammatical errors aside, but some of the violent content (e.g. mutilated ogre corpses) makes me hesitant to recommend it to children in their early teens. Perhaps I'm being overly prudish about it. In any case, the language is accessible for younger readers, though I would keep the war-related imagery in mind.

On the whole, Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire held a lot of promise in terms of the author's intended storyline. For those who want a quick, easy read with interest, it just may fit the bill.

Hide and Read
(Review copy provided by the author)

[Melissa T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on November 12, 2012.

I must admit that I don't often read a lot of fantasy novels so I was a little hesitant to give it a try.

The story starts out with Hellsfires' birth and the prophecy that he will do great things. There isn't a great deal of backstory given about his family or this prophecy, which I found to be disappointing. Then he comes into his powers, and his mother sends him on a journey to seek out the "angel" that prophecied his great skills. This angel is really a wizard named Stradus.

The good thing about this story is that there is a lot of action. Each chapter begins with a string of action and it's very consistent throughout. There are a few spots where the book drags on, but it usually picks up again within a few pages.

One thing I didn't care for was the main characters' name, Hellsfire. It felt very cliche to me, especially since his power and control laid in fire. I think it could have been something different. Or, if continuing down the unusual name route, the character shouldn't have named his love interest Krystal, since that isn't quite as unusual as the other characters like Sharald, King Furlong, and Stradus.

My favorite character was actually Cynder, the dragon. He kept the story light and filled with banter exchanges between himself and Hellsfire which I really enjoyed.


There are some inconsistencies and minor details that bothered me as I was reading. In one scene in the beginning of the story Hellsfire ends up burning a bully, Nathan, who has constantly teased him. Hellsfire then tells himself that he doesn't want to be around others for fear he might hurt them. And yet, right on the next page, he ends up traveling with a family. There are also several spots where Stradus, Hellsfire's teacher, says that there is much Hellsfire needs to know, but he can't tell him. These exchanges were infuriating because there were more than a few, and I felt that in leaving Hellsfire in the dark just seemed pointless. Stradus' job is to teach him, yet he's clearly keeping things from him? Doesn't quite make sense to me. Unfortunately there's not much light shed on his prophecy in this book, but maybe that will be fixed in the next book.


There is a lot of explanation of different kinds of mana and magic, so people who enjoy these themes will like that element. The addition of mana and the potions sort of made this book feel like an old adventure video game. There are also elves and dwarves with their own brands of magic as well.

Overall this is an enjoyable story, even with it's rough spots.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

A man battling to save the world with a twist. Hellsfire’s journey is incredibly interesting to read about in a world fully developed and awe-inspiring. The writing style was nice with descriptions interwoven throughout and not just ‘told’ to the reader.

I found the narration of the main character to be off. As well as the author was able to adaptably describe the world his character was just the opposite. There was too much of a step-by-step process for the reader to follow through inner thoughts. I was able to get in tune with the world but not the character which pulled me out of the story.

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catalyst is an awesome read for teen, young adult high fantasy fans.
Really well written, imaginative and unique.

[NoNo JoJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preface: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'd give this story 3 stars, maybe 3.25.

The story centers around Hellsfire, a young boy who is ostracized and bullied by his peers because of his lack of a father and horrible name. Eventually, he finds out his name has a deeper meaning - he can control flames. More importantly, he has a magical destiny he must leave home to pursue. He strikes out to find the man that named him, who turns out to be a wise old wizard....

If you've guessed the wizard takes him on as an apprentice and he goes on to have the usual adventure (make friends, save the kingdom, fight the evil vizier), you're correct. This is the basic hero's journey in the same form we've seen time and time again, with a few lil twists here and there.

The good: The characters are mostly fine. Bland, but likable enough. Hellsfire isn't frustratingly stupid. His mentor isn't infuriatingly cagey. The princess was a pleasant surprise, since she's actually a kickass leader in her own right. There are elves, which are pretty stereotypical, but the dwarves have a little flair to them (singing, and their honor culture and its implications for morality). The plot is straightforward and easy to follow, though a little contrived at times. It's never confusing. There are some neat details, like the wizard's garden in the mountains, or various spirits the pair conjures.

The bad: Some details of the story are silly or nonsensical. Hellsfire is, to be frank, a stupid name. Not only does it have horrible connotations, but it's difficult/cumbersome to say, and just sounds silly. No one would bother saying the whole thing in actuality - they'd just shorten it to "Hel," or something similar. In the same vein, there are a lot of coincidences throughout, namely Hellsfire conveniently stumbling into the children/relatives of powerful figures and saving them no less than 3 times. The story dragged in some places, and the final confrontation was a little hard to follow, with new powers suddenly coming from nowhere just when it's most convenient. The aftermath is a little weird, too - the main characters sustain what should be a huge loss, but are flippant/joking, which feels a little weird. Most of all, the story is blatantly just set-up for the trilogy, which is a little disheartening. I'd have preferred this novel's villain to just be a starter, but it looks like he's going to be in the whole thing, which is disappointing. He's just not very interesting. His dialogue is honestly pretty ridiculous at times, which is something of a running theme - a lot of characters speak in a way that is very modern/jarring at times.

Ultimately, there's nothing in this story that is awful or offensive. It'd be a good young adult read for anyone with an interest in fantasy, or someone who wants a predictable narrative. But if you're looking for more, this isn't the book for you.

[Heidi Breton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The world was well-imagined, and the characters were interesting. It followed genre conventions, but not so much that I felt there was nothing to anticipate or wonder about.

Hellsfire is a young man growing up in a small village, earning his keep at a young age. He doesn't have a very easy time of it, but manages to respect his mother. One day he sees a girl running through the forest, and there are men chasing her. He interferes, of course, and discovers something about himself he never expected. His mother reveals that she knew something was going to happen eventually, and sends him on a quest to find answers. He encounters a very cold, very steep mountain, a dragon, and many other friends on his journey to control his ability. Ultimately, he battles to save the world and the girl he loves.

I also enjoyed watching the characters and world develop. The author did a very good job of not dumping world descriptions, but weaving them into the tale. The biggest fly in the ointment was that the main character, Hellsfire, has an annoying tendency to think through every step of the previous scene the next time he's alone. I understand what the author is trying to do, but he spends a little too much time explaining why Hellsfire feels how he does, and the story drags a little at those parts. Some of the other characters' emotional responses seemed forced at times, too, but it didn't detract too much from the story.

The ending of the book was not a huge surprise, but I enjoyed getting there and was taken off guard by twists and turns a couple of times. The main character's overall attitude was refreshing, especially when compared against so many other young protagonists who fall into the common trap of disobedience and arrogance. He was willing to learn and to deny himself power for power's sake.

The editing of the book (I read the Kindle version) was terrible. There were several places where the wrong word was used, or sentences were chopped off. I hope a new version corrects these errors; however, I didn't have trouble following the story in the long run.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light fantasy read. I would rate it as appropriate for children 12 or older, mostly due to descriptions of gory physical and magical violence in battle settings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

Read more of my reviews at my website, AnemoneFlynn.com

[Readiculously Peachy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my original review on my blog: Readiculously Peachy

My Review:

I received a copy from the author to read and review in return.

I took a bit longer with this book than I intended to and I want to thoroughly express that this has absolutely nothing to do with the actual book itself. It was in fact exceptional! It has such an extraordinary story line, it is stunningly, creatively, and thoroughly written, and the book was filled with humorous, mystical and bloodcurdling characters! Marc Johnson definitely has a huge talent in plunging the reader into a wondrous, dangerous, and magical world including elves, dwarves, wizards, dragons, and many more creatures. The book is from start to finishing absolutely enticing, hilarious, adventurous and exhilarating all at the same time and it definitely exceeded my presumed thoughts. Let's dive straight into the details!

The Story and the characters...

The protagonist of the book is a young boy named Hellsfire. He was born in the midst of a harsh winter night, when a wise wizard visited the newborn and his mother and foretold that Hellsfire is to be a paramount figure in the future. Very quickly thereafter, we follow up with Hellsfire when he is 14 years old. Due to his differences he is not accepted by his town and he escapes to the forests which he considers his safe haven. That is when he encounters Krystal, the young princess of Alexandria. Hellsfire portrays his underlining characteristic, courage and selflessness, and saves the Princess from the Bandits who had kidnapped her. While he saves the princess he discovers that he has powers he had never dreamed of possessing and soon finds out that it was his mom's duty to send him up to the harsh and lethal White Mountain where someone would be waiting for him. Here he would learn who he truly is, why he has these exceptional powers, and what he is meant to represent in the Kingdom of Alexandria.

Hellsfire learns his most prominent power is of fire and that he is destined to become a great wizard who is to fulfill a very important prophecy. We follow Hellsfire's journey in his training and growth in becoming not only an apprentice wizard, but also a brave and dapper young man. Through his love and pure connection with Princess Krystal, he receives visions that the Kingdom of  Alexandria is in grave danger and Princess Krystal is in dyer need for his help. Through his adventurous and roller coaster journey, Hellsfire becomes acquainted with Elves, Dwarves, Ogres, other wizards and many other mystical and dangerous  creatures.  Hellsfire realizes that he has a rocky path ahead of himself in order to save the Kingdom of Alexandria, who is controlled by am evil wizard named Premier, and to save his beloved Princess Krystal from the grips of darkness and danger.

The story is beyond intriguing and so original. Mr. Johnson describes surroundings such as landscapes, scenes, buildings and kingdoms in such a powerful and descriptive way that I had no trouble in creating the image in my mind. Throughout the entire book I was enveloped by Mr. Johnson's way of writing and the details he included, and it definitely gave the book a complete magnificent feel to it.

All the characters that came forth in the story were fun and entertaining to read about and to follow them throughout their journeys along with Hellsfire. They all had their own specific and special traits, and this made the book so much more prominent and unique. The way Mr. Johnson describes the characters makes you as the reader create a emotional bond with them, no matter if they are a friend of foe. Each character is embedded in my head, and because of Mr. Johnson's explicit characterizations, I was able to thoroughly picture the characters in my head. I don't find that often, that authors are capable of doing this, and I believe Mr. Johnson unequivocally succeeded in portrayed this.

I recommend this...

...to all readers who aren't afraid to let their imaginations run wild and trust the book to develop into a supreme and heartwarming story. This book describes magic beyond the usual means of magic, as if Mr. Johnson is an expert in wizardry himself. If you love a story with majestic and malignant creatures, a benevolent, brave and beautiful protagonist, a world bound with magic and wondrous kingdoms, and a fast paced and electrifying story line, then this is the book for you! I will definitely look forward to the second book of Mr. Johnson's The Passage of Hellsfire series!

Are you also excited to dive into Mr. Johsnon stunning and magical world? Go ahead and purchase the here!

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning, has a spoiler or two..I received a copy of this as an ARC. Its about a poor,often bullied boy,who finds out (while rescuing a princess) that he has powers of fire. Things get worse when his mother tells him that he must leave home and he has to go live with a wizard. I enjoyed reading this book very much, though, I will admit that I skipped some it. Mind you, it had nothing to do with poor story telling. I am just a die hard animal lover and I cannot read (or watch) anything to do with an animal dying (or the aftermaths). That being said, I am very much looking forward to reading book #2 as well. Dragons,elves,wizards,and kingdoms are my cup of tea. The author grabbed my interest from the beginning and held onto it until the very end

[Diya (Melancholic Blithe)⚡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!

Catalyst is a story encompassing the journey of a boy from being a villager to being a wizard. Well not just that, it also has terrific amount of magic that makes it even more interesting. There wasn't any big revelation in this novel (except things related to magic which is important for the sequel). But the action was enough to keep me engaged. Not only that but the narration was done from Hellsfire's perspective, which was quite interesting to read. I liked the slow pace of the novel, how it unravelled bit by bit. So all in all it was really amazing to read!

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kid book

[L.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Article first published as Book Review: Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire by Marc Johnson on Blogcritics.

In the inevitable dance of darkness, light continues to weave a path to rightness. Darkness continues to play and yet it seems light may not necessarily be alone.

Born in the darkness, and named by a stranger, Hellsfire lives a life of poverty yet full of love. At fourteen Hellsfire knows he is different. The fire burns in him strongly. Inherent in his makeup somehow, filled with strength, he has a fire of his own, and something he cannot explain. Control at his age is difficult, and anger is never far from the surface. After an especially vicious fight with some of the local bullies, his fire suddenly breaks free. Only now does he understand what he has been feeling. As fear clears the fight and his foes run away, he is tired and ready to be on his own. As he escapes, he sees a young woman running for her life. Unable to do anything but offer assistance he finds himself drawing on his power once more, only to save her.
With her help and expertise with a sword, he helps her to dispatch her abductors but Krystal Cambridge of Alexandria has questions. He does not understand himself and is not able to answer. Finding she is a princess, Hellsfire is in amazement. Fascinated by her beauty and bravery, he is in awe. Finally found by her honor guard, she says her good byes, but not before pressing a purse into his hands for his deeds.

Returning home and telling his tale to his mother, she is concerned. Yet she seems to understand something he does not. This is when she first tells him of the ‘angel.’ This being is the one that visited at his birth and chose his name. She also let him know of her agreement to send him to this ‘angel’ for training when he showed a sign. Unaware of how that sign would manifest itself, she is sure this is the time. He must make his way to the White Mountain, a place of danger and power, to find his mentor and to become the man he is meant to be.

Fighting the elements and using his power in whatever way he could to help him reach his goal, he finally finds the one who had the answers. Stradus is not angel however, he is a Wizard and he has a dragon. A dangerous dragon named Cynder. Hellsfire was to live here in this mountain and become an apprentice. The years seem to melt away and yet when Hellsfire begins to have dreams about death and destruction, with dreams about Princess Krystal and Alexandria he understands it is his time to leave. Knowing he is not yet ready, and clearly not a Wizard it is still without much reluctance that he finds himself on his way to find the answer to his dreams.

It is only now as he begins his journey does he begin to understand. There are forces beyond his control that are leading him. Hellsfire is not ready to be on his own, yet does he have a choice? Can he find the answers and keep Alexandria from the chaos of his dreams? Can he save Krystal?

In Catalyst by Marc Johnson, Johnson has put together a story of good and evil with all the embellishments that make it exciting. His characters are a wonderful foil to the side they with which they are aligned. The darkness draws the trolls and ogres, the dark and dangerous demons of the dark tide. The Wizard of the darkness, Premier, is an exceptional take on sorcery, of magic turned into darkness. The character exemplifies the fall into madness that often seems to follow the darkness.

Hellsfire is a fun and witty young man. His bravado often overrides his common sense, and yet he seems able to pull back from the very edge each time he is close to death and danger. He is full of doubts and fears and yet he has a strong belief in right and wrong. He is half in love with a woman he can never have, and yet he will lay down his life to keep her safe.

Krystal too is an amazing character. Full of life and light, and strength to runs through her soul, one that holds her steady during the destruction of her home, she never gives up. She is a vision of courage and loveliness, and a beacon for what light is all about.

I would recommend this story for the young adult as well as the young at heart. Written in the manor of many of the stories of power, it is full of dwarves and elves, as well as the ugly and unassailable things that go bump in the night. It is a fun tale that holds your interest and will keep you awake well into the night.

This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Northern Shala is kept save from the monsters of the Wastelands by the Kingdom of Alexandria. But that kingdom may be in trouble. Hellsfire, a young lad in a small village, rescues Crystal, the princess of Alexandria, and earns a reward. However, he also gained the knowledge that he must now leave his sleepy little village and find a way to master his wild magic.

Hellsfire is the chosen one, but the details are all fuzzy to start with. Years ago, a mysterious man arrived in a winter storm just as Hellsfire’s mother was giving birth to him. This mysterious man is responsible for Hellsfire’s unusual name. Part of me likes the name but part of me wonders why his mom didn’t give him a nickname or even a common middle name that he could choose to go by. He’s teased and bullied constantly in the village and his odd name is just one more thing to draw unwanted attention to him.

One day, Hellsfire sees a young woman (which turns out to be Crystal) being chased by 3 armed men in the woods and he interferes. Fire launches from Hellsfire and takes out the men, which surprises everyone, especially Hellsfire. Crystal rewards him with a bag of coin. He tells his mom who takes it as a sign that he is ready to head out to the mountain where it is always winter. So, Hellsfire goes, facing down the lead bully one last time on the road out of town (hooray!). Eventually, he has to eat his horse, it’s so cold (so sad).

He finds a cave near the top of the mountain where there’s a dragon who takes great glee in chasing him about. Eventually Hellsfire runs into Stratis (an aged wizard), who is friends with the dragon. Stratis sees the potential in the lad and offers to train him. Of course, those with knowledge have to be all mystical and mysterious about it all, never telling Hellsfire why he shouldn’t do this or that and that leads to dangerous situations. Not my favorite plot device at all. On the other hand, this is where we start to get the scope of the land. Stratis gives Hellsfire a well-rounded education – potions, fire magic, hunt and seek with the dragon, book learning, languages, physical training, herbology, etc. While the info dump on how magic works is a bit tedious (Hellsfire is not a swift learner), we also get some history (which I quite enjoyed). There was a big epic wizard war perhaps a thousand years ago which did quite a bit of damage and that is why there are few wizards now and also why many people and cultures look on wizardry with suspicion.

After a significant amount of time has passed, Hellsfire must leave and he feels he must assist the Alexandrian princess. Elves and Dwarves get pulled into play, along with another wizard and at least 1 ogre. There’s some political maneuvering, daring rescues, and a worthy battle at the end.

There are few female characters until the last quarter of the book where the Dwarves come into play. Apparently the Dwarves are a bit ahead of the times and have female leaders and women guards and such. Hooray! Crystal is OK as the main female character/love interest. She does get to show off her sword skills a little in the final big battle, but she also gets knocked unconscious more than once and has to be rescued. Still, it’s mostly a boy’s tale about a boy saving the kingdom.

For a standard fantasy tale, it was still pretty entertaining. I enjoyed Hellsfire and all his anger management issues. He’s a good lad at heart and that wins over the audience no matter how many mistakes he makes. This story leaves the door open for a sequel and I expect the next book will up the epic level.

I received a copy of this audiobook at no cost from the author in exchange for an honest review (thanks!).

Narration: Bryan Zee was only OK. He didn’t have many distinct character voices; at first you can tell he’s trying but by the middle, it just all sounds like the same voice. Plus he has this nasal quality to several words in his native accent that bleeds through into every character voice. Towards the end, there were some mouth noises as well (not many) where there weren’t any for the majority of the book. Zee did do a great job of getting the character’s emotions across to the listener.

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally published on my blog : http://killie-booktalk.blogspot.com/

This book is a standard epic fantasy novel with the usual plot lines, creatures and characters that normally frequent this genre. Therefore, don't expect to see anything you have not seen previously, then again I can't remember the last time I saw something new in any fantasy novel. One thing I did note though was that the book seems to be targeted at the Young Adult audience which was nice to see as I rarely see this style of fantasy novel aimed at that group of readers; in my opinion they usually get the joys of Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance instead.

The story starts with Hellsfire's birth and his life in an out of the way village. However, whilst out in the woods he manages to unleash a previously hidden magical power when he saves a girl from bandits. This show of power leads to him having to leave the village and start training to become a wizard. This training however is interrupted once has has a vision of some sort of calamity that will befall the city of Alexandria. He therefore heads out into the world where he meets elves, dwarves and other creatures in his attempt to help save the region from the machinations of an evil wizard.

Marc Johnson has basically put together a traditional zero to hero type of novel with the usual good versus evil dynamic. The story is told from the perspective of Hellsfire himself besides the first chapter. I actually quite liked this as it made the story more about this one character and the adventure he was personally on. I understand that some people don't actually like first person narratives, but in the context of this book I think it worked.

Another aspect that I did like in the story was that due to Hellsfire travelling over a fair amount of the region he lives in I got to gain some understanding of the world, history and culture that the author has created. One aspect of fantasy books I always enjoy is learning more about the interesting universe the story is taking place within. I will note though that due the large area that Hellsfire visits and the length of the novel the story seemingly jumps very quickly from place to place without any in-depth bridging chapters etc.

In regards to the character of Hellsfire himself, I have to admit that I didn't actually like him that much. I will admit that he does have a very strong sense of right and wrong alongside a determination to get things done. However, I just found his temper tantrums rather annoying and didn't really think that he actually really matured much during the time he was training to be a wizard. It was a shame really as I think at the core there may be a character there that I could actually like.

The other issue I did have with Hellsfire is his name! I was hoping there might be some real and meaningful reason behind this rather ridiculous name but there really wasn't. It isn't something major and doesn't spoil any enjoyment of the novel; I just found it a little bit silly. I did wonder if the name was just chosen because "The Passage of Hellsfire" sounds better than something like "The Passage of Bob" etc.

In all honesty, "Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire" was a predictable but still enjoyable epic fantasy novel. I think a young adult looking for an easy introduction to the world of epic fantasy would enjoy it a lot. I hope that if this book does achieve something, then it will be to introduce younger people into this genre without scaring them off as I suspect some of the more well known and complicated novels could do. Personally, I will probably pick up the sequel when it is released as I am interested in knowing what happens to Hellsfire and hope that some of the issues he faced in this book helps him grow up a little and get over the temper tantrums.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalyst by Marc Johnson
Rating: 4.5 stars

Dani's review:

I planned on only reading a few chapters of Catalyst a night, but it hooked me in immediately at the prologue. This novel contains all of my favorite elements of fantasy novels: An author-created world, a unique type of magic, a fearless hero whose various mistakes while growing up are hilarious, mystical creatures, and most importantly, a compelling plot. The plot was so, so suspenseful. I anxiously kept reading late into the night, wondering if the characters would free themselves from their dangerous situations. The characters went through problem after problem, constantly stumbling into impossible predicaments. Yet somehow, Marc Johnson artfully crafted a logical solution for each one.

I loved reading about Hellsfire's various jumbled feelings. He felt lonely, abandoned, the joy of having a foster father, and the sorrow of losing a loved one all at the same time. He is urged by his mother to leave his childhood home when he accidentally reveals his magic power. After many harsh days of travel and surviving on his own, he reaches the home of a wizard named Stradus, who will become his mentor and father. Stradus also has a dragon named Cynder living with him. The banter between Hellsfire and Cynder was one of my favorite parts of the novel!

"You should feel so lucky, little Hellsfire. But I must say it was fun getting to know a human who is young and bold, rather than one who is old and tired." Cynder and I laughed at his joke, glad Master Stradus wasn't around to hear it. "It has been fun trading quips with you, even though you were outmatched by a far superior being."
I grinned at him. "Yeah, right."

Catalyst is also a "coming of age" novel. Hellsfire falls in love with a princess and throughout the novel tries to court her and saves her life, although she is definitely capable of saving herself. There are a multitude of side characters who were part of "Hellsfire's merry band to save the kingdom", as my consciousness christened them. The character development of the smaller characters was well done, something authors often overlook when they only focus on the main characters. The only thing I did not like about Catalyst is the somewhat predictable plot. There were some surprising twists, but it essentially has the template of many other fantasy novels: Protagonist discovers his power, goes to study with a teacher until he grows up, learns about some kind of conflict, saves the world and meets a beautiful along the way. Does this remind you of Eragon? There was one element in particular involving a king and a villain who wants to usurp the throne that reminded me of Lord of the Rings. However, Marc Johnson's writing is stupendous. His detail, imagery, and character development made this novel an amazing read.

I think Catalyst is meant for readers in their tweens or early teens, so it's a YA fantasy novel. The vocabulary isn't very advanced, but that's good for a fast read. If you're like me and you absolutely HAVE to know what a word means so you go running for the nearest dictionary, Catalyst will be a more relaxing read for you. Adults may not enjoy this novel as much as teens.

There's not much more I can say about this novel before I spoil something. I really enjoyed Catalyst, and if you are a teenage fantasy lover, I think you will too! Put Catalyst on your to-read list if you are looking for a fast read full of action and suspense.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review at: The Midnight Bookworm
- The cover: I really like the cover image for this book, the way the flame is coming out of Hellsfire’s hands, is great and gives a preview as to what the main character is like.

- The characters: The story is told from Hellsfire’s point of view. Normally, I like first person point of view stories because you can really get to know the main character’s thoughts throughout the story. Unfortunately, in my opinion Hellsfire was a sort-of dry character, maybe “dry” is the wrong word, he’s stiff. He’s very polite which is fine for a character, but it’s almost like he’s trying to be a business professional with his conversations and he’s only 14 at the start of the novel. I guess my point is he’s a little too grown up, in my opinion, for a 17 (or 16?) year old boy by the end of the book. I guess he had reason to be a little off since he was thrust into this life of being a wizard and having the war to deal with.
Krystal (the princess of Alexandria) is wonderful. She’s not a huge presence in this book, but the times that she is in the story, she’s a strong female. She knows what she wants and goes after it, as well as the fact that she is very perceptive and can tell when something is wrong about certain other characters.

- The story: The genre of this book is “fantasy” it’s VERY much a fantasy book, dwarves, ogres, wizards, elves & everything else in between. My first thought when I started reading and the main character was named “Hellsfire” I was kind-of like “oh, what a weird name!” Then on page 19 of the ePub version Krystal obviously thought the same thing because she said: “Hellsfire? What kind of name is that?” when she met Hellsfire for the first time. I thought that was great that only a few pages earlier I was thinking it.
Anyway, this story as a whole was good, but it was very slow and drawn out. I don’t know how the series will continue for five more books. The story starts out fine, but while Hellsfire is gaining control of his powers, it skipped ahead one year, then after another few chapters it skipped again. I would have liked to read about the actual training Hellsfire went through. I can’t really describe how I felt about this story too well without giving much away because there are a lot of different things about this book that surprised me and I liked.

- Overall: I don’t know if I was just distracted these last couple weeks with school starting or if it was because I had to read this on my computer (I have no real eReader yet), either way, it took me entirely too long to get through this book. I wasn’t super impressed with this book. I was hoping it would pick up the farther I went into the story, but it was pretty slow for the most part. Being that it’s the first book in the series, I will probably give the second one a try when it comes out, just to see where the story goes. Overall, I enjoyed the story, if it had a little more action, and a little more teenage behavior I would have been happier though.

[a_tiffyfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come!
I really enjoyed this one; I thought it was an imaginative tale with magic, war, and monstrous creatures to be beaten. The biggest and the worst of the enemies faced is another human wizard, one who aims to take over the world, to have it all to himself, to rule over all: the humans, the monstrous creatures, the elves, the dwarves, and the wizards, too. I expect the worst evil to come from humans, actually, as opposed to some fairy tale creature! Humans always seem to have the most evil of intentions, always wanting to conquer something, rule over others, etc. Other creatures do, too, but don't you find that humans are always the ones dripping in evil? Perhaps it's because we are humans so we find it more repulsive.

The "Hellsfire" isn't as it sounds. In fact, it is the protagonist's name! Perhaps his unusual name is the catalyst to cause others to shun him, ostracize him, and to be beaten and teased by his peers. But because his mother explains to him how she'd come to name him that and the special meaning behind the name, Hellsfire doesn't begrudge his name, although at times he does wonder whether or not his world would be different if he had a "normal" name. This made him relatable, such a normal thing to wonder as you're going through life's crud.

Hellsfire discovers his "specialness", his innate ability when he runs into a girl and saves her from a bunch of thugs. His discovery leads him onto an adventure he could never have imagined. This strong-willed, determined young man makes the dangerous journey to the top of a frozen mountain, where no one dare venture, to learn of his identity and why he's in possession of such awesome power; he's a wizard. There he learns many things about his power and his magic.

The young woman he had saved turns out to be the princess of the neighboring kingdom, which is in trouble. This trouble will affect all of humanity, not just in their kingdom but in all neighboring kingdoms. Hellsfire feels compelled to act, to save this kingdom and therefore save all who would be affected. This compulsion stems from his love for Alexandria, the princess, although he is not aware of what lies in his heart. With every ounce of his being, Hellsfire throws himself at this challenge even knowing that it may take his life.

You cannot help but to rally for Hellsfire because of his honesty, loyalty, love, and extreme altruism for others, humans and animals. As a reader, you experience vicariously Hellsfire's challenges and triumphs as he goes through them. His character is one to admire, one that others should aspire to mimic and be. As with all great novels and stories, there is a wonderful happy ever after and victory that you can share in its triumph.

I look forward to reading more in this series and once again follow Hellsfire in his adventures and the magical worlds.

P.S. The wise-cracking, arrogant, conceited, dragon friend, Cynder, was my favorite. Too bad we can't all have such a friend to call our own!

[L.E.Olteano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely cover, isn’t it? It suits the content like a glove. See, that’s one reason I love indie books so much. It’s the writer that decides what image should cover their work, and they’ll always know better what really fits.

I liked the book, to make a long story short. I liked the world, because it was a fantasy-cozy sort of affair, having all those elements I’ve loved in every fantasy world or story. I wouldn’t say there was something overly fresh about the world building, maybe because fantasy tends to have limited resources at times. But then again, maybe I feel that way because I often watch Dad and Mom play World of Warcraft, and after seeing that world, there’s little a new fantasy world can spring on you. Oh well.
So the world was nice. The plot was very visual, I could clearly picture it in a WoW-like movie, with all the effects and magic elements. I wouldn’t say it was riveting, but it was cool to read. The writing was good, it transitions nicely into dynamic mental pictures. There were a lot of good to very good elements in there.

What I didn’t really get into were the characters. Let’s take Hellsfire, for instance. This is a coming of age novel, a nicely made bildungsroman. Hellsfire starts out a poor, sort of isolated kiddo, and ends up a wizard, flirting with a princess. He goes through trials, training, he evolves; yet he never looses a strangely grating way of expressing himself. There’s a pedantic hue about him that effectively kept me from having feelings about the guy. I didn’t like him, I didn’t dislike him, I sort of cared because of the whole set of circumstances, but I didn’t cheer for him. I didn’t worry about him.

The princess, Krystal, was interesting, just like him, but again, didn’t invoke any emotional reaction. I would have liked them to be more young-adult friendly, you know? This is a young adult fantasy novel, one of the fewer ones, and I believe it would be a fabulous one, if the characters would feel more ya-friendly. It feels like they’re always trying too hard to be appropriate. I’m not sure the ya reader would enjoy that a lot. A parent might think this is a good read, because it transmits sound values, and proper, appropriate attitudes. I’m not so sure the ya segment would find that overly fun, though? Of course, it’s only my opinion, I could (and hope to be) quite wrong about it.

All in all, it was a pleasant read. I would recommend it, even if I didn’t get excited, because you guys might. After all, when it comes to appreciation for characters, each of us has their own particular likes and dislikes. This is a beautiful world, and it’s put together beautifully enough to pull off a pleasant read even without fetching characters – that’s no easy feat. I do believe the next books in the series will be a much more pleasant ride, because Hellsfire would grow up into a knight-like wizard, and his striving to be so proper might become him, rather the suit him strangely.

[Sher A. Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellsfire reminded me of some classic fantasies I read long ago, although in the coming of age vein it felt more like recent books. The story began when Hellsfire was fourteen and being bullied, partly because of that ridiculous name. Soon he discovered his gift for fire magic and rescued Princess Krystal of Alexandria, who makes a lasting impression. I liked his simple logic. “It was the right thing to do.”

What worked: Cynder was a real stinker when it came to getting Hellsfire in trouble, and I enjoyed the back and forth of that relationship. I just wanted more. When Hellsfire met the elves en route to Alexandria, I really enjoyed the story and the scenery through visuals that helped me feel like I was there. They were good before, but the forest and elves were outstanding. Although the plot proceeded somewhat predictably from there to Alexandria and on, including a wasteland with creatures invading at instigation of an evil wizard, once Hellsfire left to recruit dwarves for the war, I found more great imagery. I also enjoyed the interactions and Hellsfire’s struggling to control his talent and emotions. That and maturity should come in future books. The parts that had to happen didn’t seem derivative even though they felt familiar. You know that feeling of knowing something bad is going to happen? And then it does. That’s what kept me turning pages. The climax had one result I expected but most I didn’t.

What didn’t work as well: There’s a tedious journey near the beginning with real world problems: weather, hunger, and physical exhaustion. Not fantasy material. If only the poor horse could have talked. Or better yet, the dragon, Cynder, could have ventured forth instead of waiting for Hellsfire to arrive. Shouldn’t the wizard have expected and helped him along, considering the prophecy? Then more close calls in training would have helped along with more explanation about the prophecies. It didn’t sense to keep the information from the person who most needed it. What you don’t know can hurt you a lot worse than what you do know, as evidenced by one of the close calls. Three years of training felt chopped short even though it’s a given the hero can’t be prepared before the crisis.

Overall: The book has a classic fantasy feel I've missed and really picked up and kept me interested throughout once Hellsfire started training. 3.5 stars. Would be a solid 4 if the beginning had less journey before training. Bonus points for completing the story arc when so many books end on cliffhangers. With Hellsfire, I felt satisfied and will be happy to read another. Future readers shouldn’t find as many mistakes since I sent the author my notes on most that snuck past editing. So if another review discouraged you on that count, go ahead and read. You’ll help another author succeed.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catalyst by Marc Johnson
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews
For centuries, the kingdom of Alexandria has protected Northern Shala from the monstrous creatures lurking in the Wastelands. Now, a dark force threatens that fragile peace.

Far from home, Alexandria's princess is abducted. When a young villager named Hellsfire stumbles upon her and her captors, he rushes in to rescue her, alone and unarmed. His fear and fury unleash an unc...moreFor centuries, the kingdom of Alexandria has protected Northern Shala from the monstrous creatures lurking in the Wastelands. Now, a dark force threatens that fragile peace.

Far from home, Alexandria's princess is abducted. When a young villager named Hellsfire stumbles upon her and her captors, he rushes in to rescue her, alone and unarmed. His fear and fury unleash an uncontrollable magical force that grants him the power to save the princess-and change the world.

Hellsfire has never craved nor dreamed of power. But such magic as he now possesses has not been seen in Northern Shala for a thousand years, since the devastation of the War of the Wizards and the creation of the Wastelands.

Now Hellsfire must leave all he's ever known, and make a dangerous journey to learn to master this wild, ferocious power-power he knows he is not ready to wield. More difficult still, he needs to master his emotions. If he can't, the power will consume him, Alexandria will fall, and darkness will eclipse the land, destroying everyone he loves.

In the dead of cold, the spark shall burn (Synopsis provided by goodreads)

I enjoyed this book a lot. Like a lot of stories, it started off a little slow, but it did pick up. It was a very quick read and I think it's aimed towards younger teens. (However adults would enjoy it as well!) I really enjoyed the characters and felt that they seemed believable.

The story was very enjoyable and one that I would have wished was a bit longer so I could have enjoyed it longer. My only "complaint" is how at times the conversations seemed "professional" which isn't a bad thing, but at times I wanted the characters to cut to it and get on with the adventure. Again, it's not a bad thing really.

I do look forward to more titles by Johnson and would recommend this book to others.


* Format: Kindle Edition
* File Size: 537 KB
* Publisher: Longshot Publishing (March 19, 2011)
* Author: Marc Johnson
* Cover art: Love the fire!
* Overall rating **** out of 5 stars
* Obtained: I received a PDF from the author in exchange for a review.

[Anemone Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The world was well-imagined, and the characters were interesting. It followed genre conventions, but not so much that I felt there was nothing to anticipate or wonder about.

Hellsfire is a young man growing up in a small village, earning his keep at a young age. He doesn't have a very easy time of it, but manages to respect his mother. One day he sees a girl running through the forest, and there are men chasing her. He interferes, of course, and discovers something about himself he never expected. His mother reveals that she knew something was going to happen eventually, and sends him on a quest to find answers. He encounters a very cold, very steep mountain, a dragon, and many other friends on his journey to control his ability. Ultimately, he battles to save the world and the girl he loves.

I also enjoyed watching the characters and world develop. The author did a very good job of not dumping world descriptions, but weaving them into the tale. The biggest fly in the ointment was that the main character, Hellsfire, has an annoying tendency to think through every step of the previous scene the next time he's alone. I understand what the author is trying to do, but he spends a little too much time explaining why Hellsfire feels how he does, and the story drags a little at those parts. Some of the other characters' emotional responses seemed forced at times, too, but it didn't detract too much from the story.

The ending of the book was not a huge surprise, but I enjoyed getting there and was taken off guard by twists and turns a couple of times. The main character's overall attitude was refreshing, especially when compared against so many other young protagonists who fall into the common trap of disobedience and arrogance. He was willing to learn and to deny himself power for power's sake.

The editing of the book (I read the Kindle version) was terrible. There were several places where the wrong word was used, or sentences were chopped off. I hope a new version corrects these errors; however, I didn't have trouble following the story in the long run.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light fantasy read. I would rate it as appropriate for children 12 or older, mostly due to descriptions of gory physical and magical violence in battle settings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

Read more of my reviews at my website, AnemoneFlynn.com

[Julie Conklin keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catalyst opens with the birth of Hellsfire and the foreshadowing of the greatness to come. His birth is difficult and surrounded with unusual circumstances. Fourteen years pass and we learn that Hellsfire has been growing up in the small village called Sedah. The story begins with Hellsfire helping a young boy named Corwyn as he is being bullied by some other boys. For his help, he ends up taking a beating and is thrown into some mud.

He escapes the town to his favorite place, the pond. It is in the forest around the pond that once again, we see Hellsfire’s willingness to get involved. Hellsfire happens across a girl being chased by three men. He immediately springs into action to help her. Knocking the first man out with a heavy branch, he then loses the upper hand to the other two men. It is here that we and Hellsfire himself learn of his powers. Fire erupts from his eyes and kills one of the two men threatening him and the girl. The girl turns out to be princess Krystal of Alexandria, the Guardian City for all of Northern Shala. Soon the princess’s personal guards show up and take her away and Hellsfire returns, with a hefty reward given to him by the princess, to Sedah.

At this point in the book, the quest of Hellsfire begins. He has learned he has unimaginable power that he can’t control and he learns from his mother that an angel visited her at his birth and told her of his destiny. He sets out to learn to master his power, learn who he really is, what his true purpose is and complete his destiny.

Catalyst offers a hero’s quest for the reader to enjoy. Although the plot is familiar, it is the adventure of the journey, the details along the way that make it entertaining and a great read. Characters are introduced who are not your standard archetype individuals. The dragon even has a personality all his own that is far from what one might expect.

Overall, the characters are well thought out and the story is well written. There is some predictability to the plot but as stated above, the details of the quest make it enjoyable. The ending is nicely done and wraps up the plot well leaving no questions as to how or why things happened the way they did. The set up for the sequel fits excellently into the ending of this first book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading hero’s quests filled with wizards, magic (mana as it is called in this book), danger, daring rescues and good guys battling the bad guys.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely stunning cover. In fact, it was the cover that drew me to this audiobook. The description cemented my desire to listen.

So, did this audiobook live up to my expectations?

Yes and No.

The plot was your typical fantasy, coming-of-age adventure where the ordinary boy turns out to have extraordinary powers.

There are (of course) elves, dwarves, ogres, wizards, a beautiful princess and even a dragon. There is also the prerequisite evil wizard who is hell-bent on taking over the world.

I admit that the main character in this book certainly has a unique name. His name is "Hellsfire." I was extremely skeptical of such an odd name choice when I started listening to this audiobook, but it actually works. As the story goes on you get used to the name and it eventually sounds completely natural as the lead character's name. This is largely due to the excellent narration by Bryan Zee.

When Hellsfire discovers that he has the gift of fire magic, he knows that he will need to learn to control it. He sets out a quest to do just that.

During his quest he meets several interesting characters and becomes embroiled in an epic battle to save his world.

This plot is overdone. There are literally thousands of books that consist of this same storyline; of course the details, characters and settings are always different, but readers and/or listeners can easily predict what will happen. I hate that. I like to be surprised and unfortunately this audiobook's storyline did not contain any surprises.

The ending of this book sets up the story for the second book in the series, however, I felt that the author took some large liberties to expand the story into a series.

The narrator was terrific. He emotes very well and he did an admirable job of trying to keep the listener engaged in the story. I give the narration 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

However, I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am hoping that the second audiobook in this series contains the unexpected plot twists that were missing in CATALYST.

To read more of my reviews visit http://AmiesBookReviews.wordpress.com

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellsfire is a 14 year old boy who has been brought up by a loving mother to always do the right thing. It doesn't matter if the right thing is saving a younger boy from getting beat up by the town bullies only to get beat up himself or going up against ruffians who are chasing a young girl through the forest. Once Hellsfire meets Princess Crystal, his whole life changes. He discovers a gift he didn't know he possessed and sets out to learn how to use it by leaving his mother's small farm house and traveling to the top of a brutal mountain through sheer determination. But he doesn't forget the Princess.

When Hellsfire has a vision about Princess Crystal and the city of Alexandria, which are the only things standing between Shala and the wastelands, he leaves his training sanctuary against his master's wishes to help her. Is his vision true? Can he get to the Princess in time? Is there anything he can do to help Crystal and Alexandria? He doesn't know, but he WILL help the Princess who has captured his heart.

I liked this story. It is not that original and there aren't a lot of twists and turns in this first book in the Hellsfire series but something about it caught my attention almost at once and I found myself eager to continue to listen each day. It is well written and Hellsfire is a compelling character. He does the right thing and helps whenever and wherever he can. Doing the right thing is sometimes painful and takes him places he really doesn't want to go but he does it anyway. The Princess calls him 'Hero' and he is, at that. I look forward to the next installment in the series.

To be frank, my heart sank when I was 5 minutes into this book and heard the narration by Bryan Zee. I thought it was going to be a chore to get through this listen. However, I was quickly drawn into the story and began to enjoy the cadence of his reading (for reading it was) and the lilt of his accent. He has a pleasant tone to his voice and I ended the story enjoying his narration very much and hope that Marc Johnson sticks with him for the series.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

[Momma Frugal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book based on the story line and if I am correct a new author. My excitement faded quickly though as I read the first few pages. The story seems good but there is too much wording that it makes reading it tedious. I feel the author was taking me by the hand and telling me what was happening instead of allowing me to see things for myself. Basically, show don't tell.


Here are a couple of examples.


In the second paragraph you describe the dress well enough to tell me that this character doesn't have a lot of money. Then you go on to talk about the elbows and cuffs of the dress are worn fabric. I thought this was a wonderful description! I also know from telling me the main characters job is doing heavy labor is another way of showing me the characters are poor yet in another paragraph you state that they are poor. Another example is, "I sighed and bit the inside of my lip." That line shows me that the character is uncomfortable. The next line is totally unnecessary.


I am a little confused as to why am devout religious person would name their child "hellfire" but maybe that is told in the book.


I don't know if this book is published or a work in progress. If it is a work in progress and you take suggestions from other readers and rewrite I would love to read it. If it is published I would love to read your next project.


As a fellow writer I understand the frustration of peoples opinions but I've been told myself that my first chapter of one of my projects was telling not showing. I think sometimes we are too close to see it. Once I was told this I seen it and rewrote the first and many other chapters.


Thank you for allowing me to review.

Thank you to the author for allowing me to receive a pdf of the book for the review.

[Linda Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming coming of age story. Hellsfire is a young boy who is thrust onto his world and asked to accomplish things he never even dreamed were possible. By the tutelage of a wizened wizard and a dragon, he quickly learns that the responsibilities of a wizard is much more than just controlling the power that resides within you. Marc Johnson did an excellent job in creating the mythical world, and incorporating elves, dwarves, dragons, men and wizards, all vital elements to a good fantasy story. You know a book is good, when it makes you cry, and let’s just say I shed a few tears towards the end. The book was a little predictable at first, following a proven outline for such stories and presenting elements to the reader that was expected, but then it started to take unexpected twists and turns. Throughout the story Hellsfire grows, not only as a wizard, but also as a young man in learning to be patient, that he’s not invisible and that the lives of ones friends are precious.There were a few editing and grammer errors towards the latter half of the book, but nothing that disrupted the story too much, completely minor. The redeeming factor is that the author does request readers to notify him of such errors. Overall, I was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to review this book, and can’t wait for the next one in the series.

For family friendliness I gave it a 4 out of 5. I think it is fine for tweens and older to read by themselves, however it would be best advised for younger children if parents read the book with them. There are a few places in the book, that a younger child will not understand the innuendo and could easily be skipped in the reading.

For more reviews visit www.rosebuz.com

[Melissa (thereaderandthechef) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s such a pleasure to dive into a story that promises a long, fun and rewarding adventure, both for the reader and the characters. I like to enter different worlds where magic is the foundation of the story, ancient and powerful, but still with so much to learn from it. Here, magic is not something done lightly and very few (almost none) are able to call themselves a Wizard after the great War of the Wizards.

Hellsfire is the hero of our story. He is “The One” mentioned in the ancient prophecies that will protect Northern Shala of the imminent danger that lies ahead. We meet him at the age of 14, but after three years of training with wizard Master Stradus and the super amazing (funny, witty, sarcastic and my favorite of all) Cynder the dragon, he grows more in control with his magical abilities and is almost ready to be called a full wizard. But when he has the vision of death surrounding Krystal, the princess of Alexandria, Hellsfire must take action and apply everything he learned in order to protect her, the kingdom and all of Northern Shala.

I have to admit, Hellsfire had this habit of telling me when something bad was going to happen and I always plunged into the next chapter dreading the worse. Honestly, I prefer the element of surprise intead ot the forewarning. But other than that, this is the type of read that wakes the adventurous part in me, makes me anxious to travel farther into the Wastelands and wish for magical abilities like Hellsfire’s. Oh, and to have a dragon friend named Cynder too.

*This review first appeared at Cuzinlogic! http://cuzinlogic.com/2013/07/catalyst/*

[Unorthodox Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but there was one thing that kept bugging me as I read it. The main characters name - Hellsfire.

It never grew on me. Sure I could stop thinking about it to enjoy the book. But it bugged me.

It just seems so unoriginal. Which sounds harsh but given how original the book is and how refreshing of a read it is. It's not as harsh as it sounds.

I wanted a book I could escape into after a long few days, this was that book.

I loved the characters in this book. They were well written rounded people who were either easily likeable or not depending on which side you were on.

I loved the banter back and forth between characters, as much as I loved the relationships between them. They were honest and complicated, making them all feel very real.

The plot is well thought out and solid. When the author throws a curve ball you don't see it coming until your picking your jaw up off the floor.

It's a quick read at just over 200 pages. (Especially after losing track of time not able to put it down.) I would love to have seen it be a bit longer. The ending felt a bit rushed at times.

Rushed or not, the book really is well done and absolutely worth the read.
One of favourite books this year.
Marc Johnson can definitely hold his own in the fantasy genre.
I wish this book was out in paperback, because the re-read value is amazing.
I'm looking forward to book 2.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun fantasy read this was! It's about a fourteen year old boy named Hellsfire who comes to discover he is a wizard and has a magical power of fire. He lives in a small village with his mother where is bullied all the time. One day he runs into the woods where he first saves Princess Krystal from her abductors.

The beginning is kinda slow with Hellsfire training to be a wizard from Master Stradus. It does pick up and gets really good once he leaves three years later when he is seventeen. He sets out to save the girl he loves, Princess Krystal of Alexandria and her kingdom from the evil wizard Premier.

The author built a fantasy world that was easy to visualize and characters that were fun to read. It has a coming of age story along with a magical story line. This book had it all, fantasy of course with lots of action, suspense, humor and a little romance. It has lots of different fantasy type characters, trolls, elves, dwarves, orges, wizards and a dragon. There are funny, sad and hanging on the edge of your seat moments.

I would like to tell you more of the story but I don't want to give anything away. I am recommending this to anyone who loves reading young adult fantasy. I loved this and can't wait to read the next one. I'm guessing there is going to be a sequel since it's book one right?

This e-book was given to me by the author for review. This did not affect my review in any way.