Aias Aden was five years old when tragedy ravaged his world. Fifteen years later he seeks revenge against a man who manipulates the elements of nature at will. His journey will send him swimming across iceberg blue oceans, scaling frozen mountain slopes, and trekking through the surreal city landscapes of a futuristic world. Will he avenge the ones he has lost or will his quest for vengeance destroy his planet’s only chance of surviving the war against Aethon?
A story that explores love, vengeance, jealousy and rage driven animosity.
Kiran Rafique is a professor at the University of Houston and novelist. When she is not forcing her students to reevaluate their lifestyle behaviors, she is writing for the pure enjoyment of the art and the sake of pleasing her fans.
Animus is a fantasy written in the style of Homer with heroes who do mighty deeds and battle with kings and queens. If you like that kind of story then I think you'll like this one. The writing is good and consistent throughout. The characters are diverse and strong. It was an overall good book.
Received through Goodreads Firstreads, beautifully wrapped for Christmas!
Animus was an enthralling tale. We follow Aias through some truly trying experiences and see him triumph in every way possible over the adversity of his family, people, home and outside world(s). He struggles with some horendous decisions, heartbreaking loses and life-altering discoveries as he finds a family and friends where he perhaps didn't imagine that he would. At times, I did find it a bit repetitive. Whether it was unintentional, or perhaps meant to remind the reader in a relevant moment of a particular thing (a character trait, for example), I do not know. I did also a times find it a bit hard to follow - in some battle scenes things were a bit disorganised, descriptions and actions. With curves where you least expect it, however, Animus really is a wonderful read overall. The world that Rafique creates is incredible, I can only dream of the imagination that it must have taken.