Nemesis: Knight

Chess Quest #2

by Michael D. Young

With two out of his four quests to become a paladin completed, Rich Witz fears the hardest part is yet to come. His nemesis, a dark knight in training, has already shown his terrible power, and Rich barely escaped with his life. Not only does he need to figure out how to pass the final two tests, but also a way to defeat his enemy once and for all. He knows his nemesis is disguised as a regular person at his school, and his list of suspects just keeps growing. With only a few days left, Rich must find out for himself if he has what it takes to become a knight—and to save his family.

105 pages, Unknown Binding

First published March 30, 2015

About the author

Though Michael grew up traveling the world with his military family, he now lives in Utah with his wife, Jen, and their three children, where he creates online curriculum for Brigham Young University. He is a graduate of BYU and Western Governors University with degrees in German Teaching, Music, Educational Leadership, and Instructional Design. He enjoys acting in community theater, podcasting, playing and writing music, and spending time with his family. He played for years with the Bells on Temple Square and is now a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

He is the author of the novels in The Canticle Kingdom Series, The Last Archangel Series, the Chess Quest Series, and the Penultimate Dawn Cycle (The Hunger), the Wonderful Week for a Quest Series, as well as several non-fiction works, including An Advent Carols Countdown, Sacred Days, Sacred Songs, The Song of the Righteous, As Saints We Sing, and The Song of the Saints. He has also had work featured in various online and print magazines such as Bards and Sages Quarterly, Mindflights, Meridian, Nugent Magazine, The New Era, Keeping Tab, Allegory, Liahona, and Ensign.

Reviews

[Paula Dyches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy Adventure Continues - Yay Dragon!
Parents- PG- middle school and up - continues to be very clean and love the teamwork theme of this one
Language- None
Violence- PG- normal to genre nothing too graphic
Sexual Content- none

The fantasy fun continues in a real-world setting with a mix of the Knights of the Round Table and Chess. My review will mimic book one's review, so I don't give anything away. Rich is a nerdy 8th grader who gets pulled into this new realm and meets some of his ancestors who start him on a quest of his own and send him a guide that's his age but from a much older time. Rich's story is advancing and there are lots of secrets, mystery, and suspense. The world-building continues to be great and the characters are relatable and keep you engaged. This is a series that ends kind of abruptly and pushes you into getting the next in the series. This is a great clean fantasy and will also appeal to chess lovers.

Narrator- He did great with the differentiations and was easy to listen to.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an audio review copy from Story Origin, this is an honest review. Narrated wonderfully by Scott Connolly, returns once more to take listeners on an adventure that keeps getting more complicated for Rich as he needs to find the Corridor of Keys- a mysterious, otherworldly labyrinth where Rich's father has become trapped. When a vision helps him locate the places within a cavern, Rich finds himself at the mercy of his Nemesis and forced to battle-leaning hard upon his burgeoning abilities... earning him a most unique sword off his enemy that has a post Rich will need when bullies decide to violently disrupt a medieval faire the town is enjoying. It's during and after the event Rich discovers some disturbing secrets of a person Rich had considered a friend.

A great book worthy of your time.

Highly recommended.

[Jerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting read with good characters. The storyline was interesting with action, mystery, and humor. The world building was done well. I wish I had listened or read the first book as I was a little lost on some points in the book but it didn’t dismiss the books good writing. I would recommend this series but think you should start at the beginning. I received this with promo credit and this is my honest review.

[Ami Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story that highlighted the bumbling attempts of a modern day boy as he struggled to become a knight and to accept and improve himself. Clean and uplifting, it contained some great adventures and showed what some consequences can come from our choices! I highly recommend it.

[LyricTrotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He reached into his shirt and withdrew a talisman hung from on a silver chain... Perhaps I might finally find out what this means." 

Nemesis:KnightBy:Michael D. Young Genre :Fantasy, thriller

The second novel of Young comes with even greater promise after the first blew me with a world full of two things I personally acknowledge, magical quests and chess. Whatever the surprises this book holds, I am not going to do a spoiler. However, We can safely say that Young just gets better and better. 

The Nemesis Knight goes on with the life of a young magician who is on a quest to unlock his magical potential and fighting against the evil, while searching for his family. Young maintains a perfect rhythm of surprise, humour and dialogue throughout the pages. A definite page-turner, the Nemesis Knight has everything it would take for a great evening, as it did with mine. Rich and his usual teenage problems and figuring out the solutions is both warm and comforting. We soon realise at the end of the sequel that we have now identified ourselves with the character. 

On a literary perspective, the language is both simple and comforting. The end notes are well polished and introductions are made in a casual air that increases the essence of the story. Many would say that the end would be quite subtle. However, the end might be another revelation to a distinct new turn in the tale. We will have to wait and watch. 

Certainly recommended to all who seeks out-of-the-box magic fiction with an adventurous pace and fervent diction. 

My Rating-4/5

P.S.-A word of gratitude to Mr. Young for providing me the review copy. 

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this series! So cleverly written!

Where most people see Junior High School as something to endure- this author sees it as a possible series of quests a young pawn might play in order to outwit his dark knight opponent...

Pass a test = an act of great wisdom - LOVE IT!

However, with each quest comes an increase in abilities and with each ability come an increase in responsibility... and there are consequences if you try to "use your powers to show off."

Add in the fact that Rich's dad is missing...

With that looming over him and his burning desire to go find him plus is need to finish his quests...

Life is anything but easy-

Filled with a perfect blend of mystery, adventure, magic, quests, enemies, chess, family, and friends!

SUCH A GREAT STORY!
PERFECT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!