Phidelphius

by Kenneth Buff

Phidelphius lies outside of the United Poles. Little is known of it, though myths of grandiose surround it. Daniels sets sail for the city, hoping to find some solace there as ghosts from his past awaken inside his mind, threatening to destroy his very sanity. What he finds waiting for him in Phidelphius is nothing like the myths. It’s much stranger, and possibly dangerous. It could kill the dead inside him, or strengthen their hold. All of that depends on the Queen’s plan. The woman who controls the lives of the people of Phidelphius—on the inside and out.

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2016

About the author

Kenneth Buff was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. He moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2007 to attend Oklahoma State University. He graduated in 2013. He currently spends his days working as an elementary special education teacher and his nights at Aspen Coffee, writing his next novel.

Reviews

[Liquid Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reviewing my notes on Sunborn Sunborn Saga Book 1, I was more than happy to read book two. I greatly enjoyed the launch of this set and found Daniels to be extremely interesting. He was bold, caring, cursed, and just so unique. The future landscape and other civilizations were pretty cool.

Book two, Phidelphius, picks up the story and time flies on his adventure. However, this time, I find Daniels to be more equal parts patsy and empty. I don't know. The story is interesting, but I lost out on the appeal of this character. Yes, there is more story to tell in this round. I wasn't the biggest fan of the turn to the Matrix-esq. The writing and editing are both fine, but I just lost the tragic human (or mutant) vibe I enjoyed in the first go-around..

I hope this makes sense. I'm deliberately being vague as to not give away too much of this book. The desire for knowledge and immortality is a strong element of this installment, but getting there felt a bit disjointed.

Don't get me wrong - Daniels and his tragic-hero past comes full frontal. I found myself hoping things would work out for the lead character, but then getting to the point where I sorta didn't care. Overall, this was an entertaining read, but fell short of my, perhaps high, expectations after reading the first installment.

Author provided paperback copy for review. 3.7/5 Stars

[Ramona Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading books written by Kenneth. The funny part, I started reading this book not realizing at first this was the second book in the Sunborn Saga, and after a few pages I was like hold on, this guy sounds familiar, and rightfully so. Kenneth has made a great transition in this new book, capturing the struggles of people that survived a global catastrophe. The pace is right on and Kenneth definitely knows his craft well. This is a unique twist on what happens after a such an enormous disaster wipes out most of the population on earth and the struggles people will face.

Daniel is a character with flaws, and that makes him feel "real". He struggles with himself, the new world he is living in and his past that keeps haunting him. But in the end he stays true to himself and the ones he loves, fights for what he knows is right which makes him an atypical hero, but a hero nonetheless.

I think the only part I wasn't crazy about, there are a lot of different characters and at times I was like "who is that again?". But I didn't find that taking away from the story since I focused mainly on Daniel anyways.

I have received this book from the author for an honest review. (LoP, Lovers of Paranormal)

[Koolaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read by Kenneth and am willing to say I will read more by him. He has the unique ability to draw his readers into the story and make them enjoy their surroundings.

Daniels is a very frustrated guy. Can't make up his mind if he wants to die or stay alive to fight another day. And this seems to happen daily. I could get in touch with this feeling as being normal in some people that are going through some tough times. The supporting cast is many and I did have to stop and try to figure out 'Now who was that again' but as I did they fell right back into place.

I have received this book from the author for an honest review.