Warrior of the Void

Fantastica #4

by M.R. Mathias

* The cover shown is only intended as a place holder. Jack Hoyle, of www.t-rexstudios.com should have the final cover finished in the next few weeks. If you'd like to follow its progress find him on Instagram or facebook.

Warrior of the Void, Fantastica Book Four

Braxton, Cryelos, Chureal, and her young dragon Cobalt have suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar land. Only it isn’t so strange to Chureal. Not far from where Braxton found the young girl wandering alone in a battlefield, the group ends up in the middle of a war between kingdoms with wizards more powerful than they could imagine. To make matters worse, a group of Darkons, flesh eaters that used to be men, are on the verge of setting loose a terrible creature called the Drar that will destroy them all. Evil Darkanna witches, who can can knock a dragon from the sky with a simple clap of their hands are using their mannish creations, as well as ogres, true mountain giants, and creatures beyond the imagination to break this evil free.

Braxton can no longer seek Taerak’s wisdom because the ancient Void Warrior’s journal is on the other side of the world in Narvoza, with the dwarves. Left with nothing but a vague legend found woven in a tapestry, and bits of elven lore Cryelos can barely remember, our heroes must find the Staff of Aevelon, and then reach the altar at the summit of Mount Preal before the Blood Moon reaches its apex. Even if they manage it, they will still have to figure out how to use the staff to stop the Darkanna and their ferocious minions from setting loose their evil monstrosity.

Warrior of the Void, the finale of the four book Fantastica series, is nothing less than a blood-tingling, heart-pounding race against time with terrible forces trying to stop our heroes at every turn.

Welcome to the world of Fantastica!

Also available:
Taerak’s Void, Fantastica Book One
Sapphire of Souls, Fantastica Book Two
Demon of Destruction, Fantastica Book Three
Warrior of the Void, Fantastica Book Four
And coming soon,
Fantastica, The Complete Collection

502 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2018

About the author

M. R. Mathias is a member of the Authors Guild who cares for his wife, a Breast Cancer Warrior who has Parkinson's. After raising two boys into fine young men, they and two dogs split their time between a modest smalltown home, and an apartment built on a floating dock on Lake Ultura (aka Lake Texoma) which foots into an amazing State Park brimming with all sorts of wildlife. Like the wizards of old, he tends to the animals who share the area and inspire the creatures in his works. He likes to fish, write, play guitar, and he builds all sorts of things out of reclaimed wood. He sold over two million eBooks most of them before eBooks were cool. His work is critically acclaimed, and has earned multiple literary awards, including a coveted Locus Poll nomination.

**Featured in the March 2020, Publisher's Weekly article, "As Luck Would Have It"

"The Master of Epic Fantasy" - Kindle Nation Daily, Nov. 2017

Mathias has authored several fantasy series and compiled an admirable list of accolades along the way.

--Devious Arcana, (ongoing)

--The Wardstone Trilogy (3 Books)

-- Perpetual Fantastica Fantastica (4 Books)

--The Dragoneer Saga (6 Books)

--The Legend of Vanx Malic (10 Books)

--The Crimzon and Clover Short Story Series (8 Books)

--Master Zarvin's Adventures (3 Books)

--Dragon Racers (3 books)

If you are a Kindle Unlimited user, treat yourself to some of the best "hidden gem" fantasy ever written.

Find M. R. Mathias online: mrmathiasbooks .com

Here is what others are saying about M. R. Mathias:

"There are few writers in the genre of fantasy that can equal the creative mind of M.R. Mathias - now acknowledged as a master in this genre of dragons and dwarves, and magic, and spells, and all aspects of fantasy."-- Top 100, Hall of Fame, Vine Voice, Book Reviewer, Grady Harp

"M.R. Mathias imagines a setting that will entice readers and lead them, along with his characters, on a breathtaking adventure." -- Readers Favorite Book Awards review of M. R. Mathias's 2017 Award Winning novel "A Gossamer Lens" from The Legend of Vanx Malic series

"M.R. Mathias is a master at world building and is so good with creative descriptions that you can almost feel the wind whipping through your hair as you soar along on the back of a dragon." -- Readers Favorite Awards review of M. R. Mathias's 2015 "Gold Medal" Award Winning novel "Blood and Royalty" from The Dragoneer Saga"

"You've (Mathias) already achieved much, much more than so many people who like to think of themselves as writers." -- @Gollancz The Deputy Publishing Director of SF, Fantasy & Horror list of the Orion Publishing Group, 2013

Reviews

[Beth Handerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an excellent adventure that wraps up a fantastic story. There is an excellent and definite feeling of closure at the end of this story. I was worried that things might not get wrapped up and tied off with a pretty bow, but, M. R. Mathias did not disappoint.

The end of the 3rd book, we are instantly transported to the beginning of this book, with no break between battles and going. Braxton was left wondering for a very long time about some questions. Had the move to the new storyline not been so fsst, there could have been closure of the original story line right away.

I felt this book was loosley tied to the first 3 based on where Emerald came from, and we had to come back and complete that entire side quest. If I was role playing this, and my DM had done this to us, we would have demanded this be a different campaign, but interconnected, and could be picked up at almost any time. Except, of course, for the the importance of the time crunch.

I also felt that there was not enough done with The Rakkan. I was left not 100% sure I was ablento grasp why this creature was afraid (not sure that's the correct word) of Chureal, the 10 year old girl. It certainly had no issue disrespecting Braxton, the main character.

Still, a great book. I loved the series.

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a finale to an incredible series. Fantastica will stay with me for a long time. Having read the previous three books, I already knew what to expect from the incredible writing skills of the author. The series definitely goes in a crescendo and this final book is terrific.
The storyline is impeccable, with lots of twists and suspense and big adventures where our beloved characters risked everything in their quests. If I had to choose one thing as the main point of the books it would be the magical universe. It’s described so vividly and is so complete and with so many details that it turns like a movie into your head. The characters are multi-dimensional, strong and believable. I will certainly miss Braxton and the rest of the crew. This last adventure is a mesmerizing one, where they have to overcome a series of obstacles to prevent Darkanna to set free all the evil in the world. A great adventure. And a great way to end it.

[Renee Spicuzza · Rating 4 out of 5]

M. R. Mathias, “Warrior of the Void (Fantastica Book 4),” is the fourth installment in the series, closing out the majestic world that has been created, full of magic, evil, dragons, and full on war. I personally love this series as it contains many similar elements that Tolkein’s, “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” have and it makes for such an enjoyable experience because the character tropes are so memorable. There is quite a lot of content and situations going on that overlap and interact with one another, so I think it is very important to read the prior three books to get a good context of what is happening with all of the characters. There is an ultimate goal within the story, where the characters are trying to overthrow the Evil that Darkanna has produced, but it is proving to be quite difficult via the various quests and trials to try and be strong enough to overcome the darkness.

[Sanjin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last book in the Fantastica series and I had lots of expectations from it. Since it is the finale of the series, it is to be expected that it has some sort of major battle, furious edge-of-your-seat stuff in it, and it has, that is all good. But there was something missing for me, I can't really put my finger on it. It had everything I expected, but it didn't surprise me in any way, it is pretty straightforward when it comes to conclusions. Characters are still great, we know them by know and they don't change much in this book. Pacing is fast and exciting, lots of things going on in this part and it is never boring. When I look at individual parts it is every bit as good as every book in the series so far, even the third one, which is the best in my opinion. But, I guess I wanted something more, something incredible from the last part, which I know isn't really fair of me. I can't deny that this is a worthy ending to a great series and I will still give it the highest mark.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an epic ending to a truly fantastic series!

Loved every page, so sad to see it end but cannot wait for the next series of books, fantastic read!

[Tim & Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

If you love Magic, Elves, Dragons, Dwarves, and many other Mystical Creatures, both good and evil. Then you will love this entire series. It is an Amazing Read.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastica Bk 4 or Bk 1 of new Adventures of __

Not far into Warrior of the Void, fourth story in the Fantastica series, I decided that this should not be a part of this series. Other than many of the same characters, I didn't feel a connection to the storyline in books 1-3. (were the demons, Pararck and Drar related?)
Instead, this disconnect had me confused, much like Braxton and Cyrelos, when they found themselves whisked from the battlefield into the midst of an unknown green sea of grass.
Better as a start to a new series, "Adventures of ___" or a stand alone.