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Eve of Redemption #9
Gods and Kings
War has erupted on three worlds. A hero king lies in chains in a demon-controlled realm. Kari and her allies are beset on all sides, both at home and in their enemies' lands.
All is not lost, however, for the keys to the ancient Temple of Archons have been gathered and Salvation's Dawn stands at the fore. At last, the Temple of Archons will be opened, the intentions of the gods made clear. The hope of all mankind rests upon this event, and the forces of Light stand to open the Temple before the demon kings become aware. If they can do this, they may finally gain the advantage they have long sought over their nemeses.
But all is not so simple. King Kalamaris Talvorus must still be rescued from Mehr'Durillia, and Kari must coordinate her efforts with those of Citaria's sister worlds. Every success only adds another layer of defense to Mehr'Durillia, further reinforcing the iron grip of the Overking. It will take every ally, every soldier, every man and woman willing to stand up and fight to bring victory and freedom to the world of demons.
The Redemption is at hand...
All is not lost, however, for the keys to the ancient Temple of Archons have been gathered and Salvation's Dawn stands at the fore. At last, the Temple of Archons will be opened, the intentions of the gods made clear. The hope of all mankind rests upon this event, and the forces of Light stand to open the Temple before the demon kings become aware. If they can do this, they may finally gain the advantage they have long sought over their nemeses.
But all is not so simple. King Kalamaris Talvorus must still be rescued from Mehr'Durillia, and Kari must coordinate her efforts with those of Citaria's sister worlds. Every success only adds another layer of defense to Mehr'Durillia, further reinforcing the iron grip of the Overking. It will take every ally, every soldier, every man and woman willing to stand up and fight to bring victory and freedom to the world of demons.
The Redemption is at hand...
408 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 5, 2019
12 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Joe Jackson
22 books181 followersAs an avid fan of fantasy, I try to combine shades of some of my favorite authors' writing - Tad Williams, Raymond E. Feist, and RA Salvatore, among others - into my own world. The result is a world of rich descriptions, complex politics, and heart-racing combat.
I started writing Sci-Fi short stories in fifth grade after seeing the movie "Aliens" in the theater. After getting into Dungeons & Dragons with friends as a teenager, my interests moved to Epic Fantasy, but still rooted in a Sci-Fi alien world. The Eve of Redemption series represents the culmination of years of world-building and back-story development, much of it through epic AD&D campaigns, that takes familiar epic fantasy and brings it to an alien world.
I live in Rhode Island with my wife and two daughters. When I'm not chasing the rascals around the yard or counting beans for the boss, I'm usually imagining the next turn on the long road that the Eve of Redemption series brings.
I started writing Sci-Fi short stories in fifth grade after seeing the movie "Aliens" in the theater. After getting into Dungeons & Dragons with friends as a teenager, my interests moved to Epic Fantasy, but still rooted in a Sci-Fi alien world. The Eve of Redemption series represents the culmination of years of world-building and back-story development, much of it through epic AD&D campaigns, that takes familiar epic fantasy and brings it to an alien world.
I live in Rhode Island with my wife and two daughters. When I'm not chasing the rascals around the yard or counting beans for the boss, I'm usually imagining the next turn on the long road that the Eve of Redemption series brings.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 3, 2019
How To Properly Play Up To Expectations
Chances are, if you're reading this, that you are already invested into the *Eve of Redemption* series. My idea here is not to heap praises on a fantasy series that long-since earned them. I'm here to tell you that *Gods and Kings* is more of the same - that is, a continuation of a highly epic, entertaining, and emotional story. The book finally delivers a large chunk of the series' climatic buildup, the high-point being the opening of the Temple of Archons - and that's only the beginning! Going further, there are big reveals, lots of adventuring, family and friendship drama (a key feature for the series), and dragons. Yes, dragons, plural! They only appear near the end, but that means we get see much more of them in the next installment.
The narrative in *Gods and Kings* is shared equally between Kari, the series' star character, and the group of adventurers from the previous book, with the latter party's exploits being told again through the POV of Leighandra, the half-elf chronicler. There are a couple of chapters that have a POV from other characters, but that's mostly to illustrate firsthand important story elements (while also giving additional character development to some members of the already gargantuan series' cast). As written above, the book starts with a bang - and how! - with the heroes finally opening the legendary Temple of Archons, and meeting the greater Seven Deities (yes, ALL of them! Shush, I won't spoil more!). After that, the narrative splits in two parts - one follows Kari as she travels to the world of Irrathmor to make a strategic alliance, then returns back to Citaria to organize an army and then goes on an investigation (which brings yet even more revelations), and the other parallel story is about Leighandra, Max, and the rest of the gang from *The Awakening*, detailing their more "pulpy" adventures that are nevertheless important in the grand scheme of the series.
Overall, *Gods and Kings* is an excellent continuation of the story, albeit feeling still a bit more of an escalation novel, despite all the climatic reveals. However, with the grand opening, the series' hallmark family-friends relationships, the high number of epic scenes and moments, and the brisk pace of the narrative are all more than enough to make one keep reading, and to desire more once the last page is turned. The conclusion of the series is near, and no doubt it will be suitably on par with the stakes that were set from all previous books. What remains is for us to witness the final installments firsthand. Until then, *Gods and Kings* is a demonstration of how a series properly meets its own expectations.
PS. Oh, and this is the first book I've ever read where in one moment there are over TWENTY major characters present on the page. And no, not like on a grand ball or something; In a command tent, discussing war tactics while gathering a colossal army to invade another world. Talk about turning things up to eleven. =D
Chances are, if you're reading this, that you are already invested into the *Eve of Redemption* series. My idea here is not to heap praises on a fantasy series that long-since earned them. I'm here to tell you that *Gods and Kings* is more of the same - that is, a continuation of a highly epic, entertaining, and emotional story. The book finally delivers a large chunk of the series' climatic buildup, the high-point being the opening of the Temple of Archons - and that's only the beginning! Going further, there are big reveals, lots of adventuring, family and friendship drama (a key feature for the series), and dragons. Yes, dragons, plural! They only appear near the end, but that means we get see much more of them in the next installment.
The narrative in *Gods and Kings* is shared equally between Kari, the series' star character, and the group of adventurers from the previous book, with the latter party's exploits being told again through the POV of Leighandra, the half-elf chronicler. There are a couple of chapters that have a POV from other characters, but that's mostly to illustrate firsthand important story elements (while also giving additional character development to some members of the already gargantuan series' cast). As written above, the book starts with a bang - and how! - with the heroes finally opening the legendary Temple of Archons, and meeting the greater Seven Deities (yes, ALL of them! Shush, I won't spoil more!). After that, the narrative splits in two parts - one follows Kari as she travels to the world of Irrathmor to make a strategic alliance, then returns back to Citaria to organize an army and then goes on an investigation (which brings yet even more revelations), and the other parallel story is about Leighandra, Max, and the rest of the gang from *The Awakening*, detailing their more "pulpy" adventures that are nevertheless important in the grand scheme of the series.
Overall, *Gods and Kings* is an excellent continuation of the story, albeit feeling still a bit more of an escalation novel, despite all the climatic reveals. However, with the grand opening, the series' hallmark family-friends relationships, the high number of epic scenes and moments, and the brisk pace of the narrative are all more than enough to make one keep reading, and to desire more once the last page is turned. The conclusion of the series is near, and no doubt it will be suitably on par with the stakes that were set from all previous books. What remains is for us to witness the final installments firsthand. Until then, *Gods and Kings* is a demonstration of how a series properly meets its own expectations.
PS. Oh, and this is the first book I've ever read where in one moment there are over TWENTY major characters present on the page. And no, not like on a grand ball or something; In a command tent, discussing war tactics while gathering a colossal army to invade another world. Talk about turning things up to eleven. =D
January 6, 2019
The time has come at last to open the Temple. But in some ways it leaves more questions than answers. A conflict spanning thousands of years is reaching its tipping point in the present day. Kari and her allies must coordinate multiple plans over multiple worlds as they fight to overthrow the demonic Overking.
It's hard to summarize this book because there's so many characters and so many plot threads. Almost every chapter drops some major revelation or advances something critical. And a lot of the things hinted at did not turn out at all the way I expected (particularly regarding Max's father). I would definitely recommend catching up on the other books before reading this one, as it drops you straight into the action and never lets up.
I love that the gods are pretty much uniformly good in this series. They're not the conniving, selfish manipulators so many other books use. They have different focuses, different forms, different worlds, but they have an underlying unity of purpose. And they all care for their believers. Which is one reason that although faith is hugely important in this series, it's not restricted to a single group.
I also love that Gil gets a fanclub (richly deserved). The werewolves continue to be one of my favorite parts of the series. And Starlenia's reaction to finding out she can't inherit the "curse" is hilarious.
The humor stays strong. One of my favorite lines was this:
“Perfect. As for everyone else, I’d say Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, but since that list apparently includes sleeping with demon kings, I’ll just leave you to fend for yourselves.”
Overall, this is another strong volume in a fantastic series. Start at the beginning and work up to this one for the full impact. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
It's hard to summarize this book because there's so many characters and so many plot threads. Almost every chapter drops some major revelation or advances something critical. And a lot of the things hinted at did not turn out at all the way I expected (particularly regarding Max's father). I would definitely recommend catching up on the other books before reading this one, as it drops you straight into the action and never lets up.
I love that the gods are pretty much uniformly good in this series. They're not the conniving, selfish manipulators so many other books use. They have different focuses, different forms, different worlds, but they have an underlying unity of purpose. And they all care for their believers. Which is one reason that although faith is hugely important in this series, it's not restricted to a single group.
I also love that Gil gets a fanclub (richly deserved). The werewolves continue to be one of my favorite parts of the series. And Starlenia's reaction to finding out she can't inherit the "curse" is hilarious.
The humor stays strong. One of my favorite lines was this:
“Perfect. As for everyone else, I’d say Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, but since that list apparently includes sleeping with demon kings, I’ll just leave you to fend for yourselves.”
Overall, this is another strong volume in a fantastic series. Start at the beginning and work up to this one for the full impact. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
June 23, 2019
The ninth installment of author Joe Jackson’s Eve of Redemption series opens with a prologue briefly following Se’Lurasjza, an empress and high priest of Ashakku, and Lord of the Green. The main chapters commence with the ship Karmi’s Sword sailing, with protagonist Karian Vanador wishing to open an ancient Temple in hopes of counteracting the ambitions of Curlamanx, who has seized control of Si’Dorra. Once within the Temple, Kari finds the possibility of a deity known as the Great Mother resurrecting her lost husband Grakin and other deceased loved ones, although this is quickly forgotten for the rest of the story.
The Temple is just as quickly resealed after the main characters depart, with another of the protagonists, Leighandra, visiting Mehr’Durillia, which is essentially the underworld, with the revelations that Duke Curlamanx is holding Max’s father in Si’Dorra, where a succubus yearns for Kari’s blood, which holds the key to countering the fatal Dracon’s Bane that had once killed her in a previous life, in addition to her late husband. The archmage’s son Reese also returns home, with the heroes ultimately making it a goal to go to Dauchin-Rache, with The Vandrasse, something of an antagonist, coming in the way of the travelers.
The Isle of Morikk eventually becomes another destination for Kari and company, with their absence allowing rangers from the Khalarin Empire to scout the lands. Playing a minor role is a character nicknamed the Doppelganger, Dynas, whose double is influential enough to hold important posts. The story ends with a battle against legions from the Spearguard of Laeranore and the Aborean Guard, with the ninth book generally being enjoyable, although given the multitude of characters, one can find it a bit difficult to keep track of their various races and appearances, with the various terminology for them only defined after the main text.
The Temple is just as quickly resealed after the main characters depart, with another of the protagonists, Leighandra, visiting Mehr’Durillia, which is essentially the underworld, with the revelations that Duke Curlamanx is holding Max’s father in Si’Dorra, where a succubus yearns for Kari’s blood, which holds the key to countering the fatal Dracon’s Bane that had once killed her in a previous life, in addition to her late husband. The archmage’s son Reese also returns home, with the heroes ultimately making it a goal to go to Dauchin-Rache, with The Vandrasse, something of an antagonist, coming in the way of the travelers.
The Isle of Morikk eventually becomes another destination for Kari and company, with their absence allowing rangers from the Khalarin Empire to scout the lands. Playing a minor role is a character nicknamed the Doppelganger, Dynas, whose double is influential enough to hold important posts. The story ends with a battle against legions from the Spearguard of Laeranore and the Aborean Guard, with the ninth book generally being enjoyable, although given the multitude of characters, one can find it a bit difficult to keep track of their various races and appearances, with the various terminology for them only defined after the main text.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews