What do you think?
Rate this book
Ethereal: The Complete Trilogy
A savior has come to Res Mysticum, but no one knows who it is. Doran Kane wants to be the savior, but he will first have to put that analytical mind of his to good use and learn some things. For instance, if he wants to save Res Mysticum, he ought to know what kind of world it is. And if he would save Res Mysticum from the enemy lurking in its darkest corners, he may want to learn who that enemy is. The problem is, dangers that should live only in nightmares lurk around every corner, and Doran cannot be confident that he will elude death long enough to be the savior. It also doesn’t help that plenty of other viable saviors have teamed up with Doran, and they are a lot more impressive than he is. Join Doran on his profound journey across the fantastical world of Res Mysticum, meet his incredible allies and enemies, and discover the ethereal mystery at the heart of the savior’s unexpected mission.
- GenresFantasy
695 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2020
7 people want to read
About the author
K. R. Queen
7 books9 followersK. R. Queen is a lawyer in Seattle, WA where he lives with his three children, two pets, and one wife.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 6, 2020
Res Mysticum is a world in turmoil. And Doran Kane, an ordinary student who enjoys friends, chess, and reading, is about to find his life uprooted. How far does one have to go before he hits rock bottom and reaches out to God? Does the path to spiritual peace always, of necessity, need to traverse pain and loss? At least it seems that way to Doran as enemies pursue him and death seems to hound his heels.
The three books tie together in this compilation as we follow Doran and his friends through all the havoc involved in the ending of an age and the coming of a prophesied Savior. The characters are varied and represent different viewpoints and perspectives. Everything here has layers of meaning and it is all tied together through an omniscient viewpoint that adds much depth to the story. With so many recently published books written from the first person POV, it was a pleasure to sink my teeth into a well-done omniscient.
And sink my teeth in is what I did. At well over six-hundred pages, this isn’t a quick read. And with multiple layers of meaning and symbolism, it isn’t a light read. But once I started reading, I couldn’t stop and finished the story in just a few days. The ending is fulfilling and satisfying.
My only negative is at certain points, my need to suspend belief was stretched. I do enjoy fantasy, but even in a fantasy world, a swamp where people can walk through with the water coming only to their chests at times cannot support a large pirate ship sailing through. But, having said that, I continued reading and enjoying and it didn’t disturb me enough to reduce the star rating.
If you like epic fantasy that borders on allegory; and you enjoy thought-provoking fantasies set within unique worlds, do not miss Ethereal. You will not be disappointed.
The three books tie together in this compilation as we follow Doran and his friends through all the havoc involved in the ending of an age and the coming of a prophesied Savior. The characters are varied and represent different viewpoints and perspectives. Everything here has layers of meaning and it is all tied together through an omniscient viewpoint that adds much depth to the story. With so many recently published books written from the first person POV, it was a pleasure to sink my teeth into a well-done omniscient.
And sink my teeth in is what I did. At well over six-hundred pages, this isn’t a quick read. And with multiple layers of meaning and symbolism, it isn’t a light read. But once I started reading, I couldn’t stop and finished the story in just a few days. The ending is fulfilling and satisfying.
My only negative is at certain points, my need to suspend belief was stretched. I do enjoy fantasy, but even in a fantasy world, a swamp where people can walk through with the water coming only to their chests at times cannot support a large pirate ship sailing through. But, having said that, I continued reading and enjoying and it didn’t disturb me enough to reduce the star rating.
If you like epic fantasy that borders on allegory; and you enjoy thought-provoking fantasies set within unique worlds, do not miss Ethereal. You will not be disappointed.
August 29, 2020
This is different and fascinating story, set in an alternate universe that combines the technology of our own world (and higher) with fairytale and mythical elements like vampires, trolls and other fantasy creatures. The plot is intricate and the characters very relatable; they learn about themselves and change as the story progresses through the three books. Christian beliefs are constantly there in the background, though the central character and several others do not entirely share these. But many very real struggles of the Christian life are well portrayed as the characters face challenges both physical and spiritual; and there are some fascinating descriptions of living in a Christ-centred community.
The ending, in particular, is compelling and full of tension as long-standing assumptions are overturned and a sacrificial death occurs that is quite different from what earlier parts of the story led us to expect! The grim images of this event are counterbalanced by some beautiful depictions of heaven and the life to come.
I have to say though, that one aspect of the trilogy did rather seriously reduce my overall enjoyment: and that was the whimsical, almost children’s-fairytale kind of approach the author adopts in many places. It’s especially evident in Chapter 1 of the first book; and also later when he frequently adopts the children’s-story device of addressing the reader directly—often in a moralising, slightly patronising way. For an adult reader, this translates as not taking his story seriously: and that tended to spoil it for me.
I can imagine there would be some who would enjoy this ‘spin’ on a fantasy tale—after all, Tolkien has a similar approach in The Hobbit. However, that is very clearly a children’s story, whereas Ethereal doesn’t seem to be, and is not listed as such on Amazon. There are certainly many passages depicting necessary but unpleasant events that I would not have thought appropriate in a children’s tale. And despite the talking-down and moralising, there are some direct-reader-address comments that would definitely be beyond most children: e.g., “Confirmation bias is a potent hallucinogen”. So I found the author’s approach to his readers a confusing distraction from what was otherwise an intricate and well-depicted fantasy tale.
That aside, this is a great story, mingling old and new in interesting and unexpected ways, and I can definitely recommend it to those who like their Christian fantasy slightly different from the norm!
The ending, in particular, is compelling and full of tension as long-standing assumptions are overturned and a sacrificial death occurs that is quite different from what earlier parts of the story led us to expect! The grim images of this event are counterbalanced by some beautiful depictions of heaven and the life to come.
I have to say though, that one aspect of the trilogy did rather seriously reduce my overall enjoyment: and that was the whimsical, almost children’s-fairytale kind of approach the author adopts in many places. It’s especially evident in Chapter 1 of the first book; and also later when he frequently adopts the children’s-story device of addressing the reader directly—often in a moralising, slightly patronising way. For an adult reader, this translates as not taking his story seriously: and that tended to spoil it for me.
I can imagine there would be some who would enjoy this ‘spin’ on a fantasy tale—after all, Tolkien has a similar approach in The Hobbit. However, that is very clearly a children’s story, whereas Ethereal doesn’t seem to be, and is not listed as such on Amazon. There are certainly many passages depicting necessary but unpleasant events that I would not have thought appropriate in a children’s tale. And despite the talking-down and moralising, there are some direct-reader-address comments that would definitely be beyond most children: e.g., “Confirmation bias is a potent hallucinogen”. So I found the author’s approach to his readers a confusing distraction from what was otherwise an intricate and well-depicted fantasy tale.
That aside, this is a great story, mingling old and new in interesting and unexpected ways, and I can definitely recommend it to those who like their Christian fantasy slightly different from the norm!
September 8, 2020
At 693 pages, it's quite an investment for a reader to pursue, and it starts off a bit slowly. But the story becomes more intriguing as time goes on, and by the third book, I found myself fully invested in what was happening.
This is a true fantasy, with vampires, elves, werewolves, pet tigers, and people who live in trees. It is some pretty good world-building, with a variety of terrain including snowy peaks, swamps, deserts, and big cities. It is also a Christian fantasy, ending with a strong spiritual message that I was happy to see show up in the third book of the trilogy. And it has a pretty good twist at the end. The characters are distinctive, and one feels for the protagonist, Doran, as he struggles with many of the same doubts and shortcomings that we all face.
Because this is set in a fantasy world, I struggled somewhat with the contemporary language ("Dude!" "Bro!" "Awesome!") that popped up all too often. The author also took a omniscient (all-knowing) perspective on writing the story that no only got in every character's head, often in the same scene, but stepped out of the scene to talk directly to the reader.
If you like Christian fantasy, it's a worthwhile investment of your time. There are some good moral and spiritual messages here, as well as some good fun to be had. I recommend it.
This is a true fantasy, with vampires, elves, werewolves, pet tigers, and people who live in trees. It is some pretty good world-building, with a variety of terrain including snowy peaks, swamps, deserts, and big cities. It is also a Christian fantasy, ending with a strong spiritual message that I was happy to see show up in the third book of the trilogy. And it has a pretty good twist at the end. The characters are distinctive, and one feels for the protagonist, Doran, as he struggles with many of the same doubts and shortcomings that we all face.
Because this is set in a fantasy world, I struggled somewhat with the contemporary language ("Dude!" "Bro!" "Awesome!") that popped up all too often. The author also took a omniscient (all-knowing) perspective on writing the story that no only got in every character's head, often in the same scene, but stepped out of the scene to talk directly to the reader.
If you like Christian fantasy, it's a worthwhile investment of your time. There are some good moral and spiritual messages here, as well as some good fun to be had. I recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews