Rayne: The King's Burden

by Christopher McMillian

Alex Rayne has no idea the importance of his family lineage. His teenage days are spent avoiding insults in a dreadful house with his hideous stepmother, her despicable children, and a father whose personality has deteriorated from fun and charismatic to dull and monotonous. Alex’s life quickly changes when Nort, a mysterious man with an array of quirky inventions, appears and tells him his grandfather — missing and originally presumed dead — needs his help.

Alex soon discovers he comes from a long bloodline of warlocks who have ruled the pinnacle level of purgatory, known as Tristoria, for millennia. Under constant threat from demons and other evils meaning to destroy it, the Rayne family is entrusted to preserve and protect Tristoria and its variety of inhabitants and fantastical creatures.

Not only must Alex embrace his warlock destiny and take his rightful place on the throne, he must protect his bloodline from the destructive powers of the demon witch Helenia. If the Raynes fall, Tristoria will crumble and the fate of Earth and the heavens will be left in the evil clutches of the underworld.

423 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2021

About the author

Christopher McMillian published his first novel in December 2013, Dark of the Mind – Genre, Suspense/Thriller. Now that the Dark of the Mind trilogy is complete he is already fast at work on a young adult fantasy novel.

He has been a paramedic for the past 20 years, and was also a fireman for the first part of his career. He currently lives in Florida with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Jenny B (RhinoAGoodBook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the land of Tristoria is well thought out and creative, and it was fun to learn all of the intricacies of this world alongside the main character, Alex. He really grows as a character and starts to come into his own as the story progresses. I was able to guess some of the plot early on, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. This fantasy world should capture the imagination of YA readers. #goodreadsgiveaway

[Helen May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy

I received this book as a giveaway on goodreads. An interesting fantasy world with demons, witches and warlocks. A little dry at the beginning but picked up with a good ending.

[Thomas Saville · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most enthralling and immersive books I’ve ever read! I couldn’t put it down. I hope there’s more to come!

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I won this book off of Goodreads and I came into it with no expectations but I'm actually surprised by how much I like it. I grew up reading a lot of fantasy books and this one gave me the nostalgia of reading the Percy Jackson series over again and that's one of my favorite series. I hope there will be a continuation of this series because the world building is amazing so far in the land of Tristoria.