Soul: Part One

by Jayson Jolin

Awakened from an ancient slumber, a warrior of the old gods finds his immediate future bound by fate to the failures of his past. As he struggles to gather allies amongst the untrusting denizens of this oppressed new world, the ancient warrior seeks to secure the plans for the weapon his unit died trying to destroy, only to find himself hunted not only by those who stole those plans but by the very people and deities that he seeks to save.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2021

Reviews

[Melvalan Uircalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You were dragged into the story more or less instantly with well written and compelling scenes that quickly set the stage of what kind of fantasy story this was going to be. All of the characters were instantly recognizable, or like, you could really quickly get at feel of what kind of character they are/were going to be based on their descriptions and early interactions, and this then solidly carried through the entire book with consistent character arcs and wonderful writing.

The whole book felt almost like a mystery, where something terrible had occured and no one really knew what had happened, including the characters, and they had to fight "against the world/people" to try and uncover the truth of what had transpired. This is what kept me more or less glued to the book, as you felt like you were there with the characters and just had to turn that page/turn over just one more stone to try and figure out if the answer to the questions were just out of reach. Which to me speaks volumes about the writers ability to build suspense and want you to continue forward through the pages, even when the clock already shows 5 AM...

I also really liked in the books that there were "casual" LGBTQIA+ mentions, like characters that were very specifically written to be Gay, genderfluid etc. but no one questioned it or thought more about it, they were there, as a part of the world and belonged to it. I find that to be a really nice inclusion as it shows a much broader spectrum of characters in the world and not just that cisstright-ness that permeates a lot of "standard" fantasy. So a million thumbs up from me.

All in all, this is a super compelling fantasy story with interesting characters and a world that you just want to explore together with these characters and try to figure out what happened and what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book and continue reading!

[R.K. Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jayson Jolin has no problem getting the story started.

I liked the diversity and originality of this novel. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and how it was steady with the action throughout.

Quick in the pacing, and very satisfying.