Tabor

Remnant Trilogy

by Angela R. Watts

Five ragtag friends must close the Rifts between the Realms before an ancient war snuffs out all innocent life for good.

King Finnigan’s kingdom is crumbling—traitors plot in his midst, a witch has fled execution, and enemies attack allied lands. When Rifts form between Golgotha and Mazzabah, the ragtag remnants must close them before the ancient warlock, Shafiq, takes control of the realms.

With darkness engulfing both realms, the group parts ways to seek answers about the histories and what can be done against Shafiq. But what they find changes everything. If they can’t fight the darkness, Mazzabah will be lost, and so will every innocent life left behind. But to survive the ancient war, they need help. And with more help comes more traitors.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction

285 pages, Paperback

Published November 16, 2021

About the author

ANGELA R. WATTS is the bestselling and award-nominated author of The Infidel Books and the Remnant Trilogy. She’s been writing stories since she was little, and has over 28 works published. She also writes articles for a few magazines and publishers. When she’s not writing, Angela is a freelance editor, blogger, anime-lover, and artist. She lives in Tennessee with her family and many pets. Angela loves connecting with readers, and you can follow her on social media to stay up-to-date with releases, or contact her through her website. angelarwatts.com

Reviews

[Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay! More awesome characters!!! ♡♡♡

Mmk, so my brain is a bit fried due to the whole impending holidays thing, but I'm gonna try and write what I hope to be a somewhat coherent review.

CHARACTERS: As I mention above;); we've got a great cast of characters, both new and old.♡♡♡ Each are relatable in their individual struggles....and I should probably expound on that more, but my brain has other ideas soooo..
Moving On!

PLOT: This a very character driven book. While there is plenty of action and.. what is it.. suspense? drama? -Yeah. Either of those. - the plot doesn't change a lot from Golgotha in the overall sense. This is not the last book, so no final fight just yet. Though I should say to those whom it may concern, there is no cliffhanger ending! Just that overwhelming feeling of wanting the next book in your hands so you can continue on with the story and more importantly...the characters! ^-^♡♡♡♡😉

MESSAGE: Alright, I'm not gonna even attempt to write some eloquent speech on how I loved the author's biblical message that's woven into this series. -so in layman's terms, here are some key points -if..that makes any sense- *questions this entire review*

☆trusting God's timing and plan
☆lean not on your own understanding
☆grace/mercy/forgiveness

There are probably a ton more but, those are the ones that stuck out...and..also what my brain can recall at this time...*fingerguns*

Content:
•Violence- I'd say Tabor is a bit more gory than Golgotha, mainly because there's more battling and also...giants..the cannibalistic kind. Not super graphic, but graphic enough I'd guess.
•Death. What can I say? It's a given.
•There is some language, but it's pretty sporadic.
Yup, that's about it. Overall very clean.

[Mary Emma Sivils]

DNF at 39%. I was just struggling to maintain interest in this book, and I thought it was better not to force myself to continue.

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 3 out of 5]

****Actual Rating 3.5 Stars****

I know this rating looks like I didn’t like the book but that’s not the case because I did! There were just some things I couldn’t ignore, so here we are.

I like the characters, old and new, and their struggles with their demons and situations and I was definitely rooting for them to overcome these trials and succeed. The spiritual warfare elements are top notch and really made me think and evaluate how those things can be happening in similar fashion in my own life, and on top of that Angela can write a gripping climactic battle that has you on the edge of your seat like nobody’s business.

Unfortunately there were things throughout that bugged me, hence the low rating. To be perfectly blunt, the worldbuilding and lore could use some work as its not very clear or even coherent at times. Especially this one part where the characters are talking about the history of their land and what the Guardians and Watchmen did. Who are they?, you might ask, and all I can say is beats me. 🤷🏼‍♀️ They were never mentioned before and aside from a few other vague references are never mentioned or expanded upon again, which, not gonna lie, kind of annoyed me as it was so important to the plot as a whole and yet I felt entirely in the dark about the whole thing!

Also for the majority of the book the characters either wander in circles fighting monsters or are talking about finding traitors (without doing much in the way of finding them as far as I could tell), which was fine except I got dull to it as it was too repetitive since they never actually moved somewhere unless the plot called for it. Also at one point a character has something taken from them but then it’s there in one scene only to promptly vanish again like it was originally supposed to and little things like that might not bother a lot of people but it apparently bothered me enough to stew on then mention here, lol.

And just as a head’s up the violence in this book went up a notch so that a couple times when giants’ heads were being exploded and then said giants, er, ate humans in sometimes slight detail that even I—who can handle a bit of blood, gore, and horrible things in novels—cringed, so I’d rate this book around an R rating for those sensitive to that kind of thing.

So yeah, it has strong characters and great spiritual warfare elements but lacked in solid, understandable worldbuilding at times and characters going in endless circles until the plot said move that brought my enjoyment down a notch.


‼️Content‼️

Language: what the; bastard; hell (as a place and a swear word); bloody; damn; bloody hell; half-assed; damned; ass; bullshit; jackwagon; hellish; screw; jackass

Violence: fighting monsters and humans with weapons and magic (not to semi detailed); injuries and blood (not detailed); monsters attack characters; a man is stabbed and killed (not detailed); bodies of slain people (semi detailed); characters nearly drown; a monster tries to drown a character; people are eaten by monsters (not to semi detailed); a giant bites off a man’s arm and part of his torso (semi detailed); magic is used to explode a giant’s head with the phrase “flesh and brain matter splattering” (semi detailed); a man is punched in the throat; a monster is decapitated with mentioned blood and guts (semi detailed); a character tries to burn a witch to death (not detailed); giants kill and eat humans in battle or they catch and cage up (not to semi detailed); multiple monsters and giants have their heads exploded with magic in battle (not to semi detailed)

Sexual: kissing (not detailed)

Drug/Alcohol: a character is offered rum

Other: magic; wizards/warlocks/witches; magical abilities and powers from Elohai/Creator (God) and from using black magic/witchcraft (which is seen as bad); a character sees visions in dreams; magical creatures and places; spiritual warfare; demons and angels; death and grief; monsters are usually half rotted with pieces of flesh hanging off bones if not outright skeletons (not to semi detailed); characters are cast into a fantasy version of Hell; mentions of child slavery and grooming; man eating giants

[Cat T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling fantasy story, dark yet also glimmering with hope. The faith aspect was lovely to see and the spiritual warfare was thought provoking for sure.

Characters all super fun to see, I really loved Finnigan and Ama's relationship and their support for each other. Gunnar and Azrael were all well developed yet almost mysterious to either us or others. Uriah and Moray both had a nice redemption arc slowly building. The banter was good as well. And there's a BABY DRAGON, awesome!

Golgotha, Sylvia, and the giants was all intense. And the climax had me HOOKED. I really liked the balance of dark yet not altogether hopeless, and intense but not monotonously so.

I really enjoyed the spiritual themes running through this-- light over dark, hope and redemption, God's character, spiritual warfare, and trust and faith.

Content mentions: some dark parts, some stronger language, and slight gore and killing, not dwelt upon but there. Intense scenes of struggle or battle. Magic, either dark magic or gifts said to be from the God figure

Not one of my absolute new favorites like Angela's Seek was, but still a riveting and enjoyable fantasy read with awesome plot and themes.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author, but I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*

[Michaela Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well. I was anxious to see what happened next after the first book in the series, Golgotha, and now I'm sitting here waiting with bated breath to figure out what's gonna happen in the next book. Tabor definitely doesn't disappoint, with high action and heart-stopping scenarios. Not to mention, it takes a deeper dive into the spiritual warfare that is introduced in the first book. It takes a very deep dive, in fact, and that theme of overcoming your demons is even stronger in this one than the last. Harsher circumstances, new characters to get attached to (at your own peril...) and solid themes revolving around fighting for what's right even when it's hard as well as overcoming darkness -- this book has it all and you definitely don't want to miss it. If you're a fan of dark/gritty fantasy, and if you've read the first book already, you'll definitely want to pick this one up. ASAP.

FTC: I was provided with a review copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide my review. Opinions expressed above are my own.

[Angela R. Watts]

coming 11.16

[Through Shadows to Glory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gritty, Spiritually Rich Fantasy Sequel

When we last left our friends in Mazzabah--kindhearted King Finnigan and his faithful bride Queen Ama, smart-mouthed but good-hearted mercenary Gunnar, and the recently redeemed Prince Moray and Uriah--matters had been put right for the time being, but monsters and warlocks still threatened the realm. Now, a mere few months later, trouble stirs again. A powerful witch has escaped imprisonment and is causing trouble in both realms, and the royals suspect traitors within the court. When a wizard casts Finnigan and Ama back into Golgotha, the couple is forced to fight once again for survival. Gunnar, in an attempt to rescue them, finds himself stranded in new, even more dangerous, regions of Golgotha with a ragtag band of adventure-seekers who may not all survive the ordeal. And Moray is faced with the double challenge of ruling the kingdom and gathering together loyal supporters--the Remnant--to fight off the onslaught of monsters.

Like its predecessor, Golgotha, Tabor is full of action and spiritual insight. The monsters get even scarier, with the introduction of some Nephilim-like cannibal giants stalking our friends in Golgotha and Mazzabah alike. The giants seem to tie into a mysterious mythology with Guardians (ancient wizards who followed Abaddon) and demons, which shows that the history of Mazzabah is darker and more complicated than we thought--and might lead to some big reveals in the next book. Characters frequently pray in times of trial, and demons stalk the vulnerable and must be fought with faith. Underlying themes include trusting God and waiting on His timing, as well as staying strong in the midst of physical and spiritual onslaught.

We are introduced to several new characters this time around. Big bad Shafiq makes a few in-the-flesh appearances, as well as the seductive, and scarily powerful Sylvia the witch. Azrael, a wizard who offers help to Gunnar and his team, and Vanshni, a super-powerful, tough, Deaf warrior princess (who may also be a love interest for Moray) are particular standouts among the new recruits, and we also meet the mysterious, tough Arlane; naive, decent Charlie; and Moray's own adopted kid, a Gifted girl named Sada. The characters, in part due to the large size of the cast, aren't as complex as they could be, but they are all at least distinctive and likeable.

Watts does NOT shy away from death and violence, as well she shouldn't in such a dark, monster-laden story. Most of Gunnar's adventure crew ends up dying off, sometimes in gory or gruesome ways. Battles along the walls of Buacach result in heavy casualties. There's also some language, mostly from Gunnar, as we'd expect by now.

I did feel like Tabor was a retread of Golgotha in some ways. Once again, most of the cast is trapped in Golgotha trying their best to survive, while there isn't, in my opinion, enough emphasis on the political side of things, which is mostly sidelined in favor of battle scenes. We don't get a compelling redemption arc like Moray's and Uriah's, either, making the character side of the story just a little less gripping than it could have otherwise been. Even though the story was incredibly fast-paced, and really picked up for the last 100 pages, it almost dragged a little towards the middle.

And...I hate to nitpick, but this story just needed more editing. There were typos throughout that distracted me from the reading experience. I also felt at times like I was reading an unusually good NaNoWriMo draft (I've done the challenge several times myself)...like ideas were being pulled out of the blue to make something happen or add some intriguing lore, but just weren't fully developed and integrated into the story. I think one more whole-book copy and developmental edit would have made this into something truly excellent, but the whole thing somehow felt held back from its full potential.

Still, though, I am invested in these characters and the fate of their world, and I look forward to starting the final installment of the trilogy, Aceldama.

[Matt Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a lot of fun!

A war story and a survival story told parallel to each other is pretty intense, and when they feature characters Angela R. Watts has already won us over with in Golgotha, it’s just a great time.

The story itself shares a lot of similarities to its predecessor; a large portion of the cast is trapped in Golgotha while intrigue and chaos reign in Mazzabah. And, like the last entry, our heroes escape Golgotha at great personal cost and set Mazzabah aright upon their return.
This time, they had the added bonus of fighting new monsters and being personally attacked by the mastermind behind the tear between the realms of Golgotha and Mazzabah.

As awesome and fun as all of the above is, there’s still a couple things where I felt let down.
First, the lesser of the two, is how relatively little the cultural/political parts of Mazzabah are developed in Tabor. In Golgotha, the entire main cast was trapped in Golgotha, so there was little opportunity to spend in Mazzabah. This time around, and despite the fact that a few of the main cast remain in Mazzabah, the only focus is protecting the city. That’s a reasonable and sympathetic goal, but what exactly are they trying to protect? I assume some kind of grand dynastic lineage and/or highly profitable center, but it’s not explicitly stated. It doesn’t make the action less fun, regardless.
Second, there was no well-developed, compelling character arc for any of the main cast like what Moray underwent in Golgotha. The closest anyone comes is Gunnar, though he remains almost entirely unchanged at the end of the book. Moray’s redemption is a large part of what made Golgotha (the book) such a wonderful story. It didn’t have to be another redemption, but if, Gunnar, for example, had actually gained a great measure of patience or empathy and used it to look for an opening in Shafiq’s onslaught at the end of the book rather than throwing himself into the fray, the same thing he was doing at the beginning of the book, that would have made this story much better.

Despite those two issues, I’m as eager as ever to read Aceldama. July can’t come soon enough.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good continuation to Golgotha. The thing I love most in this series is the setting. Between the characters world and Golgotha, it's just such a unique take on fantasy. I also love the cast of characters. They're all amazing and live close to my heart. I am so excited to see where this goes next. Watts is crafting a story here that I am going to treasure for life.

[Anna Marie Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah I just really didn't vibe with this one unfortunately.

I felt like it was too much of a rehash of the previous book's plot, but the character arcs of the main cast were pretty much already complete at the end of book 1 so it just didn't feel like anyone was growing or changing and it failed to capture my interest as a result. Having the action set in the "real world" of Mazzabah rather than in the monster-world of Golgotha unfortunately spotlighted just how basic the worldbuilding was (I mean, Golgotha was very cool ... but the human world felt a bit blank by comparison because it seems like Watts just didn't spend as much time on it). Also all the betrayal and danger promised by the blurb never really materialized, because all the new characters were pretty much trustworthy and joined Team Good Guys so no real surprises or intrigue there. And I do understand that indie authors just don't have the budget for proofreading and mistakes are human, but the number of typos and misspellings in this really took me out of the story.

I honestly think Golgotha worked better as a standalone. Golgotha fans might enjoy this as a way to continue the adventures with their favorite characters, and good for them! but at least from my perspective it just doesn't add a whole lot that Golgotha didn't already cover and feels like an easy skip.