Review by dtbrannon -- Riven Calyx by Mark Leon Collins

[dtbrannon]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Riven Calyx" by Mark Leon Collins.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In the book Riven Calyx: An Escavian Chronicle by Mark Leon Collins, the story opens as Prince Tabor, the knight Mordrak, and a fighter named Fellis, stand before the city of Nan-Enn in preparation for an invasion. During the battle, Mordrak is forced to kill several children, who relentlessly stood their ground and repeatedly attacked him.

After their deaths, Mordrak becomes remorseful, dwelling on the senselessness of it. The spirits of these children constantly torment him and interfere with his sleep and ability to interact with others. At the same time, Mordrak's father is killed in battle and his sister mysteriously goes missing. This further adds to the depression and anxiety felt by Mordrak.

Because of his valor in battle, Mordrak is adopted into the prestigious Order of the Vali and made a Count. However, King Tell of Escavia becomes ill and is thought to be afflicted by an evil spirit. Mordrak is charged with finding a mage and bringing him or her back to the kingdom in order to remove the sickness from the king.

The story is mainly told from the third person point of view, while occasionally told from the first-person point of view, depending on the situation or sometimes which character is speaking.

I absolutely loved this book, with its tale of a heroic knight seeking a solution to problems within his kingdom. I would recommend this book to any reader who may be interested in tales of chivalrous knights, of powerful mages and wizards, and of kingdoms inhabited by magical creatures.

The descriptions of the different kingdoms and countries will have the reader wishing that they could step right into the pages. This book would appeal to readers of any age interested in fantasy. There was very little profanity and only very mild sexual suggestiveness. Even the descriptions of the battles were not very graphic.

What I liked most were the descriptions of the clothing worn, the types of armor used, and the geography of the land. There was nothing that I disliked about this book.

I give this book a rating of four out of four stars based on the creativeness and imagination of the author to bring this story to life. This book was professionally edited and I found only a handful of minor errors, which did not detract from my reading pleasure. The reader should keep in mind that there is quite a bit of old English terminology used throughout the book, so it may be necessary to look up some words.

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Riven Calyx
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