4 out of 4 stars
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Magic, elves, goblins, gods, and adventure are but a few of the themes that occur in Mark W. Johnson’s A Twist of Fate.
Mlaer and his friend, Eromit set out to find a cure for Mlaer’s wife, Tarna. As a result of trying to find a cure for her, however, their destinies begin to intertwine with others for better or for worse.
As Mlaer’s wife grows sicker by the day, he gets spooked by a religious priest who says Tarna is not long for their world. Determined to seek out the help of a healer, he and Eromit soon discover that their only hope of saving her is to find the star sapphires used to imprison a dangerous tiger god many centuries before. Deep in the city of Tardesh, the path to the tiger god is wrought with many allies as well as dangers. Elves, goblins, golems out for revenge, an evil imprisoned within the forest they travel, and many other ancient powers are at play and have their own agendas. Will Mlaer and Eromit manage to save Tarna from Adannac’s, god of death’s, door? Whom can they trust?
The plot is complex, engaging, and well written, but was still easy to follow. The description is descriptive and accurate to the text. The pace keeps moving and does not drag at all throughout the text. The world building in the story was amazingly well developed, and I was able to suspend my disbelief (as is necessary with all fantasy stories). The magic blended well with the story and worked well with the plotline.
The imagery of the scenery is vivid. The action scenes are descriptive and make you want to keep reading. My favorite parts are when Mlaer uses his magic against a giant to defeat him. His sense of humor shines through the most in this scene and makes you like the character more.
Written in the third person, the book is primarily centered around Mlaer and Eromit’s points of view, but some parts told through the bad guys’ points of view, which adds to the suspense of the novel. Mlaer is a determined, easy to like character who is easy to sympathize with. Eromit is a wise, good friend who balances Mlaer out well. The dynamics between them and the other characters only gets better as the book goes on.
Overall, I’d give it 4 out of 4 stars. The characters are entertaining. The plot is well developed, sophisticated, and keeps you wanting to read more. The magical elements blend into the story well and create a believable fantasy world for the reader. Readers who enjoy adventure, magic or fantasy will be most drawn to this book, but there are enough elements within the book to entertain most readers.
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A Twist of Fate
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