3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Anastasis is book 2 of The Vicheu Chronicles by Autumn Warren. The Vicheu are an alien race with the ability of telekinesis as well as other advanced mental capabilities. They were originally ruled by the Elders of their race however, after the war the Elders have been weakened and the Empress has taken over. Hungry for power, the Empress tries to capture Nikolas, a young boy with extraordinary powers. With the use of her large spy network Nikolas has been captured by the torturous race of the planet Scylla.
Even with Empress assassinated, the trouble is not over yet. Her spy network has stretched far and wide and her contacts are everywhere, still following her orders.
Nikolas’ siblings and General Sikh have begun the search for him, but time is running out. If they don’t find him soon he may be lost beyond their reach, and can they trust those helping them?
I will say for the record that I have not read the first book in this series, which meant it did take me a while to get into the story, however I believe that those who did read the first book will have no problem with this. You don’t necessarily have to read the first book to be able to understand the story of Anastasis however, there are a lot of characters in the book to wrap your head around and a lot of backstory that wasn’t always covered.
I believe this is a really well written story with good pace throughout the narrative. The descriptive writing came into play well when depicting the creatures on the planet Scylla. I could picture them in my mind’s eye from the descriptions alone.
I found hearing the story from Nikolas’ perspective was a very interesting addition to the story. His mind is warped from torture leading him to see illusions that the other characters do not understand. It adds an extra level to the story telling. His character development throughout the story was really good and allowed you to become invested in his outcome. Although, with this being a series, not all characters have as much development, but they may later in other books.
The main issue I had with the book was the revelation at the end, such as who Nikolas and his twin Marco’s dad is (don’t worry, I promise no spoilers). I found the revelation fell a bit flat as everyone just accepted the news and moved on. With the characters involved I expected more of a scene and was left feeling a bit let down, especially as the book had been building up to it.
Overall I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted a star for the disappointing revelation at the end of the book. I found the book very enjoyable up to this point and would recommend it to those who like action stories with a Sci-Fi theme. I will warn this book does contain strong violence therefore would recommend to teenagers and adults. There is a theme of child abuse in Nikolas’ past that some may find disturbing. As it is flashbacks it does not occur often, but would appear more so in the previous book, Hell Above Me.
From the epilogue of the book it seems there will be more to come in this series. I look forward to where the story might lead and would happily read the books following.
******
Anastasis
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sarah G's review? Post a comment saying so!
