Review by LitleT -- A Kingdom Forgotten

LitleT · Post by **LitleT** » 10 Mar 2018, 08:05

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Kingdom Forgotten" by Charles W. McDonald Jr..]

4 out of 4 stars

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A Throne of Souls
Book 1: A Kingdom Forgotten
By: Charles W. McDonald

This is a book designed for those of us who love to become immersed in another world in the way that only a well-structured series can provide. When the first book starts off as explosively as this one, it is usually a good bet that the next one will be even better. I would rate this book a definite 4 out of 4 stars and I am ready to start the second one as soon as possible. The powerful cast of characters, the complex timeline, along with the liberal use of magic made me place this book in high regard.

The story unfolds in multiple places, times and planets. It also has a full cast of good, mostly good, clearly evil, possibly evil, and evil with a possible good streak, characters. The beginning is fast with much necessary setup and introductions, but very soon a nice rhythm sets in. You become familiar with the people and places quickly. I literally began to miss certain characters and read nonstop to find out what was happening with them.

Damon is who I identified as the main character and he is a fairly self-absorbed, powerful Mage. He had his heart broken when his wife was killed and he starts down an evil, vengeful road that spans over many normal lifetimes. He traveled that path researching and developing his magical powers. In many instances he seems like a child, enjoying life and even helping others as he travels around completing research and tasks associated with his "master plan." It was easy to start to respect and then like him, but other times he does things that are despicable to fulfill some aspect of his plan.

Many other magically endowed demigods, are working simultaneously in the background on their own agendas and cross paths with Damon as either friend or foe. Most were digging for information about his plan as he continues his work.

In addition to the magical characters, there are many kingdoms, states, countries and planets that all have a story to tell along with characters to love, hate or a little of both. There are historical times, modern day and future time periods with travel portals being easily available to those with magic. Magic is widespread and plays a very important part in the foundation of the book. The most powerful people can pop in and out of different places and time periods at will and that feeds a series of events leading to both love and war.

I can't say I didn't have to use the time legend a few times to make sure I understood the "when" of things occurring in the story, but it was worth it. The cool thing was that the author anticipated this need and provided clear legends and definitions that were fast references. Someone who doesn't like fast moving, frequent switches in the story or who doesn't care for reading a series may not enjoy this choice. For me however, this series has become a part of my reading list until I am able to read the last book.

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A Kingdom Forgotten
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