3 out of 4 stars
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The Gnomes of Nome by RK Wheeler is a fantastical short story taken from author’s epic novel War in Heaven: Scions of Azazyel.
Angelica and her brother Jonah are on an epic quest to seek out the legendary gnomes of Nome. Archangel Gabriel has appeared and told them that they have angelic blood in their veins and now they must work as efficiently and quickly as possible to overcome their personal problems and insecurities to develop and gain access to their angelic abilities.
When they find the elusive gnomes, their mission is to recover the Rod of God, the legendary staff used by Moses to part the Red Sea and call down the plagues of Egypt. First step for the brother and sister is to seek out someone named Aternek Sangliak, who might help them to find their way in the dangerous and unpredictable Alaskan territory.
They gain other allies and friends along the road, who join forces with the ever-growing company, as well as many powerful magical talismans that gift their lucky owners different abilities. They hope to avoid the prophesied war between the gnomes and dwarves and maintain the precarious peace, but at the same time the forces of evil are seeking to thwart them in any way possible.
I personally really love stories about the underground hidden realms and have a real soft spot for the dwarf kind since I read J. R.R Tolkien as a child. But dwarves are only tiny part of it all here, because this story is full of lore about werewolves, vampires, shape-shifters, demons, gnomes, dwarves, elves, Arthur legends, angels, jinn, Biblical characters and much more. It has just this incredibly rich tapestry of alternative world history with different legends woven through.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because I found the story enjoyable and the formatting of the book very attractive, especially the accompanying gorgeous fantasy illustrations, but as a standalone book, it felt a little bit incomplete. What happened to Angelica and Jonah before they accepted this mission is mentioned from emotional aspect many times but the factual events that took place, remain vague enough to make me feel less invested in the story.
I would recommend this to anyone who loves the old-school fantasy genre but will say that, it might not appeal to those who have aversion towards Christian religion or Bible mythology, because this book is full of scripture references and the great opposition of evil and good takes place between God and the Devil. If you love Northern mythology then this is mixed in there as well, so those who fancy Thor in all his mighty muscled glory, will have a tasty treat with a fun battle scene thrown in, full of lightning and hammering. When I was reading those scenes, I envisioned Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in the action, and if I am honest here, this gratuitous small part of the book almost made me give it a full four stars.
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The Gnomes of Nome
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