Tagged: genre crossover
Spotlight: There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
Q: Which is better: fantasy or science fiction? A: Why decide? Just have both genres rolled into one awesome book!
There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack is one such book. It takes place in a society that, long ago, was incredibly technologically advanced. But when the Temple of Light gradually took control, technology was forbidden because of the evils it caused in the world (nevermind that it did a lot of good too). Enter our three protagonists: Orah, Thomas and Nathaniel. They have been given the key to restoring long-lost knowledge to their world. But of course societies don’t change overnight and neither do people.
The ‘rebellion’ is not your typical YA novel rebellion. It doesn’t start suddenly because of the actions of a couple of teenagers. This, combined with the history of David Litwack’s world, is what makes There Comes a Prophet so believable. David Litwack obviously understands how people and societies work, therefore straying away from typical fantasy/science fiction clichés.
If you love fantasy or science fiction (or both!) you’ll love There Comes a Prophet.
There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
[Full disclsoure: David Litwack sent me a print book in exchange for an honest review.]
There Comes a Prophet was definitely not what I expected—in a good way! In what seems to be epic fantasy in the beginning, I expected your typical coming of age story: young hero is reluctantly thrust into a war between two races because his mentor is killed/powers are discovered and ends up saving the world after a long and arduous journey. The reality of David Litwack’s science fiction/fantasy was so far from my prediction that I feel quite foolish now. No, instead of a young hero there are three young friends who don’t seek to rebel against the vicars in the beginning. But then something happens that changes Thomas and Nathaniel must bargain away his freedom in order to save Orah from the same fate.
Nathaniel’s completely selfless bargain is the catalyst for the three friends’ journey and along the way, they encounter people who can see the vicars for what they really are. And what they find at the ‘end’ of their epic journey changes them and their world forever, but not in the instantaneous rebellion way you would expect. David Litwack certainly isn’t an author that falls into the cliché trap and he has realized that societies don’t suddenly change overnight. The ending has a wonderful plot twist and my favourite part is that not everything is resolved yet the ending is satisfying. A surprising number of authors can’t pull this off, but David Litwack has.
My favourite part of There Comes a Prophet was the world-building. The rise of the Temple, the fall of technology and the change back to the old ways is a fascinating story. The information is parceled out in small chunks throughout the novel, so it doesn’t feel like an info-dump at all. Some of the dialogue was a little stiff (even for fantasy), but it didn’t detract from the overall quality of the novel.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Spotlight: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien
Spotlight is my weekly Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly awaiting. This week I want to draw attention to a book that was excellent despite being slightly outside my comfort zone: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien.
Set against the backdrop of the tundra and a world desperate for hope, the journey of a young man, E’Malkai, will come to define a realm that has been broken by an evil that does not sleep. A bitter betrayal, and the inception of a war that will consume the world, forces E’Malkai to confront the past and undertake a pilgrimage that is his by birthright. Follow him on his journey and be transformed.
As you’ve probably noticed, while I read a lot of fantasy, not much of it would be considered epic fantasy. And certainly none of it would be classified as epic fantasy/science fiction crossover. That’s why I considered The Path of the Fallen out of my comfort zone. It took me a while to get used to the unusual names like E’Malkai and the background of Dan O’Brien’s strange world, but once I did I really enjoyed his book.
Dan O’Brien’s world was well thought out and was a compelling mixture of typical epic fantasy tropes like swords and huge battles but also of science fiction elements like spaceships and lasers. Truly, it’s the best of both genres. The best part? The reason for the mixture actually makes sense when you look at the history of the world. However, the best part of The Path of the Fallen is the characters. E’Malkai isn’t your typical angsty coming-of-age protagonist and *gasp* behaves maturely most of the time because this is more of an adult novel. Fe’rein (the villain) isn’t as fleshed-out as I would have liked him to be, but he does make for a great antagonist.
I’d definitely recommend The Path of the Fallen to anyone who enjoys fantasy or science fiction.