Review of Athanasia: The Great Insurrection

Before we go any further, please allow me to fully disclose two things:

1. I have known the author personally for several years.  That fact may lead you to believe that I would offer a favorable review to this book; however, despite that friendship, he would not even provide me a complimentary copy.  As he is now laughing while reading this, I did purchase this book from my own funds and there was not an expectation of any favorable review.  This factor does remove any particular bias I may have had with a free gift.
2. This genre is not one that I particularly enjoy.  My mind is geared toward nonfiction so reading something within the fantasy realm is not my preference.  That revelation may lead you to believe that I would offer an unfavorable review to this book.  Regardless, stepping outside a personal comfort zone is always a way to stretch the mind and learn new skills.
• Maybe I need to pause and define my terms just a bit.  When I say "fantasy," I am referencing books like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.  Thus, you can expect to be committed to a series rather than a stand-alone read where everything makes sense with a mere 400 pages.

Let's start with the cover, which is a simple design, and that is exactly what I like.  Far too often books go for flashy or have some created image; however, this book does not.  It is a simple, yet bold color with a symbol (which you will come to understand from reading the manuscript) and the title.  I prefer these nondescript covers that do not offer you possible interpretations by artists of characters, when they have never read the book, as it minimizes the imagination.  If I'm going to read a fantasy text, then I want the ability to image the characters and landscapes on my own accord.

For the first book of a series, it has all the components that you want -- enduring main characters (the protagonist and antagonist are easily identified and just as easily liked or disdained), intriguing espionage that leads to significant conflict, engaging battles on land and sea, emerging love story (YUCK...as my son would say), and amazing support characters (I say support because they were so in this book but could play larger roles in others).  To that last piece, I will say this -- there is a trio, much like the 3 musketeers, that have some great banter back and forth even though they have an unlikely coming together.  I do not want to say more to avoid spoiling it for you; yet, I have come to really enjoy the one liners from those three.  Yep, that packaging makes you want to know what happens in volume 2 because the author leaves you in a lurch.

The book does have a couple of shortcomings but those are to be expected with a first-time author.  Quite frankly, these are minor pieces that, in no way, detract from the story.  I will admit that they are rooted in my nonfiction preferences, so take these comments with a grain of salt.

• The start was a bit slow, BUT, push through it.  You will be glad that you did. 
• Some of the one on one battle sequences are too scripted.  What I mean by that needs explanation - not the battles in the author's mind but their description.  For example, you see and hear "blocked a strike" over and over.  Honestly, I have never thought of how I would write a battle scene and have never read Tolkien to see how he handles; so I do not know that I have a proposed solution.  While the imagery in the mind flows well, it just makes the scene almost a bit clunky to read. 
• The battle scenes contain some timing within them that do foster questions in the mind.  For instance, a marching army of many thousands of men is exactly "x" hours or "y" minutes away of another force that is deploying to meet them.  An army covering any kind of terrain is going to encounter obstacles even if just as simple as one column moving faster or slower than another.  Even "Stonewall" Jackson's "Foot Calvary" which did some pretty impressive marching in the Shenandoah Valley could not always stay on target.

Do not misconstrue what I have said above!  The battle scenes are interestingly thought through from someone without a military background.  The tactics along the river when the...you know what...I'm going to stop right there because I would spoil a rather interesting part of the story.  The only way I can rephrase is this -- expect some unique twists and archers beware!  

Finally, the book is a solid allegory that weaves in Christian principles and teachings.  The way that these components are addressed in the story reveals clear foresight and planning while also shows the author has pondered the wisdom about which he writes.  There are some grand sections that deal with tough, Biblical truth while making it crystal clear to those that do not have a "Christian background." The author offers you nuggets of gold that you will remember later on after finishing reading.

Worth your money to purchase?  Yep.  Worth your time to read?  Yep.  And remember, both of those answers come from someone that adheres to a strict regimen of reading nonfiction texts.