Synopsis
An epic fantasy adventure full of telepathic hounds, secrets and magic.
The Watcher shattered the Gates.
Now hope must arise from the shards.
Darin and Suriin enter the Black Palace of the So’Dal, at a time when monstrous Edgelands creatures return to the skies over Caldera.
After exhibiting magical traits thought lost, Darin is drawn into a secret society charged with keeping the Watcher’s secrets. Now he must balance learning how to control his magic, caring for Star, his new companion, and finding a way to sustain the Howlers’ power for long enough to protect Caldera from the predatory creatures of the Edgelands.
Before she arrived at the Black Palace Suriin broke the ancient rules of the So’Dal to save the life of the person she loves the most. As her search for a cure delves deeper under the mountain, is there any price she won’t pay?
On the outer moon of Tebein, Elissa’s newly awakened magic will endanger her home and family. Now she must race to find help for those she leaves behind as she escapes those who want her, and all those like her, dead.
One wrong decision by any of them could return legends to life and end five hundred cycles of peace. Will they find the solutions they need in time?
Review
I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Life was lifing, so I am a little behind, but it was not the fault of the book!
This is book one to the Aulirean Gates series. The main planet has people surviving in these craters across the landscape. They can move in between them, carefully, but the towns and cities are all within. There is also another planet and a moon. They were once connected via the gates, but when they could not stop warring, the dragons decided to get involved and put an end to the bloodshed. The moon still has a mixture of the races, and the subjugation has not ended. The other we haven’t really seen…yet would be my guess.
This book honestly tackles a lot. It is in part a magical academy book, a coming of age story, an underdogs story, and an adventure book. There is so much magic, in so many ways, that it’s surprising that it’s so well balanced. There’s singing magic, plant/potion magic, crystal magic, dog/hound magic, dream magic, alien race magic, and freaking space dragons. The story follows three main characters, but honestly there are so many strong and necessary characters within their perspectives that get developed that it’s insane.
My only gripe is I wish the climax had kicked off just a smidge sooner. As a book one, I did not need explosive action necessarily, but the twist coming a little earlier would have allowed for it to open up a little more fully.
Creatively written, and interesting throughout. Who doesn’t love a dog as a bonded companion? Who needs a dragon, we have hounds!
I also checked out the New Hope short story. It gave a really interesting new perspective and I thoroughly enjoyed the secondary introduction to the world!
And if you’ve already read book one, take a look at book two as it just dropped!!
Leave a Reply