Spoiler Warning: This review contains mild spoilers for A Wizard’s Forge. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish book one.
Conquering fate takes sacrifice.
Victoria of Ourtown believes two things: the bright, wandering star in the heavens is an abandoned spacecraft which brought her ancestors to this world and that destiny and the will of gods are nonsense. Vic used to scoff at stories of wizards too, until she acquired their powers. Once a warrior, now a secret wizard, she just wants to live an ordinary life and find a way to atone for the mistakes she’s made.
Ashel of Narath knows the wandering star is the god who created humanity, but this difference of opinion doesn’t stop him from loving Vic. All that keeps them apart is a thousand miles and a tragic loss.
Lornk Korng needs Vic and Ashel to execute his plans for conquest. The fact both want him dead is but a trifling snag in his schemes. A bigger problem are the world’s indigenous aliens and an ancient enemy whose victory could wipe out humankind.
As plots and counterplots clash across time, Vic and Ashel must choose their allies carefully, or risk losing not only each other but everything they know.
A gripping tale of wizardry, warfare, and moral dilemmas unspools in a breathtaking blend of fantasy and science fiction.
A Wizard’s Sacrifice is a superbly crafted sequel to A Wizard’s Forge. An absolute gem of science fantasy and one of the best I’ve read in the subgenre. Releasing today, the saga is brought to a smashing conclusion with book two.
In book one, we are as brutalized as the characters. Victoria of Ourtown, the youngest Logkeeper in the history of KnownEarth at age fifteen, sets out on her first season of travel from town to town amongst the Oreseekers, teaching the history of the Logs in school rooms, and acting as a supervisor for the teachers of each village.
The Logs of the United Mineral mining ship LSNDR2237, aka, Elesendar, which she has memorized through years of study, must be preserved and the Logkeepers have done so for generations, though the technology referred to in the Logs has been lost to them. Her simple life, devoid of any technology, is shattered when she is abducted by slavers in the coastal fishing village of Cairo. You can read my review of book one here.
Let’s stop a moment to admire these beautiful covers. Designed by Steven Meyer Rassow, they’re are not only gorgeous, they perfectly portray the main protagonist.
The sequel picks up after the vicious destruction of the Relmlord’s fortress within the city of Olmlabaire, and continues Vic’s reign of vengeance to destroy the Relman forces, capture or kill the Relmlord who victimized her, and end a twenty year war between the kingdoms of Relm and Latha. The respite is short lived for the people of Latha, as political machinations and plots within plots unfold and deeply hidden secrets are revealed.
Through the devices, instant transporters built thousands of years ago, left littered across the continent, the author adds an entirely new element to the story with time travel. This tricky portal trope is taken and turned on its head with a fresh new look and it’s used masterfully by the author, creating a complex and layered plot.
The deeply insightful characterizations really shine, and the well written prose makes the book flow well through multiple POVs. The storyline and plot are riveting. The pacing is relentless and tense, with such high stakes you’ll be chewing your nails. The emotionally charged motivations of each player are beautifully expressed and will keep readers deeply invested in each of them.
A Wizard’s Sacrifice is highly charged with emotion, magic, alien life forms, time travel, and the violence of warfare. A seamless blending of science fiction and fantasy and a self-published gem of the subgenre. Pick up your copies today and prepare for a journey that will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book on the last page.
I received an ARC of this book and I’m delighted to share my review here.
Jennie Ivins
I live in Australia and unfortunately this book or A Wizard’s Forge does not appear to be avaible. Do you know if this book will be published in Australia? The postage alone from the US is twice the cost of the book.