A Review by INFAMOUS 🦀

It is apparent that Flower of Light is a labor of love by simply visiting the author’s website where we can get further insights on the lore and various characters (eternalstones.net). I always commend writers who pour their hearts in their work!

What it’s About:

This first book is basically about taking back the Kingdom 10 years after an evil plot of betrayal saw the king and queen slain and their young daughter, princess Isabelle, barely able to flee thanks to outside intervention. Isabelle’s brother, prince Christopher, was strategically put to the throne while being administered mind-numbing potions so that the evil General Zarkon and his wife, with the aid of powerful sorcerer Roman, would rule from ‘behind the curtains’.

This is a story of prophecies fulfilled, of Wardens of Light coming together to reclaim the reign and the ‘Flower of Light’ being ultimately restored.

Characters:

What I found fascinating was how (despite princess Isabelle being the main character) we encounter a large number of very personable and rich characters, each with their own stories to tell. In a way this approach reminded me of Islands of Loar by E. Laurence Jr: lots of characters whose lives will eventually either converge or sometimes come apart. It’s all well structured and the author has good control of the narrative, pace, and plot line and time tables.

Another interesting thing is that this book is an original Italian-to-English translation and I found the grammar and prose quite solid all around! So good job on that front too!

I love the idea of a main character that doesn’t constantly steal the show, if you guys know where I’m coming from. Isabelle would be/could be nothing if it wasn’t for the large group of fascinating characters around her who breath life into the story. We need more stories structured that way in my opinion. 

The ‘magic’ element is always present all throughout but it never overwhelms the personal struggles and human weaknesses that all these characters must face at one point or another. This is something that helps me as a reader to stay emotionally engaged. Magic by itself cannot make for good fantasy reading if P/C/P is not solid (that’s Prose, Characters, Plot).

Worth mentioning is also the gorgeous hardcover! I mean look at that beautiful ‘ancient tom’ style hardcover! Love it!

Now for the not-so-good observations that I must mention: the fight scenes.

Reviewer’s Take:

I felt that the fight scenes could have been better written, particularly the final one when the Wardens face Roman The Demon. This is something I see all the time and I wish young authors were more aware of it. I call it the ‘villain playing with his food’ syndrome:

You have a very powerful evil demon vs. a group of less powerful good heroes. The demon at some point always decides to grab one of the heroes by the throat and suspend him mid-air, yet without killing him; just holding him still! Of course the other heroes will use this moment as an advantage to strike! A demon should snap necks like twigs, and fast,  before moving on to his next victim and repeat! All these villains ‘playing with their food’ is just cringe!

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Flower of Light and I’m glad that despite this being advertised as book 1 it did not end with some clique cliffhanger. The end was quite satisfying and I have to give it 5 well deserved stars!

🦀