Trial By Fire by Evan Tarver
Ages 12+
Published 12/8/2016
“There’s a prophecy on ancient Earth that says the heavens will destroy the world and purge the planet, forcing a reluctant savior to help humanity start anew. Brekken, the most advanced city-state known to man, is believed by its citizens too powerful to be destroyed by such fairy tales. Its people ignore the ancient warnings and rule over primitive humans, enjoying a gilded age of reason and prosperity.
However, not everything is as it seems. Usifi, son of Salem and heir to the King’s High Council, soon makes a discovery that will change the course of human history.
An unknown terror in the sky threatens to prove the prophecy true. The King responds by launching a plan to save a small group of citizens so the human race can survive the coming disaster. But Callen, the King’s evil advisor, sees this as an opportunity to seize power and implements a plan of his own. Can Usifi stop Callen and save humanity? Will he become his people’s savior?
He has six months to try. The human race depends on it.” – From Amazon
The Review:
An impressive fantasy by any measure, Mister Tarver has presented a gift that is not only a pleasure to read, but encapsulates what we would expect from a modern Arthurian fantasy. Some who enjoy darker, grayer tales may be disappointed with the execution, but the reality is that it does little to diminish the imagination that went into the creation of this work.
Perhaps our greatest gripe is Usifi’s name, which suffers a bit from the classic fantasy-itis that we see in some awkward naming conventions. In some twist of fate, however, Usifi seems to be the only one struck by the cliché so it is passable.
As previously stated, even the blurb makes it clear that there is a fairly distinct dichotomy of good and evil here that we would expect to find in a reading geared toward younger readers.
Mister Tarver’s style varies from stark to opulent, he paints beautiful pictures but he knows how to keep it brief. In terms of difficulty, Trial By Fire is an easy read, but we feel that is by Mister Tarver’s own design.
He even goes as far to tackle some poignant ethical issues that will be familiar to the modern reader in a way that we had not anticipated, only adding to our seemingly endless list of adulations.
The Rating: A
It was hard not to love this book. Some Arthurian elements were strong, though some were lacking, but over all it delivered a wonderful experience for a reasonable price. In addition, if our only complaint was with Usifi’s awkward name (yes, it is awkward), this story comes in strong with an A rating, we recommend it to anyone who loves a good YA fantasy and we look forward to future installments in the series.
Do you want to read Trial by Fire (The New Earth Trilogy Book 1)
Reblogged this on Archer's Aim and commented:
Here’s an interesting review for an Arthurian fantasy that I will put on my TBR list today!