CROSSROADS OF AWAKENING MEMORY

The first installment in House’s End Times Convergence saga is an adventure fantasy that follows a young military trainee in the shadow of a looming war.

Rain Barynd—the son of artisans and farmers from a small, peace-loving nation called New Haven—is worried about his potential future as a Council Guard. His training isn’t exactly going smoothly, especially after being called out by his strict superior, master-at-arms Ileom Mystrevan—“a war hero from the east as cantankerous as a wounded bear on his best days.” But on a routine patrolling assignment, the young Rain and his fellow trainees are thrown into a brutal battle against bandits attacking innocent travelers. In the aftermath of the violent conflict, Rain’s seemingly simple existence is suddenly complicated by numerous life-changing revelations, the first being the discovery that he can somehow use powerful magic. Second, a woman named Antara charges Rain with a confusing but supposedly monumentally important task: to take a talisman that he recovered at the scene—a key—and “deliver it to the prophet.” The story takes a wild turn when Rain, while holding the key, inadvertently transports himself to another reality. The new world, it turns out, is modern-day Earth, and Rain can’t wrap his head around items like a barbed wire fence, a paved road, and a car: “[He] stared in fascination as the monster, which had four wheels like a wagon, only smaller and fatter, rushed past, growling. He spotted a bearded man, enclosed behind glass and wearing something black over his eyes, staring at them as it sped by.” With the help of Antara—who is a spy and could be perceived as either a hero or a villain—and Ileom, Rain begins piecing together a complex political puzzle that involves warmongering factions that have found a way to use talismans to open up portals to other worlds. As Rain’s world, Tenris, is being invaded by armies and fantastical beasts, the teenager is asked to do the impossible: to defend his realm against wave after wave of attackers while also finding a way to save millions of innocents living on multiple worlds.

House initially walks a fine line between an intricate twist-laden storyline and a more unwieldy anything-goes read. Several seemingly disparate narrative elements are in play: magical portals to different worlds, domesticated griffons used like flying war horses, dragons that can psychically bond with their riders (à la Anne McCaffrey’s Pern), refugees from Nazi Germany, dwarves, elves, Navy SEALs, megalomanic leaders looking to enslave entire worlds, religious orders, ancient prophecies, and more. House, however, does a great job not only of keeping the multiple storylines clear and coherent, but also maintaining a relentless pace throughout. And while readers may have some significant questions about the book’s thematic direction (Will this ultimately evolve into a “religious fantasy” storyline? What’s the purpose of the mysterious Order? What exactly are the Crossroads?), they will be more than satisfied with the unexpected twist ending, which sets up the sequel in grand style.

The auspicious beginnings of what could be a truly breathtaking fantasy saga.