MIGHT AND MAJESTY

In the first installment of a planned fantasy trilogy, debut author Mitchell introduces the half-human, half-angel Lloyd, who sets off on a quest to save the world.

Lloyd is the son of a fisherman who longs for adventure; his wish comes true when his father sends him off to trade that year’s catch. In the novel’s slow beginning, Lloyd embarks on his journey upon the ship of his father’s friend, the prickly captain Mithias. During a storm, they’re forced to seek refuge on an island populated by angels, who are hostile to humans. Lloyd and Mithias would have been killed if an evil Thundrian force had not invaded, forcing the pair to the angel stronghold of Sacrimen. There, they meet Ariel, a skilled magician. Lloyd and the others learn that Thundrian forces are attacking everywhere using an inhuman army. But Lloyd, alongside Mithias, Ariel and a lizard prince named Theron, won’t allow that to happen, so they set out to save the world. The novel is rife with overwritten prose, featuring lines such as, “The next day Mithias woke me up as light began to enter the land” and “A flurry of obscurity enveloped my mind.” Dialogue is unnatural, too, as when one character asks another, “Why have you halted your advance?” That denseness can impede the narrative’s otherwise comfortably steady pace. Despite its slow start, the story is compellingly peppered with frequent action sequences as Lloyd and his crew team up with a band of dragons and battle supernatural soldiers.

Engaging epic fantasy reminiscent of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.