“In your most dire time, make your pledge and take your place under our celestial banner.” As Sol tries to find his way through the trees, the last thing he wants is to spend another second lost in the wilderness. But when he gets back to civilization and learns more about the world they live in, he starts to think that maybe being lost wasn’t so bad after all. As he tries to piece together the scattered parts of his life, he learns that sometimes it’s not who you’re born as that’s important but what you make of yourself. And if he meets people who are willing to help him understand that then who was he to complain?
He picked his way through the understory, the foliage rough against his fingers. The ethereal gold flame in his bare palm was the only clear light to see by, aided by the slivers of pale moonlight that slipped through the canopy.
There was a dull ache between his eyebrows as he struggled to keep the fire going and move forward at the same time.
Despite his best attempts at avoiding the frigid wind, the next gust blew across his bared chest. The hairs on his arms rose and his teeth chattered. With his focus broken, the flame spluttered before fading away like a leaf in the wind.
The man stared down at a palm and dug his nails into it. He slammed his fist into the flaky bark, sending dust into the air.
He bared his teeth at the dull throbbing in his hand. As he looked down at the beads of blood, he tilted his head and gazed at his other hand.
His breath misted in the night sky as he dropped his fists to his side and shook his head. He hooked a finger into the knot of rough material keeping his pack together and slung it over his shoulder, letting the fabric rub against his skin.
The pack was something that he had made from the remains of the shirt that he had woken up in, and it held some unappealing yet palatable plants and berries of the kind that hadn’t shredded the lining of his stomach yet. His most vivid memory to date was his body purging itself and it wasn’t something he wished to repeat.
Review
This was a fascinating world with some very vivid descriptions. Lots of color and powers that kept things interesting. If you want action in your fantasy novels, this had no shortage of battles either.
Despite these neat elements, I struggled to get into this book. I never felt like I got to know any of the characters, and I had a devil of a time keeping track of who was friends/family or romantically involved, or even enemies. The battles, while interesting, had a sort of video game feel to them with things that seemed a lot like power upgrades or final bosses. Or maybe they were supposed to be more like final exams in fight form. Either way, there was lots going on, but I wasn’t sure what much of it meant.
So, this one wasn’t for me, but others may feel differently. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, give it a try. I’m only one opinion, after all.
Writing started as a hobby but as the world of the Rising Sun grew, so did my need to get it all down. I was always interested in reading as a child with fantasy as my go to genre. I started writing fan fiction as a hobby but it wasn’t until I was going through a rough patch in my life that I decided to properly sit down and write Rising Sun. I wanted to have something that I could say, “This is what I have done.”
While I might not be the best or win awards, if my work is enjoyable then that’s enough for me.
~CONNECT WITH AUTHOR MICHAEL LEE ON GOODREADS
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All the opinions expressed in this review are my own. Read the full disclosure here.