Thoroughly intriguing and lightning fast…
In his engrossing debut, Powter takes readers on an exhilarating journey to a magical fantasy land where history has dwindled into myth, the peace and quiet is gradually becoming the thing of the past, and a war hero must travel to a dark land to search for his estranged son. For Sven, a former warrior of the Telfmare, the violence and bloodshed of war are the things of the past, and he is content living with his son, Fren, in the peaceful land of The Deluge. After a mysterious stranger attacks Fren, Sven realizes that the peaceful times are over and the relatively safety of their home in The Deluge is gone. With the dark forces from the past trying to take control of The Deluge, Sven must flee with Fren and find someplace safe to live. But before that he must help his best friend and also look for his estranged older son, Dason. As the father-son duo set on their quest to find Dason, they find themselves pitted against a malevolent enemy who will stop at nothing to realize his sinister goal. Powter’s heroes are larger-than-life characters equipped with mystical weapons that render them immune to mundane attacks. Through the father-son duo’s story, Powter touches on the complex themes of resilience and faith in the face of difficulties and the power of family and blood ties. Fren’s coming-of-age journey is both credible and intriguing. Replete with monstrous blights, sinister Vikens, grotesque beasts that bleed translucent white blood, bizarre scavengers, and dreadful adversaries with their formidable power of hypnotizing and paralyzing, Powter’s fantasy world is thoroughly mythical and dark. The sporadic references to modern days mansions and mailboxes and the usual medieval prose with occasional modern-day vocabulary may raise some eyebrows, and the sudden, unexpected ending (despite being a cliffhanger) will disappoint many readers, but Powter’s swift pacing and his talent for crafting timely revelations and twists will keep the fantasy fans thoroughly absorbed. Though the novel ends on a sudden note, Powter successfully balances introducing new elements and adequately resolving all plot threads, leaving fans to eagerly await the next featuring Fren as the mighty warrior in the story. This darkly fantastical novel isn’t for everyone, but it’s also sure to win passionate fans, especially the beginner fantasy readers. Despite its slender size, the novel has all the hallmarks of an epic fantasy.
The Young
By Nicholas John Powter
Balboa Press AU
Pub date July 23, 2020
ISBN 9781504321655
Price $15.95 (USD) Paperback
