Review: Agrathias by Conor Nicholl

Agrathias

by Conor Nicholl

900 years ago, Dogane fell at the hands of Ubinion and Ramas. That day, the people rejoiced to the heavens, which had finally removed its dark veil and given them the warmth they had deserved for so long. Since then, nearly everyone had forgotten Dogane's power that almost tore Agrathias apart. 

But Ubinion and Ramas had always warned of the corruption they were never able to completely rid of the world of. A corruption that now allows one sorcerer the chance to rule Agrathias...forever...

My Take:

Dogane, a wicked sorcerer who wielded lightning, and held the world enslaved in fear and darkness for 1200 years, was dead. Dead at the hands of Ramas and Ubinion, two sorcerers who wielded fire and ice.
The world enjoyed centuries of peace, but there was a warning, left by the two sorcerers, that Dogane was only defeated, not destroyed, and would someday return. Because of this, they would return as well, to defeat him again, hopefully for good this time.

Arone had heard the stories, of Dogane, Ubinion, and Ramas. The dusty stuff of legend, buried under centuries of peace. But as armies of Arcams wiped out the town he lived in, and he escaped alone, he discovered the ability to wield fire buried within him, released by tragedy and fury. And he began to suspect that he was the returning Ramas, destined to face Dogane again, and defeat him once and for all... or die trying.

This debut book by Conor Nicholl is an action-packed, high-stakes sword and sorcery romp through a medieval country that has paid dearly for a millennium under the cruel dictatorship of the insane wizard Dogane. Filled with adventure, violence, camaraderie, as well as betrayal and rebellion, I looked forward to diving between the covers and escaping into a world of fantasy.

Plot twists, talking griffons, monsters, ghosts, wizards, sword-fighting, and alternate dimensions. What a ride!

Content:

Drug Content:

G - Though I believe alcohol might have existed in a tavern somewhere in one scene, there was really no mention of it 

Violence:

PG-13 - This is a war-torn, overrun epic fantasy novel replete with swords, archery, and monsters that want nothing more than to run you through, and wizards that burn, shock, or vaporize you. It's filled with anime-style action and a ton of violence. It's not deeply graphic but it's borderline R.

Language:

PG - I don't recall any swear words at all.

Adult Content:

G - Squeaky clean. 

Christian content:

Nothing. There's discussion at some points of reincarnation, and the afterlife actually has a place where spirits return on earth, similar somewhat to Purgatory, and even named similarly. There is a massive temple with gargantuan statues in it, and an altar, but if deities are discussed I breezed over it. It had some serious moral lessons about honesty, faithfulness, forgiveness, redemption, and remorse. Characters turned over a new leaf, went from bad to good, and some went from good to bad. Self-sacrifice and substitutionary death play a major role in this book.

Final analysis:

This was an epic story, covering a period of several months and two worlds. The world-building was immersive, though the characters seemed a bit two dimensional. For a debut novel this was an extremely well-constructed adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the action, and the plot was wonderful. As I understand it, I was reading an earlier copy, and a professional edit was done, so I won't give it a ding on quality.

Fast-paced, immersive, high-stakes, an enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing what Conor puts out next. Five Stars!

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