Genre: High Fantasy
Published: Del Rey, June 2016
My Rating: 3/5 stars
Synopsis:
Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever.
Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.
My thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about my rating of Age of Myth. This was a well-crafted high-fantasy story, that I had a good time with, and made for a great introduction into a continuing series. At the same time, that was also my problem with this book: it feels very much like an introduction. Not just to the series, but to the high-fantasy genre in its entirety.
Throughout, I constantly found myself being pulled out of the story, thinking how familiar this all feels. All the classics are present here; reluctant hero’s journey, humans vs elves (although they go by a different name here), a travel-quest through Tolkien-esque inspired world… Although there’s nothing “wrong” with any of these elements, it all felt very safe, familiar and middle-of-the-road.
I blame myself more than the book here. Had this been my first tip-toe into the high-fantasy genre, I would’ve probably loved this book, for the same reason that Eragon and The Name of the Wind hold such special places in my heart, despite their flaws. They were something I’d never read before at the time, and introduced me to a completely different genre. Because of where I am as a reader with the genre now, Age of Myth could not hold that place for me. Maybe it's the start of genre-fatigue, or maybe this was just a one-time fluke.
I would recommend this book as an introduction into the gerne. I can also see how, as the series continues, this story will gain more character of its own. I would love to hear from people who’ve continued/completed the series if this was the case, as I’m open to give the second book a chance if so.
A random side-tangent:
Lastly, I have a very specific pet-peeve here, that was too funny not to mention. Considering what I do for a living, the fact that one of the main characters (Nyphron) is accidentally named after the medical term for a kidney-filter was kind of hilarious and distracting...
You can find this book here on Goodreads.
