Holland C. Kirbo. Flame in the Night. Illadian Publishing, 2018. See here to buy the book.
Flame in the Night is the first book of the “Legends of Aewyr” fantasy series.
Lakyn is the protagonist of this book. Her family is attacked by an
evil presence, and, surprisingly, she manages to unleash powers that
defeat that presence. That brings her to the attention of a group called
the Immortals, since she is an unlikely person to have that kind of
power. Lakyn meets some of the Immortals, and they undertake the task of
teaching her to harness her powers. Before meeting them, Lakyn was
aware of legends about them, but she did not know that they were real.
They fill her in on who they are, provide her with a fuller picture
about the religious theology/cosmology that she already held, on some
level, and inform her about an evil being’s agenda, not only for her and
people like her but for the land.
Lakyn becomes romantically close to an Immortal named Reuel. Reuel
does not trust her, and one reason is that she reminds him of somebody
he knew. Reuel’s strong feelings for Lakyn are unusual for an Immortal,
as Immortals are rather Stoic.
The religious view promulgated by the Immortals is rather odd, for a
work of Christian fiction. One might think that the “Three” is the
Trinity, but there is a degree of rivalry among them, and that
contributes to creation. Holland Kirbo manages to present an intriguing
religious perspective within a fantasy universe. This is amplified by
the quotations that introduce each chapter, which are from a fictitious
monastic work. It is unclear what exactly the work is: a prophecy, or a
myth about someone whom Lakyn resembles. Some things are unexplained,
and perhaps elements could have been tied together more effectively. I
am not dying to know what happens next, out of a bond with the
characters, per se. More information about the religious perspective in
the series might be interesting, though.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. My review is honest.