Prophecies Awakening by Peter Koevari (Legends of Marithia: Book 1)

8/10

Prophecies Awakening is a bold blend of heroic fantasy and vampire fiction, written by a new author with an obvious love of the fantasy genre.

When Kassina’s sorceress mother and vampire king father are brutally murdered, she forges a pact with Shindar, the Demon of Darkness. In exchange for her soul she obtains power and becomes the most feared sorceress in all the lands.

For years, Marithia, a mystical world inhabited by humans and elves, has lived in an age of peace. But that peace is shattered when King Arman is slain by his own son. His murder sparks the most brutal and bloody war ever seen between the Forces of Darkness and the peaceful Marithians.

Peter Koevari’s book is classic fantasy, featuring a medieval setting, a prophecy, elves and dragons. It is not perfect, but then again not many debuts are, but what it is though is an honest and worthy attempt at writing a story that will thrill and chill in equal measure.

Peter Koevari is a writer that clearly holds fantasy very close to his heart, with The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Star Wars, Conan and The Princess Bride listed as influences. Legends of Marithia is Peter's first attempt at writing and it is a fine first shot, one in which he shows an excellent understanding of what readers of heroic fiction require, and more admirably he also tries to bring something new to the telling.

The medieval setting pretty much goes without saying and elves and dragons do not raise an eyebrow. But vampires? I can't recall ever having read anything with the former and the latter brought together and the attempt to bring the neck-borers into the heroic fantasy genre should be applauded and I’m pleased to say that they fit together just fine. The way in which the story is told is pretty good, the narrative and dialogue could arguably be improved upon but the lack of typos and the overall neat presentation is a big bonus. If I was to make a couple of suggestions for future titles in the series it would be to slow down the pace a little as from the first page I felt there was too much information, delivered too quickly. I also thought the story arc could benefit from being less linear. On this second point, I thought that keeping the reader guessing more would greatly heighten their reading enjoyment.

I greatly enjoyed the tale told, and it marks a solid debut. I’d like to wish Peter all the very best with his future writing and look forward to his future works. He is an author who has an excellent understanding of the genre and a fertile imagination which, if used to the best of his ability, should be a treat for fantasy readers in the future.