“The Eye of Everfell‘ by Bard Constantine is an epic fantasy set in Erseta, a land with a dark past and even darker secrets waiting to reemerge. The story of two heroes ripped from their lives by forces beyond their control and thrust onto a path that will bring them into conflict with the very creatures who might destroy their world… and risk becoming one themselves.
Marcellus Admorran, Champion of Kaerlon, is sent on a mission by his king to rescue an ally from the clutches of an enemy army. Betrayed by those he trusts, Marcellus finds himself a prisoner awaiting execution, yearning to be free and return to protect his family. A daring escape buys him time, but can he make it home before his wife and child are lost to him forever?
Meanwhile, Nyori, a Shama (wise woman) is being anointed into her order when the ritual goes awry and she is transported to through time to Everfell, the world between worlds, far in the past. There a mysterious woman grants her a staff called Eymunder, a powerful relic from a bygone age when godlike creatures roamed the world. A man named Alaric seeks the staff to cure his people of a curse, but the woman tells Nyori he will conquer the world if the curse is broken. Back in her own time, Alaric senses Eymunder’s return to the world and sends his creatures of darkness to retrieve it. Can Nyori win in a desperate race to unlock the secrets of the staff and keep it out of the wrong hands?
When these two heroes cross paths, the stage is set for the return of a dark power. And the world will never be the same.
Okay, so that description was a bit overdramatic, perhaps, but this book was quite good. To be honest, I hadn’t expected to like this book as much as I did, but I found myself really enjoying it. The characters were easy to root for, the villains were menacing and powerful, and the pacing was right on to keep you engaged without wearing you out.
If I had one complaint with the story of this book (and it didn’t hamper my enjoyment at all, but I feel I should mention it) its that, very occasionally, the world building got to be a little much. There were a handful of scenes where so many unfamiliar terms were being thrown around that I got a bit lost. These scenes are short and few, though, and the pacing is such that they tend to breeze by. If anything these scenes just show how much effort went in to making this a fully fledged world.
I will note that the book has quite a typos in it, but again I tended to get so caught up in the story they barely registered.
I recommend this book for fans of epic fantasy and give it 4 stars out of 5.
