A classic and enjoyable fantasy tale of worlds on the cusp of change and the players who will define the future for better or worse.
Feature image credit: SC Eston
It’s been a long time since I first encountered the work of SC Eston — seven-and-a-half years to be precise — reviewing his novella The Burden of the Protector for my first Glam Adelaide review. After an extensive absence, Eston returns to the Realm of Tyronia with a full-length novel (the first in a new series) The Stranger of Ul Darak, subtitled The Lost Tyronian Archives.
The novel opens with a group forging a journey to place from which they may not return. The group includes an aged Master and a young acolyte, the granddaughter of this senior member. It is revealed that she is not just another member, but one of bloodborne power. Stepping through a protective field, she finds a collection of tomes that reveal events of a time long past.
As the first book is opened, we enter the tale within the tale — a story of a young boy, Arth, and his encounter with a strange being, Vir, who may well hold the key to the future of this realm and his own. Alongside this, we meet a young girl, Sheana the Sentinel, who is beginning to see that the ways of the past may not be the best ways for the future and the order may not be as powerful and altruistic as they present.
Vir, the stranger in a strange land, is driven to find his companion, Maeva, having been separated by the events of the opening moments described in the tome. Interwoven within the tale are a collection of characters: townsfolk, senior members of the Sentinels and the shadow of the entities to whom divine deference is given. Ultimately, all are moving forward on a path that will irrevocably change their worlds.
The attraction and readability of Eston’s work lies in his characters. Regardless of their motives, you are drawn to them, compelled to keep reading to see where their journeys will lead. It is also the tale within the tale layering method, the different streams which slowly coalesce and the dual climatic cliff-hangers, that will ensure that readers return for next book of the series.
Reviewed by Glen Christie
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: SC Easton (purchase on Amazon)
Released: December 2023
RRP: Kindle: $11.99 / Paperback: $38.49