Author : Gregory Kontaxis
Book : The Return of the Knights
/Fantasy/
Publication date : June 16, 2021
Blurb:
The Palace of the Dawn will soon be stormed. The most ruthless man of all time is one step away from assailing on Iovbridge and dethroning Sophie Delamere. The Queen of Knightdorn is now alone, with neither allies nor an army capable of rebuffing the enemy which is approaching her city. Everything appears to be over, until a mysterious young man, Elliot, makes his appearance.
Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Elliot will try to draw Walter away from Iovbridge and face him in the stronghold of Wirskworth. He will attempt to rekindle relations and revive the old alliance between the Queen of Knightdorn and Syrella Endor, the Governor of Wirskworth. Elliot’s mission will take every fibre of his will and if he fails, so shall the kingdom.
Game Of Thrones meets Greek mythology in this explosive epic fantasy story, packed with war, medieval lore, magic, loyalty and bravery. The first book in the series, The Dance of Light, will take you on an epic journey to a fantasy world of men and mythical creatures which will keep you spellbound till the very end.
My thoughts:
The Return of the Knights is a delightful beginning of The Dance of Light series by Gregory Kontaxis.
It was a wonderful surprise that along with helpful maps of the West Empire/Kerth and Knightdorn,at the beginning there's a List of Regions, Organizations, and Characters that is immensely helpful when you dive into the intricate story ahead.(also LOVE the fact it's at the beginning of the book and not in the end thus avoiding the risk of not knowing there's one until you finish the book❤️😁 so huge bonus points🥳❤️).
Incredible world building with well-crafted lore to go with it, and when you add political scheming and mythical creatures to the mix, you find yourself deep in this world and story.
The story is followed through several POV's that give us a wide view of the brewing conflict, but mostly from our protagonist, Elliot.
From a little boy, he lived humbly in a small village near Isisdor where he was raised by a Grandmaster Roger Belet.
Elliot is that kind of character that dances on the fine line of arrogance, but in my opinion, his skills as a fighter and the will to acknowledge his mistakes more than make up for it and to be honest, it's precisely his confidence what drew me to his character.
Just as colorful characters are his compatriots that he gathers around himself :
Eleanor Dilertion - lady of Felador with her parents killed as a young girl
Morys Bardolf - lord from Wirskworth
Selwyn Brau - a member of Isisdors army
and the cherry on top Long arm John – a former bounty hunter.
The chemistry between the characters and the banter was a compelling mix that added greatly to the atmosphere on their journey.
And every story with the chosen one trope needs a captivating villain that you love to hate!
Violent tendencies and keeping you on your toes whenever he's in the picture because you know he's going to do something bad just for the fun of it, and you keep wondering what will be it!
Strong debut that I enjoyed from the beginning to the last chapter and definitely will be following the story in the next installment.
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