#SPFBO5 Book Review - SCIONS OF NEXUS by Gregory Mattix

(Title: Scions of Nexus / Author: Gregory Mattix / Publisher: Self-Published / Publication Date: April 15, 2018)


SCIONS OF NEXUS is the first of my eight remaining books that I will be reviewing fully for SPFBO5.  It follows the exploits of two cousins named Taren and Elyas, both the sons of legendary heroes in Nexus' history.  Those parents were instrumental in the bloody Battle of Nexus 20 years previously and helped to stave off the evil that seeked to overtake their homeland.  

But those sinister forces remain undeterred and once again are marshaling their strength under a new and brutal leader, the demon warrior Nesnys.  Nesnys would like nothing more than to exact retribution for what took place all of those years ago on the planes of Nexus.  She has her sights set on the complete and utter defeat of her enemy the Lady of Twilight, thus bringing the entire kingdom under her control once and for all.

Taren and Elyas soon find themselves thrown into a war not of their own choosing.  The only hope that they have is to somehow learn the skills imparted by their forerunners to throw back the menace once again.  Taren as an adept user of magic, and his cousin Elyas as a resilient and hardened warrior not unlike his much-revered father Wyat.  Whether or not they can be successful is very much a mystery.  The only thing that is certain is that the evil facing them today is much stronger and more vile than it was two decades ago.

SCIONS OF NEXUS by Gregory Mattix is a fun and entertaining read that I certainly enjoyed.  It reminded me at times of some of the Forgotten Realms novels that I devoured growing up.  The cover of the book even bears a striking resemblance to many of those FR titles.  So right away I was interested in what kind of story would be revealed once I turned to the first page.

The book started out a little slow for me as the major players are introduced, but right about at the 35% mark things begin to heat up significantly.  There are a number of battle scenes that are handled quite well and the action did have me on the edge of my seat at times.  Taren and Elyas have to deal with a good deal of adversity throughout and we see how each cousin makes up for the deficiencies of the other.

Taren is significantly more timid than Elyas, which is only natural as Elyas was raised by one of the greatest swordsmen in the history of the King's army of Nexus.  However, this also tends to make Elyas reckless at times as he believes he can overcome virtually any foe with just muscle and brawn.  It is only when in council with Taren that he realizes that sometimes it is okay to flee in order to be able to fight another day.

Where I was slightly disappointed in the book was in the overall story itself, which I thought was fairly standard fantasy fare for large portions.  I thought that there could have been a bit more buildup to the main conflict between Nesnys and the forces of good in Nexus.  I also would have liked to have seen a more thorough explanation of the history of the previous war and how and why exactly that came about.

While the main characters Taren and Elyas were certainly intriguing, I kept wanting more depth to them.  We never really get to see a lot of what makes them tick unfortunately and they are pretty much thrown into the heat of battle to fight one threat after another as the story plays out.  This is appealing to a point as I did enjoy the action a lot, but it just didn't lend itself to a lot of expansion on their personalities and reasoning at times.

All in all I thought that SCIONS OF NEXUS was a fun fantasy book that kept my interest throughout.  I would definitely pick up the next book in this series to see how things are advanced.  If you are looking for something along the lines of R.A. Salvatore or Ed Greenwood, this book may be right up your alley.  Loads of action and characters who are tested to the limits of their abilities make this a book worth checking out for most fantasy fans.

(My Rating: 6.5/10)