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Book Blurb
The last of a dying breed, a holy warrior must rise up against a growing darkness in Evelium.
The most unlikely of heroes, a lowly itinerant mercenary, Umhra the Peacebreaker is shunned by society for his mongrel half-orc blood. Desperate to find work for himself and his band of fighters, Umhra agrees to help solve a rash of mysterious disappearances, but uncovers a larger, more insidious plot to overthrow the natural order of Evelium in the process.
As Umhra journeys into the depths of Telsidor's Keep to search for the missing, he confronts an ancient evil and, after suffering a great loss, turns to the god he disavowed for help.
Compelled to save the kingdom he loves, can he defeat the enemy while protecting his true identity, or must he risk everything?
Review
PALADIN UNBOUND was an exciting and fast-paced break following immediately on the heels of the intense marathon read that was Dragon Mage. There are certain books that hit at just the right time and I didn't know how much I needed this story until I sat down and began reading it. Part quest fantasy, part dark adventure, with a splash of vampires and horror thrown in the mix, and this story turned out to be such a cool blend of so much of what I love in a killer read.
The first thing that struck me about this book is the fantastic worldbuilding. Evelium is very much a wondrous traditional fantasy setting but with a dark edge that hints at a tumultuous and deadly past. We get glimpses of the history of this world at the beginning of each chapter by way of snippets taken from historical texts. It's alluded to that these texts were uncovered over the years by way of excavations. I really liked this technique because it provided a valuable context to the story without it feeling like info-dumping.
This book also deals a good deal with prejudice and stereotypes. The main character Umhra is a half-blood orc who often encounters derision and suspicion wherever he goes. Life isn't easy for he and his band of mercenaries as many jobs go to a more "acceptable" segment of clients. It's extremely surprising then when he is given the delicate mission of finding out what happened to a group of well-placed and respected dignitaries/soldiers who may have ventured into cursed Telsidor Keep only to then not return. Why assign this task to Umhra? Why now? Could it be because he and his cohorts are seen as expendable, or is there a deeper and more significant reason?
Once the mission gets under way this story really takes off and becomes a breakneck dark adventure fantasy to the thrilling final page. This is a truly delightful multi-faceted story that took me places that I wasn't expecting. I think that the addition of some horror elements gave this one a very Ravenloft feel, which hearkened back to my glory days of devouring those books one after another when I was first cutting my teeth on fantasy as a genre.
Suffice to say that Jeffrey Speight has written a wonderful first book that bodes incredibly well for future volumes. I had an absolute blast reading this and the story hit me with all the nostalgic feels that makes this such an entertaining experience from start to finish. Pick up this book if you love quick reads that grab your attention right from the jump and never let go. I can't wait to read the next book that Speight puts out because PALADIN UNBOUND, although entirely satisfying and amazing, left me wanting more of this type of story. Hopefully we won't have very long to wait!
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