A corrupted power stirs from beyond the grave.The Necromancer Queen will rise again.Seventeen years have passed since the Necromancer Queen was overthrown and slain by a holy order of knights. Raised in the sacred disciplines of the knights Order, Anskar prepares for the brutal initiation trials to become a consecrated knight-sorcerer.But as troubling powers awaken within him, a schism grows … within him, a schism grows between Anskar and his hallowed Order. As he draws the hungry gaze of the vanquished queen’s fanatical followers, and pieces together the mysteries of his early life, he finds himself with a crucial choice to make: Remain loyal to the Order’s righteous mission, or control the dark powers growing within him.
Either way, his destiny is steeped in war. The only question is, which side will he be on?
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Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
If you can get past the first third, this becomes a decent book with an interesting world and intriguing plot twists. It’s just getting to that point that was troublesome for me.
Read my full review:
https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-mitchell-hogan-incursion/
I’m so excited to see the first of another series encompassing the same world as “Revenant Winds” and
“Shadow of the Exile”. I actually have a handle on the sorcery system now, with the dawn,dusk, darktides used, along with some of the old gods, such as Menselas, and the nasty demon lords like Nysrog.
Most of all, I can’t help myself, but I love that reoccurring wraithe.
The story begins with the defeat of Queen Talia of Niyas, “The Necromancer Queen”. Her second in
command, Capt. Carred Selenas remains waiting for a prophesy of the queen’s return to be fulfilled. For
16 years (as instructed) she has been waging small quick strikes against the occupiers, but resources and
warriors are running low. Her tireless efforts could be rewarded when spies deliver hopeful news.
The occupiers are the Knights of the Order of Eternal Vigilance, answering to the Church of Menselas,
God of the five aspects; Healer, The Mother, Elders, Warrior, and Death (Hooded One). As the story
progresses though, seems there should be another aspect placed in the forefront of all of these, but I’ll
let you figure that one out.
Within the wall of Niyas’ Branil’s Burg, young novices are taken in from surrounding territories to enter
the training and trials to become a knight.
Anskar Devantte, brought here as a baby, parents and heritage unknown (to him anyway) was raised
with the beliefs of Menselas, and now it’s time for the true trials of his faith to begin. Tormented by
other novices competing in the trials such as Sareya (the Niyandrian girl brought here when her parents
died), along with Orix, Naul, Clenna and Rhett, Anskar must first prove he’s worthy of becoming a peer,
as well as a knight. As the trials progress though, the contests themselves weed out the weak, as other
inner tests present themselves to Anskar with questions of his heritage, faith in the religion of the order,
and even of his superiors that raised him. When he finally ventures outside the walls of Branil’s Burg, a
new world is presented to him, looking quite different from the one presented to him in his sheltered
life. Now with realizations taking place, he must decide his own path. Finding that path is very difficult
when no one is willing to give you any answers, sending him on a quest in search for those answers.
A truly magical part of the book was a journey led by a crow, that totally picked me up and swept me
into another place, frightening, but pulling me in, non-the-less. Intricate details from the battles, sword
fighting, attacking dead eyes, forging a sword, use of different tides of sorcery, right down to the love of
a favorite horse, added so much to the depth of the story. I never found myself bored or at a lull. The
main characters were intriguing and well developed, with little hidden secrets left for our inquiring
minds. Deceptive characters abound, with the granddaddy of them all at the book’s end.
A five star book in my opinion, looking forward to the next.