A lost island at the bottom of the ocean. A buried crypt hiding ancient mysteries. Spirits unwilling to let their tombs be defiled.
Washed up on Swash Isle, the Prophet and his rescuers strive to find a way to return to Justiqua. Will a trip to the sunken island of Dao Szeyukh appease the Comandanté of the pirate republic?
Making her own way to Justiqua, Princess Palasia Bab passes through Al … Princess Palasia Bab passes through Al Kutz, where the Warlords help her come to terms with the powers of her magic Blade. Despite her abilities, she must seek divine aid if she is to cross the deadly Silent Straits.
On a nefarious mission to eliminate the Gods, Nighan Witchson rampages through the Archipelago at the head of a horde of sword-wielding savages, all the while wondering how he can extricate his damned soul from its inevitable doom.
At the Elfguard Fortresses in the west of Fjelburg, Prince Saul Aodhson battles his people’s ancient nemeses from the Alfa Wald, but the greatest danger comes not from without but from within, from his own brothers …
One man, long thought gone, returns from the dead to unearth secrets long forgotten. Is he a hero or a villain?
He is the man who sank an island.
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The Man Who Sank An Island: An Epic Fantasy Novel (Convent Series Book 3), my third read from author Ross C. Hughes. I was given a review copy of Secrets of the Ashlands (Convent Series Book 2) & since I’d gotten A Dead Wizard’s Dream (Convent Series Book 1) back in November of 2019 I wanted to read it first, and now this. I’m glad I did. 553 pages of enjoyment, Conanesque in nature, but reads longer due to the detail & development of the story. I look forward to reading more from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
In “The Man Who Sank An Island: ( Book Three Of The Convent Series )” Hughes delivers a well woven tale that masterfully balances action and exposition.
The author does a superb job of world building and character development. Sultana Palasia and Prince Saul come particularly to mind. This tale has more convolutions than a pretzel’s intestines, if pretzel’s were to have intestines….I LOVE IT!!
Seriously though, I really enjoyed this entertaining page turner. I can hardly wait until “Into The Madlands” the fourth volume of the series is released. I really hope Hughes considers a boxset sometime in the future.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
In the Fjelburg lands, the god Baldr helped the Highlanders defeat their inhuman enemies but there’s no rest for the wicked. Now they’re under attack from their age-old enemies the wildwood elves. Don’t expect the wise and beautiful beings out of LOTR, although Amril is a Vaylorheim elf and more fitting that description. These war-like, violent creatures are nasty and ugly with eagle-like beaks, very sharp talons and wings.
Princess Palasia Bab and street urchin Bala are still together at the start of this book. She carries the sword in which the fire god Sutr resides who has promised to help her to save the world from Gastar and his Thakshir. She still wants to reach Justiqua where her former travelling companions were heading. Sutr advises her to ask the help of his sister, wind goddess Celeste, but she lives far away, past the Al-Kutz mercenaries’ lands.
Nighan Witchson is now part of the Goblin tribe of Graugakis, who’s being replaced by the brute and cruel Yameg. Since he put the Fae-crown on his head, Nighan now possesses their wisdom and knowledge. Through magic, deceit and brute force he becomes the chief leader of all Goblin tribes, promising to take them back to their ancestral home of Vayloraheim. If anything he’s grown quite fond of his blue-skinned companions and feels responsible for them. The way to Vayloraheim is long and dangerous. Almost every imaginable creature of wood or marsh attacks and decimates his people. An old adversary turns up in the crystal city offering help with fighting the witches that now populate the city.
But Gastar, the god of the Nether is still his master though and keeps ordering him to kill off the other Gods, one at the time. He starts feeling something resembling remorse for some of the things he did, even when it was on command and hopes to escape Gastar’s grip sometime. I keep hoping that he can escape that bound as he’s not a really bad person.
The companions of the elf-prophet are also still travelling to Justiqua, pursued by the Thakshir ghost ships. But when they do arrive there, they’re in for a real big shock. Everything they believed about their mission, the imminent danger, their religion, and above all the identity, motivations and goals of the lord protector. Even the placid elf becomes furious.
Vayloraheim is still a bit of an enigma. Both the elves and Goblins claim it as their ancestral home. Does this mean that they’re related or did they live there side by side?
The author surely drops some massive bombshells in this 3rd instalment of his on-going series. I don’t know how he does it, but each book seems to be even better than the previous one. This is a great story in the making and should not blush between ‘The wheel of fortune’ and ‘The laws of magic’ series. It’s epic fantasy at its best, with lots of action and adventure. And if you’re along for the fighting, there are plenty of battles and fights. Not as many as in the first book, that was almost 1 running battle without pause, but well rationed.
I’ve moaned before about the map not being any help because all the names are blotted out. Maybe that’s on purpose to make things even more mysterious. The only places I can locate with any certainty are the archipelago, I think.
The author has gone out of his way with the naming of places and people. Some are real tongue twisters. My favourite is ‘humhumshihai’.
In several places, Ross raises very real philosophical and ethical questions. See how he handles and explains the different belief systems and opinions about the afterlife. Is it that far sought to assume that whatever afterlife you believe in, will be the one that awaits you?
Ross Hughes has such a masterly knowledge of English vocabulary that it is a real pleasure to discover the multitude of synonyms he uses for 1 concept. His penmanship shines brightest in his colourful, vivid descriptions that come alive before your eyes. I’m genuinely jealous of such a mastership over language, no way I can reach that in my own mother language. That doesn’t diminish the power of the story itself, cleverly told in clusters of chapters focusing on 1 of the main characters carrying this story.
There’s also an endless amount of new creatures, people and beings that appear in Maradoum. If this was a holiday destination, I’d go to Fjelburg. Some other regions are absolutely not hospitable, but ideal for documentaries.
As I got this ARC well in advance, I tried to savour and portion my reading to make it last longer; But all good things come to an end and I can only look forward to the next part. Thank you to the author for this ARC. I may be an enthusiast but it is my honest and unbiased opinion