Acadia, Book I: The Lost King and the Goddess of Time, is the first part of The Second Great War trilogy by Ali M. Naqvi. When the author wrote me asking if I would be interested in doing a review, the cover is the first thing that drew me to the story. I know, we should never judge a book by its cover, and I especially follow that rule when it comes to self-published e-books, because I realize many writers simply do not have access to someone willing to do an inexpensive cover for them. As a writer, I know I don’t have even an ounce of talent when it comes to drawing, painting, or anything else in the visual arts field. But I just love the way all the colors and elements come together in this fantasy art-style painting. To me, it resembles the style of a set of Tarot cards I used to have years ago, which of course brings up nostalgic feelings for days gone by.
But enough about the cover, because the true beauty is what lurks behind that cover- the words that make up the story itself. The epic fantasy tale begins in the past, at the end of a great war. The raw and bleak descriptions of the battle field immediately drew me in, filling my head with vision of the violent and bloody culminating event. I have great admiration for writers capable of bringing a whole new world to life so early on in the story. Naqvi’s world is both new and old, and he clearly spent a lot of time plotting out every last detail of his fantasy realm. He even includes footnotes to help readers understand his made-up words for different beings, places, and objects. After the prologue, Naqvi introduces his main character- Damont. Damont is a fairly average teenage boy. He does his chores, skips school, and yearns to leave his boring little town. He spends an enormous amount of time avoiding his lessons about the past, something that he feels has very little value. Then one night, Damont has a strange dream. A man dressed in black armor appears, taunting Damont with visions he doesn’t understand. Thinking them only a strange dream, Damont dismisses them at first. However, a second voice appears in his dream, telling Damont that these aren’t just nightmares, but rather visions of things to come. From there, Damont starts a long and difficult journey, aided by a sorceress and a vampire, to unite the his world against the cruel gods that seek to oppress them.
Acadia, Book I: The Lost King and the Goddess of Time, is definitely an epic fantasy worthy of appearing on shelves alongside the classic, well-known epics! Each of the 370 pages features stunning descriptions and carefully written dialogue that flows mellifluously across the screen (or paper, for those reading the paperback version). I anxiously await the next installment, set to appear on the scene as early as Christmas this year.
