“If you’re reading this book without the audiobook, God help you.”, yes, this is in the book on the pronunciation guide. HAHAHAHHAHAHA, typical of Tim, and yes, you will totally need the pronuncation guide because of the very “intricate” names that can and WILL confuse you as you read this book, but don’t worry, it’s part of the experience.
IF this is your first book by Tim J. Mckay, then, WELCOME and buckle up because there is no easy-ride with this author (his other books here), although he promised us that this is a “light-hearted” book, (we will have to read it to believe it).
OH, btw, you want to read the glossary in the first pages, it will help you understand a lot more and faster too.
The book starts with a young, delinquent and frisky couple, that, like all other great love stories, fell in love for one another after one of them was basically dared to throw himself off a cayon and survive the order, and he accepted, because, you know, he was your regular teenager.
Welcome to Tim Mckay’s latest book, and no, I wasn’t expecting this as well. HAHAHAHAHAHAH.
This same couple, apparently our main characters, have a grudge on the elites of society and are trying to destroy an entire city by simply stealing a magical prism that holds everything together and creates torrential rains that destroy everything in its wake once a year, because they were cast out. Intersesting…
In their quest to steal the prism of power, the book starts to develop and open up the many plotlines it has, but before we explore that, there is something awesome about the whole dynamic:
So when the third MC is presented, (right after they almost get turned into magic-infused kebabs) this very gray, cunning and manipulative MC will serve as the balance to the other two main characters that are always trying to (and many times succeeding in) hump each other, but the thing is, you will not like, nor dislike this character, but, at the same time you will hate him and love him.
Why is this the case? Because, he is, gray in nature, and he is one of those types of characters that you read about and your first instinct screams: “JUDAS!” but you don’t have a concrete proof why. It’s like Detective Doakes in the series Dexter.
Yeah, you will feel like Doakes every time the third MC does something.
Why is this character a pain in the ass but needed? Because he grounds the book. He is the logical one, he is the one that is aware of himself, and does not bow to the powers and charms Raven, and actually dislikes her (or does he…?) and that creates either a good trio, or a very fucked-up love-triangle to be, but which one is it? We will have to read to know.
There are two perspectives inside this book and story, one from the kingdom below, the “Blighted World”, and one from the kigdom above “The Skyfold” or the place of the Sovereigns, and both apparently are at war with one another, because of monsters that want to eat all humans, or so they say….
Tim Mckay did purposefully tune up the humour in this book because this is too funny. Of course, we are not going to tell you exactly what is too funny because of the no-spoiler rule that we never break, but we’re going to tell you an analogy so you know what we are talking about:
Imagine a situation where you are already in the straights, right? Things are going badly and your luck just starts to run dry, and you escape by an anemic rat’s whisker. You sigh in relief, only to 10 seconds later you realize that shit was just thrown to the fan and you cannot escape this time. And then, Destiny has it that a “but wait, there’s more” uno-reverse card must be slammed into the plot table, and shit is thrown in the fan AGAIN and you are covered head-to-toe on that without a way to save yourself and you just have to accept that. HAHAHAHAHHAa, genius!
After 3 or 4 chapters that the author gives to get ourselves acquainted to the book, the scenarios and the characters, alonside one and two laughs, it seems like Tim McKay cracks his fingers and says: “Alrighty, time to bring the chaos” and just starts to make more and more thriller scenes for the remainder of the book.
Tim, you said that this was going to be a “light” book. You said “light”.
Why do I say this dear reader?
Well, all I can tell you is that the sky starts to fall in a shower of flames and rock and magic while our characters climb a city in the freaking sky while there is a torrential rain pouring down. Yeah, this is the definition of a “light” book by Tim McKay ladies and gentlemen.
Elden Ring level bosses, dark magic, an elite that is powered by lies and spells that make people forget things, a couple that is too damn stubborn to quit even facing very powerful odds, an unseen double pair of plot twists, the death of one “god”, the reshaping of a family rivalry and the author slipping a “Kratos”-style moment for one of the main characters.
This tiny novella packs a punch, and for you to realize that is just the start one a whole new series? THAT, is impressive, and this book is another certified banger by Tim McKay folks. Solid stuff right here.
If you are looking for a short, “I’ve probably never read stuff like this” fantasy book that doesn’t dissapoint and makes you think “this is a series that I look forward to read”, while also being pretty “relaxed” and exciting read, then this is the book for you.
Pros:
- Lots of plot twists for such a tiny book
- The characters are solid and fully developed even though there are only 90-ish pages in the book
- It’s a great balance between a romance, a thriller and a fantasy book.
- Excellent narrative
- Consistent flow of the book
- The villain makes you, at times, you nod your head and say: I understand you
Cons:
- Luck is the MC best friend in one particular scene
Scribble's Worth 
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