Author, Samuel Odunsi Jr, sent me a review copy of his sic-fi novel, Age of the Aura, Phase I: Champions of Power.
Description from Goodreads:
There was no other name for the Blessed Galaxy. After being gifted with the Auras, five great powerhouses of celestial creation, the title was a suitable fit. While harnessing such energies, the governing bodies have ruled their respected reaches of the Galaxy for a number of millennia, but now they face the threat of an inevitable calamity that could shake the lives of everyone, caused by one of the five Auras.
After accepting a sudden promotion, a devout man of science, named Lowen Sars, decides to take on the burden of saving the Galaxy’s people after he learns of the calamity, but soon realizes that the role of a hero was a calling not meant for him. In his process of self-discovery, Lowen inadvertently begins the fateful saga of not only the Blessed Galaxy but also the kingdom in possession of the corrupt Aura, and especially its two young heirs of the throne.
Review:
I’m really not too sure how I feel about this book. The idea is really interesting, the writing is pretty good (though it could do with a bit of an edit to shore up the tenses and double check word usage), and there is the start of some really good world-building, but it’s only a start. The book is roughly 140 pages long and if it was closer to 500, with a complete storyline and plot I would likely be giving it far higher marks. But as it is the reader is barely introduced to the characters, technology, and lead-up to an important event that undoubtedly sets in motion the rest of the series. That isn’t enough to make for a happy read. I finished the last page wondering not only what would happen next, but why ‘the envoy’ was important, why we needed to get to know the Monvaldo family at all, how long the process had taken (I couldn’t tell how much time passed in the course of this book), what was the implication of Lowen’s experience on Dox, was there a method to the madness of Edith and Brill’s deaths, how could Lowen be so naive as to not know what he was really setting in motion, where did the Aura’s originally come from, and what of all of the side characters that were introduced once and then never seen again.
Eventually I decided that the clue is in the book’s description. It reads, “In his process of self-discovery, Lowen inadvertently begins the fateful saga…” There it is, BEGINS. That’s all this book is, a beginning. It’s a pretty good beginning, but still just a start. I don’t generally sit down to read part of a book. I want the whole thing.
Having said all of that I must confess that I did like the Monvaldo brothers and Lowen and his team. They’re likeable characters after all. If there was more to the book I would have happily kept reading to see it to the end too. So, if you’re the sort that doesn’t mind their stories broken into a series of small snippets this saga will likely appeal to you. I, on the other-hand, was annoyed to find it ending as the action finally came to a head.