I have made very few book recommendations in the last several years, and this particular book is not my genre. However, I had the pleasure of critiquing it as it was being written, and now that it’s out and is offered as a Kindle Countdown until April 14, I would like to let everyone know about it.
The name of the book is Ahvarra, and the author, Brian Lang, classifies this book as both fantasy and urban fantasy, with a little alternative history mixed in. I know some of you like this genre, so here is a summary:
The island of Lorenya is slowly being eaten by a black desert known as the Raught, and its inhabitants—both humans and a transforming race known as Ameleons—need a solution. Such a solution may exist in their own world, at the ruins of a battlefield that lies across the treacherous Raught, while another may exist by passing through Ahvarra, the Heart of the World, that connects Lorenya to a mid 21st century Earth.
While one Protector of the Heart travels across the barren landscape, encountering dangers and surprises, another travels through the Heart, expecting a small colony. What she finds is a world where technology and virtual reality exceed anything she’s ever known… and where a descendant of Lorenya can help her find a path to her world’s salvation.
But how did this world come to be built? What history is locked behind secrets that are hinted at in a journal written over centuries? The key to Lorenya’s survival is found in its history, and these Protectors must bring their shared knowledge together before the Ameleons transform into their aggressive nature and bring their realm to ruin.
Can history and technology combine to save one small world?
I can recommend this book with enthusiasm. It’s creative and intriguing. Even though I am a murder/mystery novelist, this kept me reading, even when I had to wait several weeks for the next installment!
