In the Book Nook Reviews Birthright by M.A. Vice
A wild, innovative fantasy exploring both the darkness and the light of the soul
Reviewing Birthright by M. A. Vice
Book one of the Impavidus Cycle
A fantasy exploring both the darkness and the light of the soul
How did I hear about this book?
I heard about the author via Threads, I believe, where I heard that they had been attacked by (yet another) author who was trying to review bomb others. Regular readers will know that I started this review series in order to support indie authors but also authors affected by one review-bombing author. Upon reading the thread by this author, I came to understand there had been another. I find myself baffled and saddened by the fact authors would do this to other authors.
Because she had been targeted, M. A. Vice was added to my list, and I found I actually had already bought one of the author’s books, (it was hidden away in my kindle library, where so many gems are waiting for my attention!) so I got to reading it!
Who is the author?
I’ll let M.A. Vice speak here, so here’s the author’s own Amazon Biography.
“M. A. Vice is a novelist and artist from the pacific northwest USA. A deep love for fantasy and history, which began early in her life, inspired a passion for writing and has continued to ever since. She enjoys creating epic tales about overcoming adversity and finding family, with a decent helping of political intrigue and mystery. When she is not writing, she enjoys creating illustrations, playing her favorite video games with friends, and exploring the pacific northwest woods with her family.”
Why this book?
I love a bit of fantasy, give me dragons and demons and I’m happy. The cover looked suitably dark and menacing too, so I thought it would prove interesting (spoiler… I was right)
What’s it about?
Birthright is book one of a trilogy set in a fantasy world, (which is also part of our world, certainly we share some history and authors). A young daemon who carries a conscious shard of his father (the quite deliciously evil Lucifurius, bent on destroying the present world to make one where darkness rules) inside him is persuaded to give up a life of rampant bloodshed and murder, and find a different destiny with the aid of friends and members of the Order of Azoth. On his journey with new friends, he discovers different ways of being, of governing, of existing, but all the while as he travels, learns and falls in love, Lucifurius is inside him, whispering dark thoughts and deeds, trying to tempt him back into destructive and murderous ways.
How I read this book
I read this on kindle, but it’s also available free on Kindle Unlimited and as a paperback.
(Always remember, if you want to read kindle books you don’t need a kindle. You can download the app for phone, tablet or computer and read there!)
Any gore, or horror themes?
Oh yes, especially at the start of the book, which leaps out of the pages at you, dragging you along on a most bloodthirsty adventure.
Scare or suspense?
I didn’t find it a scary book in the sense of surprises, but the ongoing possession of Albtraum (the protagonist) by his demonic father is scary in a far more subtle way. Lucifurius is the voice that speaks to Al (as he becomes known to friends) urging him to darkness, to hurt people, to kill the ones he loves, to destroy the world which is trying to save him. Really, I could have written an essay on the significance and symbolism of this relationship. It’s fascinating.
Spice or Romance?
Romance, yes, but no spice.
Excitement and Adventure?
The beginning and end of this book move fast, with a great deal of action. By comparison the middle feels slower, and I have read some reviews criticising this, but to my mind the middle was as much an adventure as the action-packed beginning and end. If I say too much about the end or beginning I’ll introduce spoilers, which I hate, so I’ll leave that alone, but what I will say is that the middle is an adventure of another kind.
In the middle of this book, Al, our daemon, is trying to learn how to live in the human world, a world he’s been taught to distrust, fear and wish only to obliterate. With the aid of a fantastic set of characters, Al starts to learn to trust, find friendship, love and ties of a family found rather than the destructive parent he was born with.
The middle of the book is really the adventure of his character blossoming, watching different examples of how to exist, absorbing different ideas of moral values, and deciding which to follow. Now, by necessity such an adventure as building his entire moral framework and character is going to feel slower, but I found it just as fascinating, just in a different way, as the intense action of the start and end. In fact, I think it made the end seem even more explosive.
What I found interesting about the book
Al’s inner struggle with his father Lucifurius is something I believe I will be thinking about for some time. Perhaps not everyone fells this way but at certain points in life I’ve certainly felt like there was a voice in me, trying to destroy me and my life, something of darkness rising. The battles Al fights with his father are poignant and relatable to anyone who has felt this way, I think, and this certainly gave me plenty to consider whilst reading, and afterwards.
Another aspect of this book which shines are the cast of characters, each interesting in their own way and each on a path to redemption or otherwise of their own. Mianna and Ismaire were my favourites, but there is a wide cast here, and every single one is a joy (or a horror, they’re not all good, after all!).
This is a great fantasy book, dark and gothic, wild and adventurous, and told with a unique voice who I think understands a great deal of the darker side of human nature, and what it takes to understand that side, and to redeem it. I’ll certainly be looking up the other books in the series and I advise you to try this one!
I gave the book five stars, by the way!