Book Review: Rage of Night by Bryan Belrad

Back Cover:
"Civil war has splintered the Kingdom of Aragos, and her people are dying by the hundreds. To stop the brutal savagery, the brothers Stillblade must act. They will face power-hungry wizards, an assassin out for royal blood, and an unstoppable army on the march for the Crown City while they race to unravel ancient mysteries that guard the dark secret driving the rebellion.

Can they end the bloodshed, while there is still a Kingdom to protect?
Once the truth is known, will they want to?"

Every once in a great while, a novel comes along that shatters the traditional boundaries of its genre. A work so profound, so deeply moving, so real, that it will spell-bind anyone who cracks it open. Beware, friends: this is one such book.

More than anything, Rage of Night reminds me of a Dan Brown thriller. Even though this is a definite work of fantasy, it has all the potency, the powerful, non-stop-action kind of storyline, that defines the action/adventure novel. I literally could not put it down.

What's more, it's packed with unpredictable twists and turns, thought-provoking mysteries, and enough suspense to keep your heart rate elevated through every single paragraph. Forget working out: this story will give you plenty of aerobic exercise!

As a fantasy, it features a richly detailed world, populated with unique characters, each depicted as a singular individual with his or her own wants, needs, and desires. The players, particularly the leads, are so real that as I read I began to suspect that the author had a secret window into a hidden world, and was simply recording the events that unfolded there.

Belrad's system of magic is a work of elegant simplicity, where a mind with the will to work wonders is limited only by the potential of its creativity. In this world, magic comes from within, a manifestation of the miraculous power of life within each person. But it too comes with a dark side.

The villain is a man so evil, so driven, that he was able to refuse the call of Death itself. Like a ghost, his spirit haunts the land, unyielding in his goals. For him, eternity is only to be had after his work of vengeance is done.