Prophecy by RT Kaelin ~ Book Review

Prophecy
Children of the White Lions, Book 2
by RT Kaelin
ISBN: 978-0615678856
$ 21.99 (Paperback)
$   7.99 (Kindle)

About the book:
The God of Chaos is marching. The Borderlands is nearly overrun, shredded by his army. In a dusty village, ninety-four residents led by two soldiers make a last stand. During the assault, one of the enemy isolates Rhohn Lurus, a Dust Man. Yet rather than kill him, the monster gives him a cryptic message and begs he carry it east, claiming it could halt the war. 

At Storm Island, Nikalys, Kenders, and Jak are adjusting to their new lives as leader, mage, and soldier. In the nation’s capital, nobles spar, some conspiring with the enemy while others ally together to halt Chaos’ advance. New friends will be made, old rivals rediscovered, and secrets revealed. 

The stage is set. War is here. And the Progeny must stop it. 

My Thoughts:
Over a year ago I wrote a review for a New Author named RT Kaelin. I was very interested in reviewing his book Progeny which is the first book in a series of fantasy books about a world named Terrene and two young people, brother and sister, who discover that their lives are not what they seem. You can read my review here on my other blog Classic Children's Books ~ I've moved my reviews of the rest of this series to this blog as it is a bit too graphic for a children's blog.

I loved Progeny due to the level of writing (very smooth, easy to read, very descriptive) and because I "connected" to the characters in the book. Kenders & Nikalys both seemed like great kids, full of mischief, personality and potential.

When I was approached about doing a review of Prophecy I jumped at the chance even though I am absolutely swamped (I've read 5 full length books in addition to Prophecy (600+ pages) in the last 2 weeks). I wanted to know what the next book would tell us about the fight between good & evil, the growth of Kenders, Nikalys and Jak their brother. It wasn't quite what I expected.

Prophecy has the same high quality writing, the scenes are well thought out and each character is well rounded. Many of the vague details and events mentioned in Progeny are described more thoroughly and you will meet new characters (Khin, Rhohn, Wren, Tobias and my favorite Okollu & Broedi who is from Book 1) from many different races and species. I loved to see the maturity of Nikalys grow from boy to man by the end of the book. Kenders still has a ways to go - and I'm sure we'll see her maturity come out in book 3. We also learn about the history of the White Lions and why they were formed as well as learn of a Prophecy that provides clues to events to come. Book 2 sets up the foundation of the rest of the series by giving us the background and a peek at the future of the World of Terrene.

That being said, I struggled some with this book (pls keep in mind I had the flu during the week I read Prophecy). It didn't reach out and grab me like Progeny did (I had the same problem with The Two Towers (Tolkien) also so don't let that scare you away) - I'm sure that Book 3 will give me some of the closure and connection that Prophecy didn't. There is just so much detail, so many locations and so many new characters that I had some trouble keeping up with it ~ add in the meddling of the various gods & goddesses in the book, the huge war scenes that are very well thought out and the powers that Kenders is becoming aware of (and some she's not aware of yet) that seem to take control of her and you'll get what I mean.

My plan this winter is to return to Progeny and read straight through Books 1 and 2 ~ so be watching for an updated review of the series probably in February sometime. The cliff hanger at the end of Prophecy means that I will definitely be looking for Book 3 ~ get the series and join me in February and let me know what you thought!

Purchase it:
You can purchase Progeny here for $21.49 (paperback) and $4.99 (kindle) and Prophecy here for $21.99 (paperback) or $7.99 (kindle). If you can afford it get the actual books. These are huge books (600+ pages each) and it's much easier to read them and put them down when you need to. You will read them over and over again so don't hesitate over the price.

For more information about the Children of the White Lions series, the prophecy, the progeny, RT Kaelin, Terrene and the history of the books visit The Progeny Website.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Prophecy to read and review on GivingNSharing. I was not required to write a positive review and no money exchanged hands.