Book Review–> Age of Hiblisk: A Story with a Soul by Sumukh Naik
Title and Author: Age Of Hiblisk
by Sumukh NaikPrint Length: 400 Pages
Publication Date: APK Publishers (June 2012)
Language: English
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Myths, Legends, Sagas, Indian Writing
Blurb:
Age Of Hiblisk
is the journey of Prince William and Princess Sara, the protagonists,through the magical and spiritual worlds of Pantolis, Hiblisk, and Ikra. As their voyage unfolds, they realize the true motive behind the terror employed by the dark forces of Dushtt to claim supremacy over the lands of Pantolis and beyond. Every new revelation brings to light the methodical madness employed by the dark forces and secrets of Mother Nature, which have been safely guarded for ages by the various civilizations of the secret worlds. Their journey also introduces them to the divine forces that monitor the functions of the world and gives them access to legendary, mystical weapons and advanced spiritual knowledge which illuminates the flow of their understanding and actions towards various aspects of life. They use the knowledge gained, to try and bring peace, to their war ravaged lands and fight the ever-growing might and influence of the mysterious dark forces that haunt their kingdoms. Will the light of all that is divine, fighting under the banner of Prince William and Princess Sara, flicker away into oblivion against the might of the dark forces under Dushtt, or will they survive? ……..Only time in her womb holds the answer, potent enough to change the outlook of the very world we live in.
Book Review:
Age Of Hiblisk
is the debut work of Sumukh Naik and he takes the readers on a journey to the fantasy worlds of Pantolis, Hiblisk and Ikra. Something strange is going on and it is upto the two young protagonists to solve the riddles and save their world.The cover art is nothing special and could have been made better. The blurb is also mediocre with scope of improvement to make it more catchy and interesting.
The story starts slow and it takes patience to keep going until it takes pace which happens almost after fifty odd pages! I am not a very big fan of fantasy so you will ask me why I went on reading the book if it was slow? The answer lies in the opening of the story which makes the reader inquisitive. The descriptions of places, people and events is elaborately sketched and meticulously planned but could have been made more concise and crisp while writing it on paper! I loved reading about the settings and the mysterious aura of the story appealed to me but all this was marred with excessive description of the same thing.
Sumukh does a promising job of conceiving and planning a fantasy saga with all flavors to appeal to a reader like action, mystery, adventure, the thrill of the unknown and the urgency to save the world before it is too late; but still the story lags and the pace is erratic which does make the reader feel bored at times. The writing style has potential but needs practice and lacks polish. There are several mistakes in the book that could have been handled with more time spent on editing.
I was interested in the book in the first half but the second half went off track pretty quickly. The end when it came was very weak and didnt appeal to me in the least. The villain Dustt is also not given his due share of the spotlight and although he should have been a major character in the story instead he comes out as a guest character with nothing very remarkable about him.
While I applaud the author on his effort to write a complex fantasy, I was not invested in the book. I give Age Of Hiblisk
a 3 out of 5 just because the plot had potential, the author has the gift of imagination and he did well in creating his world, sketching the places and characters and because I loved the two maps included in the book which give a beautiful picture of the fantastical worlds of the story.I received the book from the author and I am very thankful to him. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.
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