Mystic Reborn by Jeff Speight

 

Hello everyone!

Well, here we are at the second day of the week, and the first review of the week.

Today it's the follow up to Paladin Unbound by Jeff Speight, Mystic Reborn.

Some paths are meant to be walked alone.

Mystic Reborn is the continuation of Paladin Unbound, the award-winning start of the Archives of Evelium.

After embracing his destiny as the last of the Paladins, Umhra the Peacebreaker is granted ancient powers by the gods. When

he returns to the ruins of Antiikin to fulfill a promise, he embarks on a journey that will push the limits of his abilities.

As the Grey Queen’s arrival heralds the fulfillment of a prophecy that could mean the end of humanity, the kingdom of Evelium desperately needs a hero. Can Umhra once more rise to the challenge and save mankind from annihilation?

Aaaaah, just what the doctor ordered, a new book from Jeff Speight, and let me tell you, it's proper dim sum.

Mystic Reborn is another enjoyable entry in the Archives of Elevium and the tales of the half orc Umhra. 

This time Umhra is learning a bit more about himself and his powers with the aid of legendary mystic Spara. 

Meanwhile, The Barrows Pact are dragged into a plot that will see the catastrophic prophecy of the Grey Queen coming to fruition. 

I found this second book to be much more accomplished than the first book. While I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure on the first book, Mystic Reborn just feels to have more depth and scope to the story. We get to see more of the world of Elevium and get a deeper understanding of world as whole. 

It still maintains that D&D feel to it and it does remind me of Ed Greenwood in many ways.

As usual, the book is chock full of adventure and intrigue. I must say I particularly enjoyed the Grey Queen prophecy, and Jeff Speight builds this aspect of the story extremely well. 

The book is chock full of plots and subplots, and Jeff Speight manages to fit so much into this story, the book simply romps along at a lightning pace.

In this book, Umhra spends quite a while away from The Barrows Pact learning about himself and his powers. As he moves through the world growing his powers you wonder how it is all going to work out, however, with Umhra being a bit on his own, it did give the story that greater depth as it showed more of the mythology surrounding his rise to mystichood and the world as a whole. 

It was great to be in Elevium again. These books are a ton of fun and they just make me happy. I raced through this book and found it to be thoroughly enjoyable.