BOOK REVIEW- A Touch of Light BY Thiago Abdalla

“That’s the thing about light. All you need is a touch to see the horrors lurking in the dark.”

Initially I thought this book didn’t really work for me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Upon reflection the execution and transition between the POV’s were rather jarring and took me out of the world, meaning I had to readjust constantly throughout the book. That being said, nearly all of the individual elements inside of these 450 odd pages really hit the mark starting with the cover.

Abdalla’s cover captures the energy of this book perfectly. The more I look at it, the more I must applaud the artist. It’s simple but dramatic. The Ever tree stands tall, beautiful, and bright, with a hint that something isn’t quite right. The leaves are falling, and it looks almost wrong, like they shouldn’t be. Then you look closer, and the falling leaves are dying. Creating an essence of decay around an otherwise awe-inspiring centrepiece. The sword, (to me) represents the Domain the political and governmental leader who should not be judged or questioned for their actions; regardless of the chaos unfolding around them.

We follow three POV’s, Adrian, Lynne and Nasha. The questions on the back of the book coinciding with each individual’s story.

Adrian, prince of the Domain where the blessed are gifted with long lives, and those who die are deemed unworthy, burned, and put to rest. That is unless they are covered with the sap of the Ever tree, to be preserved until the promised day. Adrian’s brother was burned, years ago, and he needs to know why. He traverses over the Domain, playing political powers in hopes of winning his father’s approval, and information to his burning questions, all while fighting the madness spreading quickly throughout the lands.

Lynn, The Sentinel, hiding from a life she doesn’t want, where once she bought death to those infected with the madness, she now seeks to save those lives which don’t need to be taken for the sake of the Domain. Unfortunately for her, she cannot stay hidden forever. The madness has returned and with it a responsibility to become the bringer of death once more.

Finally, we have Nasha, the hunter. Fighting her way through the Proving she has shown herself to be a capable hunter and warrior. But this isn’t enough for the Slopers who look down upon her less than ideal rise to relative power. Determined to show her place she fights for her position in the Ronar but hides a curse close to her heart. A curse that if known, could change the course of her life forever.

Each of these stories were captivating. I couldn’t help but be sucked into each of their character arcs, following their interactions with the world around them intently.

This is a book where the reader needs to do a little work. We are thrown in whether we like it or not and it felt like a bit of a scramble to start putting the pieces together. I don’t mind this kind of storytelling, but it did feel rather disconnected until I realised that this was a conscious stylistic choice of the author. I spent the first 120 pages trying to piece together where everyone fit into the bigger picture without sitting back to enjoy it for what it was. There is a prequel novella which has been recently released called “A Prelude to Ashes” which I would suggest reading first to familiarise yourself with the world of Avarin before starting book one.

Another issue I had with the book lies solely in the first 100 pages or so with the line editing. There were a handful of pages here and there that would overuse a word or phrase to the extreme. I read the word “obsidian” 9 times in the space of 3 paragraphs at one point. Admittedly this did get better as the story progressed and I didn’t pick up on it nearly as much after the hundredth page. Please be advised that this is a nit-pick which comes from having a line editor as my partner in crime and being extremely averse to repetition in the books I read.

Those two things aside, the individual elements of this book were enjoyable. We have an overarching plot line which I don’t believe has come to the forefront yet, but it is simmering underneath the character introductions. There is a madness spreading throughout the lands, each of individual interacting with it in some way. The political and religious elements are synonymous, and the manipulations of faith and power affecting our team become apparent the further into the tale you get. The world expands slowly and magics become apparent through each set of eyes we follow. I’m very interested where this series goes now that my expectation of writing style have been set.