Hi Everybody, hope you are doing well and keeping safe.
I got the Kirikus review for Temple of Valor today.
Great review from a long trusted publication house in NYC!
Thanks for all the people that supported me and believed in the Temple of Valor.
Couldn’t have done it without you! ~Joe Lyon
Review follows:
A rousing final installment of a well-constructed epic fantasy series helmed by a capable lead.
TEMPLE OF VALOR
ASTAR’S BLADE
BY JOE LYON ‧ RELEASE DATE: AUG. 5, 2022
The third installment of this epic fantasy trilogy follows Astar—an 18-year-old living embodiment of a god.
In Lyon’s latest, Astar struggles to understand his burgeoning abilities as well as his place in a millennia-long conflict that upon conclusion will herald the beginning of a new era for the realm of Odessa. The book opens with Micah, Astar’s childhood friend, showing Astar a giant hole he found in the forest—an opening that smells “like the world farted” and has large claw marks surrounding it. They briefly investigate it but wisely decide to return to their village of Homestead. On the way, winged monstrosities with massive mouths called Devourers attack the boys and abduct Micah. Astar realizes he must battle their realm and that his powers—which include stopping time—will play a crucial role in the looming war. His father, Amtor, a disabled war hero, learns that his son is the physical manifestation of Ehlona, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and he unearths a golden dagger that he buried decades earlier and gives it to his son. The magical item, named Soothsayer, is the world’s most powerful weapon and can save—or destroy—Odessa, depending on who wields it. As villains, including the seductive demon Langula, attempt to wipe out their human enemies and rule the world with their offspring, heroes, like the healer Lady Valen and historian Aberfell, gather their forces to stop the malevolence from spreading.
Hardcore fantasy fans might consider the premise unoriginal, but Lyon does much to differentiate this storyline from other comparable sagas. Astar’s power of multiplicity, for example, makes for some unforgettable scenes. In one sequence, Astar duplicates himself thousands of times and joins his bodies together to create a giant mythical creature (“Without a warning, Astar’s fractal dragon appeared overhead, diving at the advance of the soldiers, catching them midway in the valley”). The author also excels at worldbuilding, inventing imaginative creatures like the Rock Larvae and Timmutes—microscopic humanoids that appear as glowing orbs with mysterious abilities. Scenes that unfold in the demonic realm are particularly ominous and immersive: “He had been cut from nipple to nipple, and then down from each nipple to almost his waist. The cut created a three-sided rectangular flap, which had been peeled down and hung out in front of him. Sticky flesh was exposed underneath from where the skin should have been. But the top of the flap had cleverly been connected to his feet by way of a series of small fishhooks and chains.” Additionally, the numerous bombshell plot twists at novel’s end—pertaining to Astar’s ultimate destiny, the significance of three manuscripts, etc.—will delight even the most jaded fantasy fan. This installment’s strength is the way its grand-scale narrative builds on the previous two entries in this series. All respective storylines knit together in a conclusion that is action-packed, emotionally intense, and utterly satisfying.
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