A gathering of dark creatures in a howling storm begins this epic tale of angels, aliens, demons, and men in THE SEVENTH SPARK (Knights of the Trinity). The scope is positively Homeric in its grandness ‒ drama is high and so are the stakes. Demons incite violence and dissent at a mere touch. Angels of shining armor feasting and feuding in divine halls. Heroes combating terrible foes from the material plane to the depths of the human soul. The fate of the world hangs in the balance of an age-old battle of light versus dark.

Fans of fast-paced action and Old Testament wrath will have much to love because the story is chock full of sword fights, slavering fiends, and decapitations. While the gore level is quite high, author J.B. Lion does not revel in the disgusting details and the tale is less lingering horror or shock value and more “parental supervision advised” rather than splatter film. The epic battles tend to drive the plot, and readers wanting more cerebral or character-driven work might look elsewhere.

The flow of the rock ‘em sock ‘em action can feel somewhat broken up by the numerous small grammatical errors, spelling inconsistencies, and poor formatting choices. Things that bring the reader out of the story for a second or two can be overlooked, but when they appear often enough it takes some of the steam out of the narrative. For example, the overuse of quotation marks when multiple characters are speaking makes for some particularly confusing moments in otherwise engaging scenes. All of these errors could easily be rectified with a bit of keen proofreading, however, and the overall reading experience would be vastly improved.

A significant strength of the story is the character designs. Though the book is solidly rooted in the Christian faith, readers will meet a wide cast of characters who are as varied as the world’s many mythologies. Lion’s vivid character descriptions call to mind the legends of the Christian, Norse, Sub-Saharan African, Roman traditions, and more. Between the dreadlocked angel with a sabertooth tiger for a best friend, the demon with monstrous forms imprisoned just beneath his flesh, and the purple alien warrior-prince, scifi/fantasy fans and mythology nerds are sure to be fascinated by the eccentric heroes & villains contained within THE SEVENTH SPARK.

THE SEVENTH SPARK will be a hit with those of the Christian faith who enjoy quick-paced, action-heavy epic fantasy, although the book would benefit from further editing.

~Lauren Napoli for IndieReader