What if our oldest myths and legends—the gods and monsters who have roamed our dreams and nightmares for countless generations—were real? It’s the question author B.A. Vonsik explores in his sweeping Young Adult science fiction/fantasy saga Primeval Origins, where the near future and distant past collide in an epic conflict between light and darkness, and humanity’s survival hangs in the balance.
LIGHT OF HONOR, the second volume of Primeval Origins, finds series protagonist Nikki Rikks, an intrepid young paleontologist, sailing an exploration yacht somewhere in the Caribbean, on the run from United Nations forces. Why is the U.N. hunting Nikki? Does it have something to do with the two passengers—Rogaan and Aren, who readers will recognize from the previous book, Paths of Anguish—lying in stasis in the Wind Runner’s hold? Answers will have to wait, however, as the ship is suddenly attacked by lethal Tyr Soldiers from the future. A spectacular battle ends with readers being thrown back to Rogaan and Aren’s world, 65 million years in the past, where our prehistoric heroes are making their way to the city of Farratum, where their parents are being held captive.
Vonsik’s time-hopping adventure begins in the middle of the action and moves at a breakneck pace, with few pauses to catch readers up on previous events. But while readers jumping into the series with this second book may find themselves initially lost in a flurry of unfamiliar references, they’ll quickly get up to speed; and LIGHT OF HONOR works as a standalone tale despite its sprawling tapestry of interwoven storylines and themes. The novel’s most compelling element is its fascination with world mythology, its pantheons of ancient gods, and the questions the series explores about their involvement in humanity’s origins—and its ultimate fate. Vonsik credits classic fantasy epics—like Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series and Terry Brooks’s Shannara novels—as well as the deities of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, as inspirations for Primeval Origins. LIGHT OF HONOR blends those elements with touches of science fiction and hard-edged action to create an original and compelling adventure that, at times, reads like Neil Gaiman’s American Gods re-conceived as military sci-fi.
LIGHT OF HONOR is most compelling during its thrilling, beautifully constructed action scenes, with cinematic detail (“the first projectile richocheted off the armor, striking himself in the shoulder”) and spare, economical writing that deftly ratchets up the tension. Elsewhere, the writing can be a bit clunky, especially in dialogue and describing characters’ internal thoughts. But LIGHT OF HONOR’s dynamic storytelling and ever-expanding mysteries will have fans of myths, legends, dinosaurs and epic heroes leaping to the next Primeval Origins installment.
B.A. Vonsik’s propulsive storytelling brings thrilling, kinetic action to LIGHT OF HONOR, a time-hopping saga of myths, legends, and epic heroes and the second volume in the Primeval Origins saga.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader