With the kingdom of Korigane now destroyed, the knight Jacobus continues his adventures in this new volume of Kyle Fox’s “Tales of Exile” saga. Under the guidance of the wingless angel Ezrea, Jacobus journeys in search of Talia of the Black Rose, an alchemist and oracle. Jacobus’s epic trek across blighted lands towards The Black Star will take in monstrous beasts and bizarre architectural constructs. Jacobus is pushed to his limit by physical challenges and moral quandaries but is the quest that he is on really one of justice or is it solely driven by the rage of revenge?
Though OF PROPHETS AND PINIONED ANGELS: Tales of Exile has all the hallmarks of a major dark fantasy epic, the book itself is comparatively short. In terms of plotting, Fox pushes his protagonist quickly towards his goal. Secondary characters are kept to a minimum with their lore and origins only ever really examined in their direct interaction with Jacobus. This focus on the primary narrative arc allows Fox to fully indulge his predilection for luxuriant, purple prose yet still maintain the immediacy of a novella. Fox’s writing style is elaborate, verbose even. Take this brief moment between a raven and the pinioned angel: “The silver and gold of her gaze reflected within its glossy stare, winking flares of day and night so deeply against its own abyssal eyes.” Or this description of a destroyed and overgrown building: “They filled the ruins with a swampish stagnation, where plumbiferous black pools mirrored the galena grey skies that drifted like sludge overhead.” Fox delights in both the meaning and the sound of the words he chooses. There is a rhythm to even his most excessive, elongated sentence constructions. Some readers will relish this grandiose storytelling, others may feel they are wading through treacle.
For all its wordiness, OF PROPHETS AND PINIONED ANGELS has no shortage of dramatic moments, which Fox pitches perfectly by toning down his use of adjectives and metaphor to let the action have its own say. Likewise, the author is wise enough to ensure that the dialogue sequences are comparatively tight and concise. While the travails of Jacobus foreground his heroism there is an inherent sadness to his tale wherein Fox hints at broader issues including solitude, honor and forgiveness.
Part of a larger saga, Kyle Fox’s OF PROPHETS AND PINIONED ANGELS: Tales of Exile is a richly imagined dark fantasy novella with a well-paced plot that sets the scene for an intricately constructed world driven by myth and legend.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader