In TEMBERLAIN’S ASHES, the second and concluding volume of D.M. Wozniak’s fantasy saga Age of Axion, Democryos is a former “voider”—a magic user of sorts who can perceive and manipulate matter invisible to most—on a distant world locked in conflict between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Having discovered that his powers, originating from a mystical realm known as the Void, are drawn from imprisoned souls, Democryos has renounced the use of void magic, and with his companions, Chimeline, Blythe, and Colu, now seek to release these trapped souls from their torment. Meanwhile, an unknown enemy is hunting down other voiders and stealing the voidstones that channel their power. Dem and company are faced with a daunting challenge: to pursue their quest while facing down a legion of foes without the help of his powers.
Wozniak has built a sprawling and complex story universe with Age of Axion, and readers will want to read the first installment, The Indivisible and the Void, before tackling TEMBERLAIN’S ASHES. The series is dense with lore, with an expansive story mythology and cast of characters, and while the immense level of detail makes for a deeply immersive narrative, a glossary or introductory recap would have been welcome. Still, Wozniak’s world of voiders, effulgents, azuremen, and the awe-inspiring (and terrifying) Void itself is a treasure trove of imaginative fantasy elements (with more than a touch of action-oriented science fiction), shot through with thunderous, fast-paced storytelling that recalls such muscular old-school fantasy epics as Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga and Stephen R. Donaldson’s Gap cycle. Wozniak enlivens his massive tale with unadorned but polished, restrained prose and natural dialogue, avoiding the tendency of the genre to over-explain or drown the reader in lore. TEMBERLAIN’S ASHES is a long book, but one that moves swiftly and confidently to a satisfying conclusion.
D.M. Wozniak brings his sprawling, complex “Age of Axion” fantasy saga to a satisfying conclusion with TEMBERLAIN’S ASHES, a dense but fast-paced work of epic scale and imagination.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader