Review: He's Done It Again! Simply Fabulous
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2012
This is book 4 of The Lost Civilizations series by Heppner and just like the first three books, this one is a thumping good read of the first order.  It seems to happen cooincident with the end of book two and then book three after Lod has sent Irad and Auroch off to meet Lord Uriah and companions right before they are attacked by sea monsters.  The pirate captains of Shamgar had rebelled with Lod leading them.  They lose the battle and are captured.  When they are paraded through Shamgar in shackles, Lod works a miracle and the story goes steamrolling on from there.Except for Lod the Seraph and Gog, who is a First Born, all characters are new.  The entire story takes place in the city of Shamgar with the exception of some flashbacks.  We now have Shurites, Beastmasters, half-giants, priests of Gog, Rat Killers, Enforcers, Lepers, Pirates and Bait.  It is all very thrilling.  The goal is to rescue Lod from the Temple of the Oracle in the middle of Shamgar.  No one would be that crazy - but they are.Again, Heppner's characterization is so realistic that each of these new characters spring off the page fully formed with complete individuality.  The city itself has a personality too.  It is dark, iniquitous, violent, unforgiving and fearful.  We finally get to know Lod in all his mad Seraph glory, as he was only referred to in other books and believed to be dead after he had the fight with Gog and the pirates.Like in all of the other stories, the pacing is swift with moments of heightened dramatic tension.  This book had more of those moments than the others and passed quite quickly.  I was totally lost in its pages.  The ending is surprising up until the final moments.  The twists and turns leaving you amazed.I would heartily recommend these first four books to anyone who likes epic fantasy, angels, mythology, or just a thumping good read.  I'm on to book five!