Review: A Good Thumping Read of the First Order!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2012
What a book.  I started it this on the recommendation of a friend, and after page one, I was completely lost in the story of Joash and his companions.  Heppner has a marvellous way of bring a story to life, and he does this through the narration of Joash, who must be a young adult.  In a world set in the very distant past, where teradactyls fly and mammoths roam, the fallout from the war in Heaven has reached mankind in a physical and evil way.  When the Nephilim were kicked out of Heaven for defying God they came to Earth and made themselves corporeal; making mankind their slaves and begetting children on human women.  Sometimes they even mated with animals.  The resulting children were called the First Born.  Each had a specific magical quality or characteristic that defined them.  Some were Necromancers, some were Giants, others were indescribable, but all wanted to dominate mankind if not out right kill them.  When things on Earth got to a point that was untenable, God sent an archangel with a sweeping host down to Earth to battle the Nephilim.  After a thousand years, the Nephilim were defeated and their souls locked up in Tartarus until the end of time to await judgement.Our story starts many years later,  the First Born are still on the Earth as are their children.  They continue to plague mankind with the abominable evil they do, but now mankind has to protect itself because no more hosts will come sweeping down from Heaven to save them.Our protagonist, Joash, has been rescued from a Nephilim worshipping Beastmaster.  He is taken in as a Bondsman, but dreams of being a warrior as he helps them on their quest to Jotland - the home of the giants.  They are there to get horses for their chariots and for breeding, but many more adventures befall them.  Giants are very tricksy and really rather bloodthirsty too.  I don't know if you've read any Norse mythology, but it fits right in with Heppner, even though he goes further than some of the old myths and legends.  His take on these thing was unique and insightful.Throughout the story, we see Joash not only grow up, but grow as a person.  He faces challenges that would have felled lesser people out of loyalty and caring.  He is well on his way to becoming an exemplary human being and this is becoming recognized by those around him.The characterization in this book was spot on.  I was so lost in the story - the characters felt so real - that I finished in a few hours.  Pretty amazing!  All the characters in the book retained their own unique traits, never acting out of character to make a plot point or move the story forward.  The pacing never let you go, from beginning to end, there were only parts with additional dramatic tension.  The ending is a good example of this.  And btw, I want to thank Mr. Heppner for an ending that was neither too short nor too rushed.  He tied up the loose ends nicely; no cliffhangers here.  I would give you an extra star just for that, but I already gave you five...I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes epic fantasy, fantasy in general or even mythology.  This is a different look at one of the phases of the beginning of the world - or at least one man's take on it.  What could be more interesting?  This a thumping good read of the first order and not to be missed.  Good news!  This is just the first in the series.  I have already bought books two and three (I think there are a total of six? Wahoo!).  As you can see, Mr. Heppner has a new fan.