Rise of Elohim: The Spirit of Iris by Rocky Rochford

Title: Rise of the Elohim: The Spirit of Iris
Author: Rocky Rochford
Published: September 2014 by Solstice Publishing
Genre: Fantasy
How I got the book: I received a free digital copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Set in a world much unlike our own, on a lonesome planet at the end of the universe, an epic battle between good and evil is about to come to pass. Living in a medieval era, the inhabitants of the world find themselves up against the dreaded Shanzi, vile creatures of pure darkness who seek one thing, the annihilation of that which is good. There is only one who can stop them, a young boy by the name of Zach who must Rise up against the forces of darkness and drive them back to the shadow existence from whence they came.

My Review:

When the author reached out to me about this book I was intrigued immediately when he told me it’s kind of like “The Legend of Zelda,” one of my favorite video games. Fantasy is always a fun genre, though I don’t read it too often, so I decided to give it a try.

The story begins with a young baby boy in a basket found by Mako and his talking crow, Izal. They raise the boy, Zach, and train him as a warrior knowing that he will have an important destiny ahead of him.

Zach overhears Mako talking to Izal about his lack of readiness causing Zach to advance the plot by running deep into the forest where he meets a shadowed figure. It’s predictable of who this man really is, even though his true self isn’t revealed until later.

Zach battles his way save the world, himself, and Mako and Izal, from Shanzi. It’s a fun adventure with swords and special powers alike.

I enjoyed all the characters. Mako and Izal had interesting back stories. We still don’t fully know Zach’s backstory, but seeing as this is the first of a series, I’m sure we’ll get to know more soon enough.

They all had great dynamics with one another as well. Mako and Izal had that “old friends” relationship while Mako had a father/master relationship with Zach. Izal and Zach had a big brother type relationship, which I enjoyed.

Yet, I still feel like I didn’t get a chance to really know the characters. The plot overshadowed the development of the characters so when some dire happened, I didn’t really have any feelings towards it. I couldn’t care one way or the other. I enjoyed the characters, but I wish I got to get close to them.

The author’s writing style is quick and fun as well as easy to follow along. He has a great way with words and created an interesting world filled with fantasy antics.

However, like I said in the previous section, the pace of the plot moved a little quick. I think so much more could have been done, more details could have been added. I didn’t get to really know the characters as much as I would have liked and I didn’t feel the sense of urgency that the world needed saving.

The novel felt rushed and it was fairly short being about 250 pages or so, so I feel like a lot more could have been done with it. This is also the first book in a series, so I’m sure we’ll learn more overtime, too.

The version I received also had illustrations included in between each chapter. I thought that definitely added something unique to the book and I looked forward to each picture as I finished a chapter.

I enjoyed this book. I would pick up its sequel and give that a shot as well so learn more about the characters and see how they get on in their world. It’s definitely an interesting premise and a fun adventure to go on.

Rise of the Elohim: The Spirit of Iris by Rocky Rochford gets…
4 out of 5 stars