Jen reviews The Return of the Knights, the first book in Gregory Kontaxis‘ epic fantasy series, The Dance of Light.
Thank you to Gregory Kontaxis for the ebook in exchange for a review. And apologies for the delay in getting the review out in the world.
Series: | The Dance of Light #1 |
Genre: | Fantasy |
Publisher: | Self-published |
Date of Publishing: | June 15th, 2021 |
Trigger Warnings: | war violence |
Page count: | 408 |
The Palace of the Dawn will soon be stormed. The most ruthless man of all time is one step away from assailing on Iovbridge and dethroning Sophie Delamere. The Queen of Knightdorn is now alone, with neither allies nor an army capable of rebuffing the enemy which is approaching her city. Everything appears to be over, until a mysterious young man, Elliot, makes his appearance.
Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Elliot will try to draw Walter away from Iovbridge and face him in the stronghold of Wirskworth. He will attempt to rekindle relations and revive the old alliance between the Queen of Knightdorn and Syrella Endor, the Governor of Wirskworth. Elliot’s mission will take every fibre of his will and if he fails, so shall the kingdom.
Game Of Thrones meets Greek mythology in this explosive epic fantasy story, packed with war, medieval lore, magic, loyalty and bravery. The first book in the series, The Dance of Light, will take you on an epic journey to a fantasy world of men and mythical creatures which will keep you spellbound till the very end.
“It is known that the Elder Races never intended to give the Seven Swords to humans. Their promise was to the Egercolls alone. When the Elder Races betrayed that bloodline, they were drenched with the Egercolls’ curse, but they never disappeared or left this world.” Elliot frowned, and John stared with a slack jaw for a moment. “Don’t you know the most notorious story of our world?”
Legends Never Die by Against The Current
The Return of the Knights brings a heroic tale of a young man’s journey to lead a nation to stand against an invading army led by the tyrant Walter Thorn.
There was a lot to like in The Return of Knights. This is a very classical feeling story. We know who the villain is and the hero and most of the side characters fall to one side or the other. I’m a fan of the classics so I enjoy a lot of the tropes that come along with the labels. Personally, I just like it when I can hate the bad guy and have fun doing it.
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Elliot is our rising star. Raised and trained by a grandmaster – he is skilled in the art of war and is quick thinking. This is somewhat of a coming-of-age tale for him, though he already has the skills, his growth comes more in the learning and accepting of his family and his mentors’ choices for him etc.
Elliot can be rather brash and his ego is large at times, and I admit, deservedly, when it comes to his skills. Let’s just say he didn’t lack confidence and that boldness (though his heart was always in the right place) didn’t always make him the most likeable character.
Walter Thorn is the aforementioned tyrant. Walter feels like such a tame name for a man whose rebellion has kept the country at war for the last twenty years – killing and pillaging his way across the land, doesn’t it? But don’t let the name fool you, he’s a nasty piece of work. I appreciated that he was as smart and capable as a man of his station who has accomplished near domination should be. I hate it when the enemy is an idiot and easily falls in the end.
There is a huge amount of history and lore in this world. Every part of the map they travel to, we get a story about its people and their history. While I loved how it gave the world and story this vibe of a collection of legends, its downfall was the huge amount of people that it added to the story making it hard to know who will be important to remember for later. The upside was that the legends were really cool and I enjoyed them.
I love good plotty behind the scenes strategic sessions, especially when they involve moving armies around or siege strategies and The Return of the Knights has that in spades. This was a double-edged sword for me, because while I love that sort of thing, it bordered on the side of too much sometimes when it came to the exploring of every possible outcome of the enemies’ movements. At times, it could be a little exhausting in that respect. I did love how it showcased how smart these two leaders were and it kept you guessing to the end who would come out on top.
TLDR
The Return of the Knights is a really fun story in that classic fantasy vein. The characters and the story itself have that feel of legends in the making – building to something grand as they work together to change the world around them. I had a few niggles here and there and I can’t say I wasn’t daunted by that massive glossary at the beginning, but it settles.
If you love your stories full of myths and creatures with heroic young men and women, fighting for justice and love, The Return of the Knights is a great choice and looks to be a promising beginning to this series.
Other Notes
Considering The Return of the Knights was translated from its original Greek, I have to be incredibly impressed with how well the story was put together and told. I never once had a moment where I felt meaning or intent was off or lost in translation.
Also, nothing against the name Walter (it’s actually a family name for us) I just need an intro. 😊
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You had me at Medieval Lore and Mythical Creatures, adding this to tbr right now! Also, I love combining music with books, love that musical choice. Excellent review all around!
https://darkshelfofwonders.com/
Thank you! The lore and creatures gave this such a nice classical/myth element to the story that I really liked.
I hope you enjoy the story when you get to it.