Title: The Rising Wind
Author: Ken Floro III
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon (Paperback), Amazon (Kindle), B&N
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
After graduating into the Imperial knighthood, Marcavius and his cousin book passage aboard a merchant ship, the Rising Wind, to visit their family estate before reporting to the legions. They know no ship dares tread the heart of the Mennaidran Sea, yet along their voyage a strange fog suddenly sets the Rising Wind adrift in those haunted waters. Fortunately another passenger offers his skill as a navigator to save the day, yet he insists that the ship first detour to a nearby island to replenish its supplies. There the ship’s unlucky passengers soon learn that the monsters and magic of legend are no mere myths! Friends, strangers, and even bitter enemies must work together in order to survive and escape. Yet some of the greatest dangers they’ll face are destined to come from one another.
“The same trick didn’t work a third time. When Marc stepped into the ring of firelight and shouted a challenge, his adversaries shrank into the shadows across from him – more cautious now than they had been earlier. Their broad limbs and hulking silhouettes prowled the darkness at the edge of the forest, disguising their numbers. Standing exposed, in the open clearing, Marc felt vulnerable, but he knew he couldn’t run. For an anxious moment, he just stood there, uncertain what to do next. The curse of inexperience was lack of foresight, and Marc hadn’t stopped to calculate an alternative in case his original plan failed. Now he had to think on the spot. Unfortunately the present circumstance was no place for contemplation. So, in that dangerous moment, he acted on instinct.”
The Rising Wind is a fantasy novel set in a vast, wonderful, creative fantasy world that both shows an amazing eye for detail and an enormous creativity. Marc, our main character, books passage aboard a merchant ship called the Rising Wind along with his cousin, to visit their family estate. During their journey, a strange fog arises and sets the ship adrift into the haunted waters of the Mennaidran Sea. They end up stranded on an island where soon turns out the monsters they always learned where myths, are very much alive and well, and the creatures of legend roam free. With their lives at stake, the crew has to put aside their differences and work together, or none of them will survive this fateful trip…
On the island, they’re introduced to some bizarre, strange monsters that were highly original and immediately made me more interested into the story. The book is littered with references to mythology, mixing and matching various myths and legends from throughout the world. It was fun trying to recognize some of the myths or monsters – this was probably my favorite part about the book.
Marc starts out as overconfident, boastful, and completely full of himself. Didn’t like him at all. But as the story progresses, and his talents begin to shine instead of his personality, he begins to see things differently, I began to like him. But from the get-go, I was more of a fan of Adrianna and Din. I’m always a fan of mysterious characters, and Din had mystery written all over him.
Action-packed, with excellent writing and enough plot twists to keep me at the edge of the seat, The Rising Wind is fantasy at its finest, and recommended to all fans of the genre.
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