Last week, I finished Venom and Song, Book 2 in the "Berinfell Prophecies" series by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. Unfortunately, I didn't think the book was very original or unique in the long term. Here we have another story with elves that have an ancient, flowery language (this one sounded like a prettier version of Latin), a bad-guy fortress located by a volcano that's spewing lava and molten rock, and a lot of the other familiar, fantasy cliches.
But, there were a few things I thought were original and really popped out to me. However, I can't say any of them in detail, or it'll give away parts of the plot. (Smiles.) I can say this much, though: One thing had to do with an old secret that the young elves discover, with potentially dark implications that could alter everything as they know it. It was a very grabbing part of the story, and I'm not overstating that. This secret also leads to an interesting glimpse of how God reveals Himself to the different races of Allyra (the fantasy world of the book).
Another part of the book I liked was when the elves discovered the Rainsong, but you'd have to read it to know what that part was about. And finally, the third part that I enjoyed... hmm... how do I say this without giving anything away? Well, let's just say it had to do with the leading antagonist of the story, and someone very... close... to him, and an intriguing transformation (I'll just call it that) that they both went through.
All in all: Lovers of fantasy will enjoy this book for sure, but if you're a little tired of fantasy cliches, parts of it may feel tedious to you. If you've already read Book 1, Curse of the Spider King, and enjoyed it, then you won't want to miss the sequel, because it has even more exciting adventures and plot twists than the first one.
* To see Venom and Song on Amazon, click HERE .
* To learn more about "The Berinfell Prophecies" series, visit www.heedtheprophecies.com .
* To find out more about the authors, Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, visit their websites: www.enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com and www.christopherhopper.com, respectively.
