Lee’s Review of DemiGods of Pendilor
DemiGods of Pendilor: Book 1: The Lost Soul
By Lawrence E. Jayaraj
Back Jacket Synopsis: The Sun God Suriyar has two children with mortal Ourania; Assyri, a daughter, and Bolara, a son. As demigods, they have unique powers, and as royalty, they are positioned for greatness. Family dynamics are tested and boil over, as older daughter Assyri ascends the throne. Furious that his sister is in charge, Bolara plots to overthrow her and rule as a tyrant. Queen Assyri’s two children must learn to hone their abilities to combat the evil that is at hand, and in doing so, become sworn enemies of their own cousins, Bolara’s children, who have been taught to use their powers for ruthless domination, by the mighty General Thamios. A powerful story of betrayal, violence, passion, and finding one’s inner strength, with epic battles involving Dragons, Tolverines (a wolf-like creature the size of an elephant), Lawky (a mystical bird with healing properties), and highly skilled demigods, with uncanny abilities. The stakes are high, and the action is compelling. The DemiGods of Pendilor are about to collide!
Lee’s Review: This fantasy book brings out all the stops, an epic battle between good and evil and light and dark.
What I Loved:
This book fully indulges in archetypes and familiar tropes, and I mean that in the best possible way. This is a classic fantasy story told really well. The beats are well known but nevertheless so exciting and fleshed out that those familiar elements are what makes it so great.
Assyri, the queen, her husband, Ranay, and her children, Arteo and Preeya, are kind and compassionate, but are strong and will not back down from a fight if necessary. By contrast, her brother, Bolara, and his wife, Ritani bloodthirsty children, Ristos and Syrana, are full of hatred and recklessness. I am reminded of a Biblical proverb: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 9:22). I think both the positive and the negative are true here: Assyri trains up her children in courage, kindness and perseverance, and the two children have these qualities in spades. Meanwhile, Bolara trains up his children in hatred, recklessness, and bloodlust, and his children possess these qualities, sometimes even worse than their father! It's a sobering but important depiction of the effect parents can have on their children.
The powers of the mythical demigods are well thought out and explained; all four children develop powers, which are used throughout the story. The backstory of sun god Suriyar and his mortal wife, Ourania, told in the prologue, is essential reading for understanding the context of the story.
The word I can use for many of the descriptions here is lush. Beautiful, gorgeous, and detailed, the author has a knack for making you feel inside the scene. I would love to live in Pendilor.
After the prologue, the story started slowly with worldbuilding and descriptions of the fantastical beasts that would be seen later in the story, as well as vignettes of the children at six and seven and later as younger teenagers. I personally really liked the slow start - it laid the groundwork for the entire story to follow, letting the reader get to know the characters and the world first before getting into the meat of the story. Some readers might think, “Nothing is happening at first” but I disagree, everything is happening, characters are being developed and the world is being created. Then when the tension boils over, it feels inevitable and earned. Fantastic job with the setup.
The book is told in the third person and jumps from the POV many times, even in the same scene. I think it’s great because it gives depth to all of the main characters and their good or evil thoughts. I loved this aspect and I am really glad Jayaraj decided to go in this direction. I know my bestie Nikki has her own opinions about quickly jumping POV, so I felt it was important to point that out. For me, I am so glad to know the inner thoughts of so many characters in the story.
Constructive comments for future works from this author:
I’m not a fan of the graphic violence depicted throughout the story. Ristos and Syrana, for example, kill off some jungle dwellers in an early scene and that scene is riddled with detailed descriptions of body parts being cut off and blood spurting, etc. I understand the context, of course, but the descriptions were way too detailed and graphic for my preference.
I’m also not a fan of a girl joking about seeing Arteo naked without his permission. It’s played for laughs and not very long, but to me, it didn’t give me a good taste in my mouth.
And I really really wish I didn’t have to bring this one up because there was so much I did like about it. To me, the dragon fight (which is featured on the cover) and the lead-up to the fight felt like a side quest and was not integrated well with the rest of the main plot. The entire rest of the story is more tightly plotted around the rivalry between the good Assryi and her family and the evil Bolara and his family and feels organic to the story. But suddenly the dragon appears and is attacking a town Arteo is in, and Arteo suddenly decides to confront the dragon. Now, it is important to note that Arteo gets a major revelation that does relate back to the main plot, but without that revelation... Still, I loved the danger and excitement of the dragon attacking the town and Arteo’s epic fight with the dragon! The scenes themselves were brilliant! I just wish it was more effectively integrated with the rest of the story (at least at that point of the story). As I said, it was so tough to include this as one of the criticisms. They were still wonderful scenes on their own!
A Favorite Quote [To Arteo and Preeya]: “There may come a day when you need to use your powers to protect your mother and the kingdom,” says Ranay quietly, looking down at the half-eaten peach in his hand. “It is not a desired action, but … anything is possible.”
“Movie” Rating: R, for graphic violence throughout; there is a love scene halfway through and while you definitely know what’s happening, it’s not graphic (more of a PG-13 description); the scene mentioned above about Arteo being “viewed” without his permission.
Overall Recommendation: If you’re an adult or older teenager (16/17) fan of fantasy and good versus evil archetypes (and not put off by graphic violence), this is the book for you! The world created for the story is incredible and the characters are fantastic! Some minor critiques but overall a really enjoyable read!
Amazon Link: Amazon.com: Demigods of Pendilor: The Lost Soul eBook : Jayaraj, Lawrence E. : Kindle Store
Disclaimer: *Our reviews are solely our opinions and not swayed by any outside factors. The reviews are for fun and not meant to be taken as a professional book endorsement, review, or advice.