Rise by Cain S. Latrani ~ a Review

by MK French

There is war between the Blessed, agents of the Gods, and the Demon Seed. Ramora is a mute Blessed, Warrior-Priestess intent on saving the people from the Demon Seed and Dark Blessed. Beside her is Chara, a clever girl being groomed by Heaven to be a weapon. The two feel they are ready for the challenge, but they're up against the most fearsome of enemies.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

November 2022; Emery Press; 978-1958539026
ebook, print (762 pages); epic fantasy

We open with an extended prologue outlining the creation of the universe, the first gods and the first demons. From there we get to the story proper, where demons go around raping, pillaging, burning and destroying just for fun. This is the world Chara and Ramora live in, and the demigods and gods are starting to notice the world of humans. Chara is the one to name Ramora after they meet, and her mother's behavior is over-the-top awful. Ramora is looking for the demons that had destroyed her village when she was a child, and Chara is being manipulated as part of a bigger plot. Draco has been killing Blessed, and Ramora wants to kill him to avenge her village as well as the fallen Blessed. They gather allies and strategies to accomplish this goal.

The size of the novel is in large part due to the sheer volume of detail in every scene. We have every conversation, every conflicted feeling, or ulterior motive. Even summary paragraphs go on for a long time. I found it easier to skim through those parts and missed nothing. Some of the characters were truly obnoxious, even though they were meant to be endearing. I really found some scenes in the middle of the book painful to read, and some of our modern language in this medieval-style novel threw me out of the story, too. It takes about halfway through the book for us to see where Chara's talents are, as Ramora is clearly the fighter. There are multiple battles that are cinematically described, with heart-rending losses to drive home the pain of war. These are interspersed with other scenes that are ridiculous, and point to a larger plot for future books. It's an epic in length and scope, but could have been edited to be tighter and have more of an emotional punch.

Buy Rise at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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