For those who love Fantasy settings, you're in for a treat, a fact that is hinted at with the map included in the front of the book. With even a summary glance over the map, you would likely notice the heavily Asian-influenced locales, with names such as Singarasam, Banjarput and the Piri-Piri Islands. The island locales and the voyages to and from introduce some interesting and exciting seafaring and ship-to-ship battles, with large sailing ships that feel reminiscent of colonial times, but there are also some mysterious jungle settings to discover as the adventure unfolds.
Angus Macallan's powerful epic fantasy, the Lord of the Islands series, begins with: an emperor's daughter who will not be denied... a prince forced to take a stand... and a sorcerer seeking to destroy the world. When I read these brief descriptions of the characters and their motivations on the back cover of the book, they all seemed so varied that it sounded more list to choose from, rather than a list of characters that would all be found in the same story. Not only that, but as I read on, Macallan introduced other characters who seemed unrelated to those mentioned above. However, I found myself consumed by each character's story as each chapter switched to a different character.
Princess Katerina, the Emperor's daughter, is ruthless, cunning and self-centered, but she's nothing if not determined. Having her inheritance stripped from her merely motivates her to take control of the world, herself. Prince Arjun has no motivation beyond finding his next pleasurable experience, be it eating grapes next to the water in a luxurious water garden or enjoying the touch of a pretty village girl, until he finds himself disgraced and duty-bound to avenge his father's murder and regain his family's heirloom. Sorcerer Mangku is collecting a set of powerful relics that have been scattered through the known world to prevent them from being used to unleash the Seven Hells. He has to, of course, if he ever hopes to... unleash the Seven Hells and destroy most of the world as it is now known. And then, there's Farhan, a trader from a family of seafaring traders, a spy and a man with not a small gambling problem. At first, they seemed interesting, yet unrelated, but as each storyline progressed, their relationships become increasingly apparent; some more surprising than others.
The world of Gates of Stone has magic, but don't expect magical spells at every turn; the ships travel in typical sailing fashion, and healing is accomplished with herbal medicine and the medical science that might be expected of colonial times. There are, however, sorcerers - wielding blood magic - yet, they are few and vary far between. Much more common are religious ceremonies steeped in illusion and magic... and ceremonial use of hallucinogenic incense, so the authenticity of that may vary from temple to temple.
If you're looking for an interesting fantasy setting to immerse yourself into, I highly recommend Gates of Stone. The book, itself, was great on its own, but I am anxiously looking forward to reading further books in this new series.
