A review by sparklingreader
The Unremembered by Peter Orullian

4.0

Recap: The gods, makers of words, seek to create balance…but one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures that disturb the balance. He is condemned to live for eternity with them, restrained by a magical veil kept strong by the power of song. After time, the song and veil weaken and evil walks the world. One young man, Tahn, is called to stand up and face the darkness and his own forgotten secrets.

This is an epic fantasy where the characters are given choices, but not easy ones, and not always ones that lead to good things. Sometimes “good” is nothing more than “less evil.” The characters are deep and well-developed with realistic issues. The gods, and the reason for the story, is laid out in a prologue. Then the story begins in the rural setting of a small village that is reminiscent of the homes of the Hobbits. Like many epic fantasies, the main character, Tahn, is unaware of the power he possesses and his importance in the coming trials. The story reminds me loosely of the Robert Jordan or Tolkien series where the group is together in the beginning, splits up to handle their various parts throughout the story, then (mostly) regroups at the end.

The writing is strong with good pacing. The world building is well-done, though I’m getting a little tired of writers trying to come up with different words for tobacco and other common things. The author gives us the expected themes in fantasy novels: good vs. evil, coming-of-age, self-discovery, acceptance, and more. If you’re expecting a light-weight story, this one isn’t it. Though some of it was predictable, the one problem I did have was with the ending. It didn’t work well for me and left me flat. It’s very obviously the first in a series. I did enjoy it enough to look forward to the second in the series, which will, I hope, tie up some of the loose ends left dangling.

If you like epic fantasy stories that follow the generalized themes of fantasy, definitely pick this one up. It’s a big book with a big future.