In Sulphurium the enlighten, whose with magic, are tested at the edge of adulthood to see if they have what it takes to become mages. For Leaf, an orphan who has not awaken his powers yet the trials are insurmountable. However, by the skin of his teeth Leaf manages to pass and is reborn as Mage Brimstone. Just as Brimstone becomes comfortable with his new life, the Order arrives and turns his world upside down. Their intent is to use him as a political and military pawn. Brimstone and friends will need to learn quickly if they ever hope to survive.
The Brimstone Chronicles is a dark fantasy series following the life of the Mage Brimstone. The story is fast paced and filled with unique characters and captivating creatures. Be warned this series is not for the faint of heart. Death and suffering lie around every corner, and not even the innocent are safe.
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I truly wanted to enjoy this dark adventure story with teenaged characters, but I felt as if I wasn’t truly connected to any of them. Each character had a unique trait, but their general personalities were sort of bland. By the end of the book, the only character that I truly knew was Brimstone. The rest had melded into one big pile of “Brimstone’s friends.”
Also, dark fantasy does not mean that all of the characters have to come off as being nearly soulless. Brimstone is cruel in this book by the end, and he is not even remorseful about it in the least. You would think that a 13-year-old would have some sort of physical reaction to such violence. I mean, he seems to be the slave boy at the beginning of the story, and those memories that he lost could have been of great suffering, but this was never explained. He didn’t even seem to be that strong at the start of the novel, constantly being bullied, so how is he this beast of a man who would never listen to anyone but himself by the end. Only a few months have passed!
Overall, I didn’t really like this novel, it could have definitely been more for me, but I did like the premise. I might still read the sequel to see if anything gets better and to find out what happens to Brimstone and his friends
I received a copy of this book and reviewed it through the Online Book Club. https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=98323
Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 books
