A prayer of Light and Venom

Good morning from a lovely sunny Eastern England. How are you this fine day?
My pup is currently snoozing beside me so I thought it about time I post my next review.

Today, I’m reviewing A Prayer of Light and Venom, a magical fantasy tale by D. Elias. Jenkins.

Summary

Years after King Oligan’s corruption, most magical creatures have been wiped out, or have gone into hiding. All that changes when the fabled Sorrow (a force of great darkness and misery) returns to the world.

Characters

Set in a medieval style fantasy world, the story mainly follows two young people.

Alfred, a young man who heavily resists any kind of responsibility in life, can easily talk himself out of trouble and appears to be a rather cowardly character. He doesn’t want to be a magical hero: he simply wants a quiet life, content to train to be a librarian. Throughout the course of the story, his will is tested to breaking point. He must overcome his cowardice in order to live.

Deena, a young temple maiden craves to fight against the enemies of her world. She is strong of spirit and hot-headed, perhaps a little too impulsive as she takes risks which could easily see her killed by unscrupulous men, hell bent on wiping out anyone with magical capability.

Both of these main characters possess a Magus Heart, a magical component of their physical human body. Any with the magus heart is sought out and murdered by order of the king. However, it will take all of the king’s best forces to try and take down these two unique youths.

A mixture of enemy forces fills this unique tale. From witch-finders such as the cruel and cunning Merrick Clay, to ancient magical monsters and The Sorrow, both Alfred and Deena must learn to overcome their flaws if they are to have a chance at victory.

Memorable Quotes

It was hard to decide on a quote for this book as there so many great ones to choose from.
My favourite by far has to be this:

‘Never underestimate what even good people will resort to when they are scared.’

In our modern age, lots of people seem to be on their own personal witch-hunts. The media has been targeting certain groups of people as part of its own witch-hunts for years and yet as the quote says, even the kindest of people can start to believe such lies about people, fearing they might be true.

People are desperate to protect themselves and their loved ones in life, however our own fears can often be our worst enemies, turning us against other people due to their differences in thinking, behaving, appearing, etc.

This quote spoke volumes to me.

Additional Comments

Themes of light vs darkness, and corruption of power feature heavily. The scenes were vividly described, although a general proofread may be needed as there were some odd words missing from the text, but not enough to really distract me from the story.

Recommended?

If you enjoy original tales of dark magic, witch-hunts against those who are different,
and ancient magical creatures, then A prayer of Light and Venom may be for you.

My rating: 4 stars.

Thank you for joining me for today’s review.

If you’d like to learn more about A Prayer of Light and Venom, please follow this Goodreads link.
To learn more about author D. Elias. Jenkins, please follow this separate link.

As always, if you enjoyed this review, please consider leaving a comment below or sharing it over social media.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Dax. xoxo