Catalyst (The Passage of Hellsfire, Book 1)

Four out of five stars.

I really enjoyed the concept of the book Catalyst (The Passage of Hellsfire, Book 1)

. The world was well-imagined, and the characters were interesting. It followed genre conventions, but not so much that I felt there was nothing to anticipate or wonder about.

Hellsfire is a young man growing up in a small village, earning his keep at a young age. He doesn’t have a very easy time of it, but manages to respect his mother. One day he sees a girl running through the forest, and there are men chasing her. He interferes, of course, and discovers something about himself he never expected. His mother reveals that she knew something was going to happen eventually, and sends him on a quest to find answers. He encounters a very cold, very steep mountain, a dragon, and many other friends on his journey to control his ability. Ultimately, he battles to save the world and the girl he loves.

I also enjoyed watching the characters and world develop. The author did a very good job of not dumping world descriptions, but weaving them into the tale. The biggest fly in the ointment was that the main character, Hellsfire, has an annoying tendency to think through every step of the previous scene the next time he’s alone. I understand what the author is trying to do, but he spends a little too much time explaining why Hellsfire feels how he does, and the story drags a little at those parts. Some of the other characters’ emotional responses seemed forced at times, too, but it didn’t detract too much from the story.

The ending of the book was not a huge surprise, but I enjoyed getting there and was taken off guard by twists and turns a couple of times. The main character’s overall attitude was refreshing, especially when compared against so many other young protagonists who fall into the common trap of disobedience and arrogance. He was willing to learn and to deny himself power for power’s sake.

The editing of the book (I read the Kindle version) was terrible. There were several places where the wrong word was used, or sentences were chopped off. I hope a new version corrects these errors; however, I didn’t have trouble following the story in the long run.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light fantasy read. I would rate it as appropriate for children 12 or older on the Aardvark scale, mostly due to descriptions of gory physical and magical violence in battle settings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

The above links are affiliate links to Amazon.com. See my disclosures here.