Review: Review: The Ventifcat Colossus by Dorian Hart Book Tour (Heroes of Spira #1)

Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

A tale of epic fantasy begins…

Banished to an otherworldly prison for centuries, the monstrous Emperor Naradawk is about to break free and wreak havoc upon the world of Spira. The archmage Abernathy can no longer keep the monster at bay, and has summoned a collection of would-be heroes to help set things right.

Surely he made a mistake. These can’t be the right people.

Dranko is priest-turned-pickpocket, expelled from his church for his antics. Kibilhathur is a painfully shy craftsman who speaks to stones. Aravia is a wizard’s apprentice whose intellect is eclipsed only by her arrogance. Ernest is a terrified baker’s son. Morningstar is a priestess forbidden from daylight. Tor is a young nobleman with attention issues. Ysabel is an elderly farm woman. Grey Wolf is a hard-bitten mercenary.

None of them are qualified to save the world, but they’ll have to do. Even Abernathy himself seems uncertain as to why he chose them.

What starts with a simple scouting mission soon spirals into something more far-reaching and sinister. The heroes will contest with dream warriors, evil cultists, sentient gemstones, and a devious yet infuriatingly polite gentleman with a perfect mustache, on their way to a desperate encounter with the unstoppable: The Ventifact Colossus.

Review

The Ventificat Colossus is the start of something new for me. Where I don’t necessarily need to worry about it being grim-dark all the time, nor do I need to worry about it heroic all the time. It’s a parody and a satire combined into a package of heroic adventure and joy! It is. That said, there’s an intriguing cast of characters in this book. There are one or two that I don’t think weren’t needed at all, because it didn’t add much to the story in my opinion. I don’t want to spoil the novel so much, so this review will contain very minor spoilers.
But this book reminds me of my time in the Ali’kir Desert and the Gold Coast when I played the Elder Scrolls Online. We’re going through magic portals, dealing with turtles! Yes, turtles mind you! We’re dealing with villains, but I don’t think they were as prominent in the book as they should have been. We go to dungeons, we go to a desert setting and I thank Dorian for taking us there. A more diverse setting location is needed in fantasy novels! This was a delight to read. You’ll be going through so much lore at one time it is mind-boggling. Although, some criticisms I have is that there is evidence of a lot of worldbuilding. And sometimes I think this could have been shortened down, or trimmed in certain parts. At some parts of the story, I felt suffered from slow-pacing here and there. Again I would say more but I’d not want to spoil for the sake of the reader.

The Ventificat Colossus has some of the most iconic characters that you’d never hope to pair in a fantasy novel, and somehow it works! It works brilliantly. It is the most unlikely pairing of characters you could ever hope to see. Abernathy the old wizard is the architect of this brilliant investiture! Dranko is one of those characters that you’ll get attached to eventually. For me, I got attached to him the most. Then Tor, who’s our brilliant head-strong guy that reminds me of the man who never fears anybody. It’s a shame that his style of character has become sort of cliched in a way in other fantasy novels because here’s it’s very refreshing. Gray Wolf, I’m undecided on. I’m not sure whether I like him yet. Morningstar is very much like Dranko, and I ship them as a couple. They’re made for each other in many ways. However, Ernest and Kibil? They’re very awesome. This book has a very colorful cast of characters, intriguing backstories, and great humor!

The dialogue serves its purpose, and there are locations you’ll sometimes even wonder how the characters manage to go there. It also is a dark contrast to the idea that the minute you grab a bunch of people and force them to deal with a Kingdom’s magical beast problem because all the best heroes are dead, that they should be able to relate to each other instantly. And that doesn’t work. Over time, the group slowly opens up to each other. In this sense, it’s a very smart way of writing the story. There’s so much mystery in this book, so much fascinating lore, and so much awesome stuff, I’m surprised this series is so under-rated. I’d compare this to Kings of the Wyld. It takes itself seriously at times, and at times it doesn’t. It’s perfect for reading to children. It is an adventure, and most of all, I had a great time reading this book. I thoroughly recommend this!

Please NOTE:

This tour is to raise awareness of the publication of the fourth and final book in Dorian’s The Heroes of Spira series, The Infinite Tower. Here’s the Goodreads link for book 4 if interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56767054-the-infinite-tower

PROMOTION: The Ventifact Colossus will be on sale for $0.99 on Amazon during the week of the tour!

**GIVEAWAY**We’re hosting a tour-wide giveaway, and invite you to take part! Below you’ll find the prize info, a Rafflecopter widget embed code, and a direct link. We’ve also added the giveaway in the tour schedule post on our website.

Prize:The Heroes of Spira Paperback Book Bundle by Dorian Hart – One (1) bundle of three (3) paperbacks – US & CA Only.

Starts: February 21st, 2021 at 12:00am ESTEnds: February 28th, 2021 at 11:59pm EST!

Direct Link: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e832e98865/